Hints and Tips Introduction

Colony Management

Collecting young bees

If you need young bees for a particular purpose such as making a nucleus you wish to keep in the same apiary, you will need bees that haven’t flown, otherwise they will return to their original hive. The usual method is to lightly shake a frame to dislodge the flying bees, but the success depends on how firmly the frame is shaken, and the temperature. Another method is to lay a cloth or sack on the ground, and shake several frames of bees onto it. After about 15 minutes the older bees have returned home, and largely non flying bees are left. You will of course need to know where the queen is.

Bait hives

For several days before a swarm emerges from a hive scout bees are sent out to find a suitable home. The returning scout’s perform a dance, effectively reporting their findings, and the colony decides where the swarm will go depending on the information given by the scouts. When setting up a bait hive we should be looking at what is attractive to bees and provide it, as our level of success will depend on it.
Bees prefer a cavity that is large enough for them to make a nest that will provide space for them to store enough honey to get them through the winter. A broodbox is about the right size.
They will want somewhere that is easy to defend, so the entrance should be quite small, say no more than 2 square inches. Floorboards should be solid, not OMF.
Bees prefer to go where bees have been before, so use old equipment, preferably that hasn’t been cleaned of wax and propolis. One, or up to about four old combs should be placed in the broodbox. This is a good use of equipment that otherwise may be discarded. Foundation is not attractive and should be avoided as it may go stale.
Set the hive up in the shade, as a swarm may abscond if they find it too hot. Cover up the feedhole in the crownboard to prevent the bees building comb in the roof cavity. There is a theory that bees prefer to be at head height or above, but this is probably not very important.
When you see bees visiting the bait hive you can be sure there is a colony locally that is preparing to swarm. Make sure it isn’t one of yours. There could be frantic activity for several days, and then you will either end up with a swarm or all activity will instantly stop. This will be because the swarm has found somewhere else, or the beekeeper has dealt with the swarming colony.
If you do get a swarm try to remove the old drawn comb as quickly as possible by shaking the bees off it, fill the broodchamber up with frames of fresh foundation, and clip the queen as it is always possible the swarm will abscond until there is brood to “hold” them.
It is possible that a swarm could bring foul brood spores with their honey supplies, so avoid feeding for about 3 days so they convert all their honey into wax. If the weather is poor then feed after the danger has gone.
Check the bait hive regularly to make sure you don’t get an infestation of greater waxmoth that can completely destroy old combs very quickly in warm weather. At the first sign of trouble put the combs in the freezer for a few days.

Bait hive

Finding queens

Virgin queens could be anywhere in the hive, and are notoriously difficult to find. These notes give help in finding fertile queens. You should know they move away from the light, and should normally be found on a frame of brood. If the bees are “runners” the queens usually are and the above rules don’t apply.
It is very rare that laying queens can’t be found, but occasionally they can be very small and difficult to find. If you have tried the usual method of going through the hive several times and checked on the crownboard, floor, and inside of the broodchamber then close the colony up and leave it half an hour or so before repeating it. If you are still unsuccessful then take a spare empty broodchamber and place it on a floorboard. Split the frames into pairs and put them in both broodchambers, with a gap between each pair. We are trying to drive the queen away from the light so she will go between the frames, so don’t cover them up. After 20-30 minutes the bees on the pair of frames where the queen is will be quiet and all the rest will be agitated. You have narrowed it down to one pair of frames.
Another method is to shake all the bees off the frames onto a cloth or sack. Put the frames back into the broodchamber with a queen excluder above and an empty broodchamber on top of that. Shake the bees into the empty broodchamber and the bees will go down to tend the brood, and leave the queen behind.
Check to see that the queen hasn’t got through the queen excluder in the first place, but you should know that if there is brood in the supers.
Rather than shake the bees onto a cloth or sack you can shake them through the excluder, but you will have to find a way of dealing with the frames.

Drone culling frames

The culling of drone brood is an accepted IPM technique for helping to control varroa, but some beekeepers are concerned that if done as a matter of course could reduce the number of healthy drones. The usual method is to put one shallow frame in every broodchamber, then when the bees have built drone comb on the bottom and it is sealed cut it out.
A variation on this is to take a standard empty brood frame and slightly modify two extra side bars, and nail them in the frame vertically so there are three equal parts. In the first part put a full sheet of drone foundation, in the second put a half sheet, and in the third put a starter. When put in the hive the bees will complete them at different times, allowing the beekeeper to deal with each section on a three visit cycle.
If the varroa level is low then the comb can be left, but if high it can be cut out. Leave just enough for the bees to rebuild the comb.
It should be noted that occasionally young queens are reluctant to lay drone eggs, but this is a problem with any drone culling method.

Getting swarms from difficult places

Very often swarms will get into difficult places such as a thick hedge. In this case an old brood frame can often be used to entice them out. If you can get some bees from the swarm and put them on the comb they may start fanning and attract the swarm out of the difficult place.

Crownboard slots

Many beekeepers have the slots in crownboards running parallel with the frames. If the broodchamber has an odd number of frames, then one frame is directly under the slot and in winter you won’t be able to see if there is any sealed food. If you turn the crownboard so the slot is at right angles to the frame then it is easy to see the food situation.

Crownboard slot parallel with frame crownboard on hive so the slot is at right angles to the frame

Hive Maintenance

Filling holes and gaps

Propolis is readily available and is used by the bees, so why not make use of it? Warm the propolis in your hand and roll it until it’s pliable. Leaks in roofs can be plugged up easily by placing the propolis over the hole, working it well, and smearing over the area. Small holes and gaps in the boxes can similarly be treated until permanent repairs can be carried out. These repairs will often last for several years.

Protecting hives from woodpeckers

A simple way of stopping woodpeckers from making holes in hives during the winter is to cut strips of heavy duty polythene and pin on the broodchambers with drawing pins. Plastic strapping can be used to prevent the pins damaging the polythene. Builders polythene is ideal for this purpose, but make sure it is tight and won’t flap about in the wind.

Honey Handling

Cleaning up supers

If you replace wet supers directly on the colony after extracting the bees will probably put most of the honey in the bottom super above the broodnest. To avoid this take a piece of thickish polythene, such as an animal food bag, and cut it slightly larger than the outside dimensions of the broodchamber. Cut a small hole in it just large enough to get your finger in, and place that over the broodchamber before replacing the supers. The bees will think they are divorced from the honey and will clear it from the supers. Make sure the hole isn’t covered up by the frames below, and do it at dusk to avoid excitement.

Storing honey in 30lb plastic buckets

You can avoid making a mess by using a 24” x 18” plastic bag as a liner. Put the bag in the bucket, and put your hand inside to press it into the bottom of the bucket. Fold the top over the rim of the bucket to prevent it falling inside. Fill it up and exclude the air before securing with a wire tie. It is advantageous to strain it first. When you need to bottle, put the bucket in the warming cabinet in the usual way, then pour the honey into the bottling tank. Take a bottom corner of the bag in one hand, and putting the rest of the bag between thumb and forefinger of the other, run it down the bag to expel most of the honey. This cuts waste to a minimum, and keeps the operation clean.

Storing Honey in 30lb Buckets