Bees in my garden

This site is my personal view of beekeeping. I have some pictures from my garden, an article I wrote on Beginning Beekeeping (an Adobe Acrobat pdf file) also there are some links to other good or useful web sites and a list of useful suppliers . Contact me   

I started beekeeping in early 2000 and find the subject facinating. I have read lots, been to shows and conferences and a short course on beekeeping. I am a member of Petersfield & District Beekeeping Association . I think I am now begining to understand how bees behave and understand why I have to adopt my own methods of looking after them. As one beekeeper said to me 'If you ask a group of six beekepers a question you will get eight different answers.' I went on a microscopy course in 2002, looked at pollen and bee anatomy. Particularly looked for diseases in bees. I had a good honey and wax crop in 2002 year as I had increased my stock to three hives. They built up very fast early in the year. I changed all the brood comb which I think helps with a fast build-up. Unfortunantly one of the hives was a real pain. It was very protective and also followed en-mass. I decided to re-queen (4th May 2002); I purchased a NZ queen at Meon Valley Auction the previous Saturday and put her into a nuc with some emerging brood and stores from the nasty hive and left them next to each other. Friday after some fairly cold days I went to look for the old queen, so I could dispatch her, but she had left with a swarm perhaps a couple of days before. The new queen did not survive in that hive. The colony had killed her and raised a new one. 2003 was not a good year, mostly due to my ineptitude at handling. One colony I found to be queenless in March, one was still vicious the third was a delight to handle, I tried twice during the year to re-queen the bad colony without sucess and eventually culled it. I picked up one small cast late in June but they did not build up to be strong enough to go through the winter so I combined it with the remaining colony. This colony appears to have come through the winter in fine fettle they collected plenty from the snowdrops and are currently (mid March 2004) collecting plenty of pollen from the pussy willow and water from the pond. This year I plan to make new mesh floors with a tray to allow for varroa mite counting. I will not be using Apistan this year but will be taking an holistic approach to varroa and general disease management. This will probably include drone culling to reduce the varroa breeding and the use of Apiguard at the end of the season if necessary.

Early collection from a fuchsia at about 8:30 on a summer morning
Coming and going. Incoming bees passing nectar to inside workers.	Friend or foe? This looks like a guard bee is checking on an incoming forager. If she is bearing gifts she will be allowed in anyway.
Basic tools. Goose feather to gently brush bees away, hive tool to lift and separate boxes and frames that have been glued together by propolis (like from sticky buds), smoker to calm the bees.	Snug in the snow. Early morning sun in December 2000
Inspecting a comb of brood. I could see some capped brood and some stores but mostly I could only see bees until I gently guided them away with my hand.	Drawing out the honey comb. Bees 'draw out' the wax hexagonal combe to store honey in.
Investigating inula. The bee is collecting nectar.	Hydrangea, anything for nectar.
I have spotted seven different species of bumble bee on my geraniums. The honey bees like it as well.
My 3rd Hive. Just going to inspect after changing to 14x12 brood and an artificial swarm	Old brood box on the bottom, box modified to 14x12 above then a super
Drone brood, spread about a bit, Queen geting past it before artificial swarm?	Emergency queen cell. Notice how the bees took wax from the corner so they didn't have to wait for it to be made new.
Link to my design for a low cost Open Mesh Floor . I have now modified this slightly to remove the legs as I use stannds to bring them up to a decent working height	WBC with Open Mesh Floor on stand

Links to web sites I found useful or interesting

Hampshire Beekeepers Association
British Beekepers Association
Scotish Beekeepers Association
Beekeeping Database Net Resources
Bee Hoo "World's Beekeeping Directory"
British Honey Importers and Packers Association Lots of recipes and other honey information.
National Honey Board USA site with lots of recipes. (watch the measures they are different to UK ones)
Discover Bumble Bees
lots more links to local associations

A few suppliers

Honey-B Supplies Good local supplier for a wide range
      Bumble Barn
      Redwood Lane
      Medstead
      Hampshire
      GU34 5XA
      Tel:&Fax:(01420) 561661
      Email:

Bee Basic Ltd    Great suits, and tools at very competitive prices
          Lowest cost suits we've found, buy through the association to save postage
      5 Hillcrest Avenue
      Pinner
      Middlesex
      HA5 1AJ
      Tel: 020 8866 3864
      Answerphone:020 8200 0429
      Email:

BB Wear Great suits, special deals for Beekeepers' Associations
            especially helpful in encouraging young beekeepers
      1 Glyn Way
      Three Milestone
      Truro
      Cornwall
      TR3 6DT
      Tel & Fax: (01872) 273 693
      Email:

National Bee Supplies (formerly Exeter Bee Supplies) Good range, great catalog.
      Merrivale Road
      Exeter Road Business Park
      Okehampton
      Devon
      EX20 1UD
      Tel: (01837) 54084
      Fax: (01837) 54085
      Email:

B. J. Sherrif Great bee suits
      Carclew Road
      Mylor Downs
      Falmouth
      Cornwall
      TR11 5UN
      Tel: (01872) 863304
      Fax: (01872) 865267
      Email:

E. H. Thorne (Beehives) Ltd Every thing but the kitchen sink
      Behive Works
      Wragby
      Lincolnshire
      LN8 5LA
      Tel: (01673) 858555
      Fax: (01673) 857004
      Email:

Thornes of Stockbridge Sale in September.
      Chilbolton Down Farm
      Stockbridge
      Hampshire
      SO20 6BU
      Tel: (01264)810916
      Email:

Maismore Apiaries (Wax foundation and other things)
      Old Road
      Maismore
      Gloucester
      GL2 8HT
      Tel: (01452) 700289
      Fax: (01452) 700196
      Email:

KBS (everything to do with wax)
      Brede Valley Bee Farm
      Cottage lane
      Westfield
      Hastings
      TN35 4RT
      Tel: 01424 870737
      Fax 01424 870729
      Email:

Vita Europe (Apistan & Apiguard)

      Brook House
      Alencon Link
      Basingstoke
      RG21 7RD
      Tel: 01256 473176
      Fax 01256 473179
      Email:

Brunel Microscopes Ltd
      Unit 6 Enterprise Centre
      Bumpers Farm Industrial Estate
      Bumpers Way
      Chippenham
      SN14 6QA
      Tel: 01249 462655
      Fax: 01249 445156
      Email:

B & K Books (Many unusual and rare titles, modern and antique...)
      Karl & Betty Showler
      "Riverside" Newport Street
      Hay-on-Wye
      Hereford
      HR3 5BG
      Tel: 01497 820386

Dorset Country Beekeepers (Hives to Jars)
      51 Avon Road West
      Christchurch
      Dorset
      BH23 2DF
      Tel: 01202 486974

Northern Bee Books (Books & Beekeepers' Quarterly)
      Scout Bottom Farm
      Mytholmroyd
      Hebden Bridge
      West Yorkshire
      HX7 5JS
      Tel: 01422 882751
      Fax: 01422 886157
      Email:

C.Wynne Jones (Hives to Jars, associations call for bulk prices)
      Ty Brith
      Pentrecelyn
      Ruthin
      Denbighshire
      LL15 2SR
      Tel: 01978 790279
      Fax: 01978 790265
      Email:

The Bottle Company (South) Ltd (Glass & Plastic Container suppliers)
      Unit 1
      Ashmead Trading Estate
      Ashmead Road
      Keynsham
      Bristol
      BS31 1UG
      Tel: 0117 986 9667
      Fax: 0117 986 6335

The Honey Shop (Honey related products, equipment, books and skin care products)
     Camelot Country Products,
     Curry Rivel,
      Somerset
     TA10 0HB
      Tel: 01458 253098
      Email:

Bee Craft Ltd. (Monthly Full colour magazine)
      79 Strathcona Avenue
      Bookham
      Leatherhead
      KT23 4HR
      Tel: 01372 451891
      Email: