\O[ELLINGTOJ:~ BEEKEEPERS ASSOCIATION INC NONTHLY NEWSLETTER NOVEMBER Registered at Post Office Headquarters, as a Hagazine. 1954 Wellington Pos tagc Paid, Wellington, N.t. Pcrmi t No. 313 Return Address; 26 Cunliffe Street, Johnson'\ille, Wellington 6004. OUR NEXT HEETING Meetings are held * abov€: '=--1 I ' - ! About the Aniary October / November is usuallY the time of the fir~t good flow lD ___ our area. 'JJillow/ Cabbage tree s t c , and with t hese flows c orres .wa rming• Feekeening is the controlling of the bee within t t' sb i oLog i ceI limits where we try to control thesE u~dersirable trait~ tnrough ~atural means :--ie swarming is controled by diognosing the cause,usually lack of Queen substances arrong workers I and correcting the nroblem. Relieving the nressure by giving more room:ie sUDering or taking of a nuc, swaD~ing frames between hives ~equalising CHECK FOR DISEASE FIRST ) or swanning hive positions ~hat ever your SiZE small or large - anyone of these could relieve the pre~sure and therefore stOD the imnulse to swarrr:. Howev er vra t ch your hives, if they varrt to swarm , sometirres no rratter what you do, they will swarrranyway ( S\\-armingis underway when you find eggs in the Queen cells cups. However the presence of ~u€en cell buds indicates you should keen an eye on that hive ~) For the new beekeeper you will have to continue to feed your nuc's to stimulate wax bu i Lc.f.ng , Remove the Queen cages and keep the frames close together. Wt.en the bees start to snread onto the new foundati on, assist the bees by moving the two outside frames of foundation in between • the boney frames.
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\O[ELLINGTOJ:~ BEEKEEPERS ASSOCIATION INCNONTHLY NEWSLETTER NOVEMBER
Registered at Post Office Headquarters,as a Hagazine.
About the AniaryOctober / November is usuallY the time of the fir~t good flow lD
___our area. 'JJillow/ Cabbage tree st c , and with t he se flows corres.wa rmi ng •
Feekeening is the controlling of the bee within t t ' s b i oLog i ceIlimits where we try to control thesE u~dersirable trait~ tnrough ~aturalmeans :--ie swarming is controled by diognosing the cause,usually lackof Queen substances arrong workers I and correcting the nroblem. Relievingthe nressure by giving more room:ie sUDering or taking of a nuc, swaD~ingframes between hives ~equalising CHECK FOR DISEASE FIRST ) or swanninghive positions ~hat ever your SiZE small or large - anyone of thesecould relieve the pre~sure and therefore stOD the imnulse to swarrr:.Howev er vratch your hives, if they varrt to swarm , sometirres no rratterwhat you do, they will swa rrr anyway ( S\\-armingis underway when you findeggs in the Queen cells cups. However the presence of ~u€en cell budsindicates you should keen an eye on that hive ~)
For the new beekeeper you will have to continue to feed your nuc'sto stimulate wax bu i Lc.f.ng , Remove the Queen cages and keep the framesclose together. Wt.en the bees sta rt to snread onto the new foundati on,assist the bees by moving the two outside frames of foundation in between
• the boney frames.
If any of you new beekeepers have ANY questions or problemsPlease contact your nearest beekeeper, a'rull list of all financialmembers will be printed next month.
Arthur Brown of Lower Hutt is willing to take any new member undeThis wing - he can't get around much these days but is happy for you tovisit. him at his home where he will teach you all you want to knowA~hurs Phone No 698.257
As hobbiest ve are often accused of supering too late and there-fore miss out on an extra super of honey. The old adage was to superwhen you saw white wax appearing on the too bars.
We suggest you put 2 supers on together or keep a close eye onwhat is coming in and super when the bees start filling the frames withnectar. Spare frames stimulate the bees into more work.Encourage the bees into the new supers by putting a honey frame in thecentre of the new super. DON'T put on a super of foundation; the beeswon't go UP until they are forced to.
November in rural areas is also a time of dearth,so those withhives away from the bush sources should be prepared to feed if suppliesget down.
extract from a interview with Jack 8tteniusGleanings in Bee Culture Oct 1983
If you were to advise someone about what should be their stateof mind when going out to the beeyard, what would you say?
I get the impression that, sometimes, people go out without anyframe of mind at all. They go out to do their work and they find them-selves in the middle of a beeyard and perhaps they're in a hurry that dayor something. I think, right off, if you~re going to go work bees, youbetter have the proper clothing. Prepare yourself for going into the beesthe way you want to be prepared. Don't think you're a sissy or a bad bee-keeper because you warr'; to wear gloves or put a suit on. If that is wha tit takes to do the job properly, then do it. You also have to keep yourhive tooI and smoker real clean and think of .those things before going outinto the colonies. Secondly, I think you've got to visualize what youwant to do there. What am I looking for? Why am I doing it? Do theyneed more space? Am I looking to see what kind of QuEen I've got? Do Iwant to reverse? I think you can manipulate a colony 15 minutes a year.You should go in the SJring around fruit bloom, check your colonies fordisease, make sure you've got a good queen, reverse if it needs be, addsupers you want to add, then leave things alone. Go back sometime inthe early summer, take off the top to see where the bees are, see if they'refull of honey. If so, extract it and put supers back on or add more supers,whichever way is necessary. In the fall of the year, after killing frost,take supers off. Make sure you leave at least 60 Lbs of honey for overwinter-ing bees. Put your entrance reducer in to keep rodents out. Take yoursupers home, extract your honey, store your equioment and begin again inspring. I think you 'VB got to have a system. If you have one you'll dobetter with your bees each yearo Some beekeepers want to be in theirbees every 10 days, two weeks or so on. That's why they have bees as ahobby. If you want to do that, do it but don't think you'll get the bestamount of honey that way_ The big thing is to do things when they needdoing.
Due to the increase in th~ Dt',fter or new members we are repeating thisarti cLe •
URBAN BEEKEEPING By R.L. GOEBEL.from 1'heAustrala ian Beekeeper ,\pril 82
History ~an ~as not been able to domesticate :he honey bee. In theancient world primeva~ man learnt to rob the ~est he found in the cavesand forests. Ee ate not only the honey bu~ also the brood and pollen assome people still do. Since these early tj~es it has been found that ifsuitable hon:eswere g:""vento swar-ms of bees the continuous j cb ofsearching for nests W21S no longer necessary.
Some of these early hones :Oorbees were madE from readilyavailable materials such as hollow _ogs called Bee GUITS, upturned reedor straw baskets called Skeps, and clay covered wicker baskets. Allthese homes had the d.i sadvant age of having to kill or severly upset thecolony when the honey was to be removed. In 1851 a home that allowedthe manipulation of the bees combs vithout damage to the hive or colonywas integrated. This hive, with the advent of the bee smoker in 1875is the basis of modern beekeeping.
ProductsThe honey bee collects and ~vu.L...(. Id", u~ _~.1. nroduct s ether
than honey. Pollen, brood and adult bees are foods high in protein.Propolis and bee venom ara used in ~edicinal preparations and many usesfor the bees wax have been found apart from making candles. Besidesnroducing these products the habits of bees are interesting and educational.More books have been 'Kritten about the honey bee than any othe r andmaLother than man himself. Bees are unsurpassed as insect pollinators. Themajority of our fruit!3, vegetables and seeds ,""ouldnot be available ifthe bees did not incicentally pollinate the flowers while collecting thepollen and nectar froIT'them.
Propolis, a resin like substance from other parts of ~lants andwater are also collected as ra~ materials. All these are available inmost home gardens allowing urhan areas to be suitable places to positiona small numberof bee hives.
Stings.The main deterrent in keeping bees is the constant awareness of
their ability to sting. This is normally used only in defending theircolony from intruders. If thought is given to the positioning of hivesand care is taken in manipulation of the colony, the incidence of stingsmay be reduced to its lowest level. Most people are "allergic" to stings,after all that is what the bee sting is designed for but some people(a very small minority) are extra sensitive to bee stings.From severebreathing problems to sometimes death. Great care must be taken whenhandling bees until the reaction of all persons Lnv olved are known .After a bee stings, the sting and noison sac remain embeded iu toe SKin.The sting should be scratched out without delay as noison continues to beinjected long after the bee has depa~ted.
Positionin ~iv€s\vh.er, ~o::' ~In
kent i~ mind. ~hc oPf CeSDecially these cf - ebees.
ewe rec1.-1irementsmust bevs o~ ~earby activiti~s
C" '1 .•O~ y~ne reCUlrsments of the
Bees, when flying f~o~ ~~ dnd from thr flowers take themost direct reute, calLed tt..,l''14• f. P€(JT'leand animaLs mov i ngabout Ln thisflight path may ....oct e ""':'ocedin the f~ight "Oathfor short Deriods of time upset th .eeso To avoid these nroblems beescan be made to fly above norma~ w arvas by faClng the hive into~ 2 rntr trellis, fence or hecge. A m e:u ta~12 situation is to havethe barricadE on three sides of th0 hIve r hives. Movement andvibration such as di€,ging a •..Ir0W'" f: near the hives may cause the bees toreact defensively. If the hlve t s nost t.toned OL a stand or near somebushes little trouble is xner;~rc~d~ The ~roblE~ of bees defaecatlngon cars, houses, walls an wa sn.i n our t c dry j s rsuaLl y caused by alarge number of hives in an arpCl or very l.arrow flight Dath. Neighboursoften overlook these or-cbLerns ':f t le~'" und erst and a _ittle more aboutbee keening and are of""ered tbccas~L .aI niece of com>:;(honey).
~The nos tt t ontns of +h 1'1 ,_ nav e an effect on its nroduct i on .It is best to face t he 'tiv€' ent r-s the nor-ning sun, especially in~inter. Tilt tne back of tbe ni e ~+:y ~D to allow any water thatmay enter to drain cout the en+~ar.ce. Trn En~rance of thehive should beprotected from strong winds as this \vi11 upset the climate within thehive. Partial shade during the middle ef the day ~ill help the beeswaintain their correct hive tem~Bratv~e, sSD8cially in summer. This car.be obtained by nasitioning th - Ive r ~.,. 9 deciduous tree or errect ashelter. Some orotection from t &ds, ants, and 10L~ vrass is obtainedby nlacing hives on stands EOO~r dtOV8 0h~ ground. These stands alsomake working the brood boz of he ~.lve Le ss arduous and gives addednrotection to the hive bot t orrboards -ProI':"\>.700drot. Hives should besnaced at least h00~~ to all w (0 ~o ~ 'e be8keener to maninulate eachhive. Clear the area iMIT."di+l~r sur+cun irg -he hives of long grass andother combust ab'Ie matter. Th" is to rat' gua~d aaainst fire and allowmore comfortable rraninulation c he '"';ve• Where T'ossible a mir:imumaniary size of two hives is recom~cnd~c a; one hive !raybe needEd tosue-sor-t the other ':'1' it be comes \rf:~.{ or a 'p,enl= ss •
CoursesBeekeening is learnt by practIce. This is best acquired by working
with one or more exnerienced beekeeDers. There are beekeenersassociations in most areas as •.veIl as a m: rber )f short educatic:-.alcourses and field days held each year. EJoks 3vailable on !rost aSDects- Is nd leaf'le+s r-r-ovi osof bee keening are useful for refere"1C6. ...our-na a ~ <~ ,v '~ ,-infoTr-ation on new trends withi"1 the 8Tt e"1d injustry of DeEKeenlng.
EguipwentThe basic eauipment for beekeeping is the hive to hrnlsethe honey
bee colony. The hivs consists of a bottom boar-d and lid bstween whichare one or more boxes or hive bodies. ach hive body contains, 8, 9 or 10frames denending on the size ofthe box. These fra.mes are usually fournieces of vood nailed together to fo~~ a rectangle. Suspended in thisrectangle, usually with the aid of laterally strung wires, is a thin she$tofbee~ wax with the cell pattertr emboEsed, called a sheet of foundation.Under fav ourable conditions the bees nr-ccucevax and build out or draw thefoundation to form the comb used by the lees to rear their brood and storetheir food. A queen excluder is 8 thin sheet of plastic or metal withnumerous lits of a size that will allow v-or ser cees to nass throughbut not the aueen or drones. If an exc.uder is p'La ced between thebottom box housing the queen and the box Dlaced abovE'~ the bees willstore only honey in the top box hence thp name, honey SUDe~.
Protective footware, overalls, gLoves and a veil should be wornby the uninni tiated • Although more eXt)E,riencedbeekeepers rra y wearless nrotective equipment it is reco~mended that stings be aVOided, nomatter how mild the reaction may be. To mask the alarm mechanismswithin the hive smoke is used. Smoke, Jroduced by burning suitablematerial in a bee smoker, should be cool and applied constantly in smallamounts while the hive is open. A hivp tool aids the manipulation ofthe hive boxes and frames. When frames of honey are full and cappedthey are ready for harvest or robbing. A snecially designed bee 'brushis most suitable for brushing the bees off the frames. Fra~es are takento a clean bee proof room where, with the;use of a heated 'uncaard ngknife and extra ctor , the noney is removed. Liquid honey is cleaned bypouring it through a course filter into Cl storage tank that has a honeytap or gate fitted near the bottom. The honey lS left to settle for atleast 24 hours before it is drained into jars. The wax cell cover orcanpings cut from the frames are mashed and let drain into the honey tank.The remainder of the honey in capnings can be washed out and used tomake a wine like drink called mead. The dry cannings can then be melteddown, along with other pieces of scrap wax and old or broken frames ina solar wax melte~o
Onening hiveBees kept in an urban area must be of gentle strain. Queen bees
purchased from renutable sUDnlier are often of a more docile strainthan those reared by the hive under emergency conditions. Hives inurban areas should be checked regularly and preferably kept no largerthan two boxes high. When checking or robbing hives it is importantto choose a fine warm day, at a time when the bees are most active.This usually indicates the presence of fresh food and good conditions.Before opening the hive it is critical that the bee s~oker be lit andworking well. Suitable fuels to burn include well weathered hessianbag cut into strips, clean pine shavings from untreated timber, drypine needles or bark. A small crumbled ball of paneI' is lit and placedinto the barrel. The fuel is loosely packed on top while the bellowsare worked vigorously. The hive is onened carefully after blowing a fewpuffs of smoke into the entrance then under the hive lid.Manipulation of the hive nmst be done smoothly and with the least amountof vibration and noise. Gentle Duffs of smoke over all exposedframes at regular intervals is necessary to urevent the bees frowbecoming alarmed. The hive should not be left OPEn for longer thannecessary. If there are any signs of other bees attacking or robbingthe onen hive or the bees becoming upset the hive should be closedimmedlatly.
Water.Bird baths or swi~ming pools n~arby may be visited by bees to
collect water. Before this becomes a rrotlem a permanent wateringnLace should be succ'l i ed in the ant.ary, A bucket of sand or coarsegravel kept moist or a fish pond witt floating water nlants placed nearthe apiary crovide a watering spot attractive to bees.
Swarms.Under favourable condi ions ,".:..es "':"11 s arm. This narticularlY
anplies to hives with more t an ~2 m n hs :d lueens or during a rapidspring build UP. To avoid loss of your bees ar.dnroblems for yourneighbours, a constant check on hives, dlring good bUlld periods(e.g. late snring-surrmer), is necessary to observe the signs ofswarming. These signs include a rapid build-un of brood that crowdsthe hive, bees hanging out the front of the hive, an increase in thenumber of drones and drone cells and finally a nu~ber of large queencells usually located on the lower half of thebrood combs. By this timethe old queen is ready to leave with her swarm or may have already left.Swarming can be reduced by requeening the hive annually with a strainof bee less inclined to swarm, and keeping space in the brood nest bylifting combs up into the super which are replaced with frames offoundation. Another method is to snIit a nucleus hive of 3 or 4 framesfrom the narent hive to start a new colony , supplying the nucleus hivewith a new queen.
Swarms so~etimes annear near backyard apiaries and on closecheck of the hives it is often found that the swarm has come from someother aniary. Such a swarm should be ~laced in a hive to prevent itfrom settling where it would not be welcome. Good swarms will drawa number of frames of foundation within ~ few weeks but care must betaken to keen this hive separate from the others for a few months.This is a quarintine nrocedure to give tne new hive a chance to showany signs of the various brood diseases that effect honey bees.
It is recommended that, before hives are located in urban areas,the local and state laws regarding the kEeping of bees in these areasbe checked.
Forethought on the nart of the beekeener often nreventsunnecessary and difficult situations arifing thus preverving his privilegeto have bees located at home.
