Conservation & Ecology
combs, there is likely to be a problem with the queen. She might be infertile and drone laying or unhealthy in some way. In some cases, worker bees may lay drone eggs. Whatever the reason, it is probable that the colony needs re-queening or uniting with another queenright colony. Buying a new queen from a breeder is not an option until at least May. An inspection of every frame was carried out by Ed
and Steve to gauge the health of the bees and check that they were building up their stores. A close inspection of the brood box was undertaken to locate the queen, which proved fairly straightforward as Ed had painted a red/blue mark on her back. Once she was located, we were able to close up the
hives, leave the bees in peace and allow them to get on with building up their colony. During the following weeks, the bees will be busy sourcing nectar, converting this energy into both new cells for breeding and storing their honey. As forage (nectar and pollen) becomes more readily
available with early spring flowers, egg laying by the queen will increase sharply. The colony will continue to increase throughout spring and into summer, going from something like 5,000 bees in winter to 40-50,000 bees by midsummer. The net result of this growth is an abundant supply of honey. A typical hive can produce between 60-150 lbs of honey per year - a nice trade off for all the hard work - and Steve is hoping that enough honey will be produced to keep many of his members happy. On my next visit, I will learn how to extract the honey and find out what happens in the hive during the late summer.
It is not until you see the scale and
precision of how these bees operate that you clearly understand one of the wonders of nature.
Useful websites: BBKA:
www.bbka.org.uk
Keeping Bees - Apiary Set Up:
www.barnsleybeekeepers.org.uk/apiary.html
pesticides are built on sound scientific evidence. This paper provides an independent assessment of this subject which will provide clarity and authority in order to help people make more informed choices.”
Paul de Zylva, from Friends of the Earth, also commented; “This project is an important step towards much needed public and scientific debate and scrutiny. The Government should support and fund both more open science and safer ways to grow crops as part of its National Pollinator Strategy due in July.”
Key facts
Since their introduction in the 1990s, the use of neonicotinoids has expanded so that today they comprise about 30% by value of the global insecticide market
Insects are important for pollinating many UK crops, including strawberry, raspberry, apple, pear, plum, tomato and many vegetables
The populations of both managed honeybees and wild pollinators were declining before the widespread use of neonicotinoids, with habitat change and honeybee disease thought to be particularly important causes
A series of experiments have raised the possibility that widespread neonicotinoid use may exacerbate pollinator decline.
Getting Started
Before you can start thinking about putting hives on our golf course, you will need to get your committee on board. This may include putting on a ‘bee talk’ for your members and educating them on the importance of bees and the benefits they bring, not only to the golf course but to the countryside as well. It’s also a good idea to inform them that they will be able to purchase cheap, pure honey from their very own golf course. I find this helps sweeten them up.
Getting a local beekeeper to help with the presentation is a good way of helping you to encourage your members and committee in supporting you.
Contacting the local bee association will help in many ways, giving you hands on experience of manipulating a hive of bees with expert advice and instruction. The association also conducts a fourteen week beekeeping course, which is spread over ten weeks of two hour theory sessions, and then four weeks working closely with the association’s own hives.
After completing the course, you will be given advice on buying your bees and possible contacts of other beekeepers with colonies to sell, plus the assurance that these bees are free from disease and reliable.
You will also be paired with a mentor whom you can call on for advice or practical help if confronted with a situation which is new to you. Access to the association’s library, plus the loan of a honey extractor and monthly meetings and apiary visits are also available.
During the course, you will be given advice on the types of hives available, sources of equipment and type required, setting up an apiary, getting your bees and collecting and moving them.
Getting Your Bees
Once you are a member of the association, they will be able to give you advice before committing yourself to a purchase, and may assist in looking through the bees with you to ensure they are in good health and disease free.
In my opinion, a nucleus colony is the best way for any beginner to start.
A small colony will be easier to handle initially, and will, hopefully, not try to swarm in your first year. It will give you great pleasure to watch it build up. There may not be much
honey in your first year, but a lot of good practice and confidence will be gained. After you have gained experience from your first season, you should consider introducing another colony as any problems can be rectified more easily with resources from another colony.
Nucleus Hive
A small starter colony is known as a ‘nucleus’, because it should grow into something bigger! A hive for such a colony is, therefore, known as a '’nucleus hive’ or, for short, a nuc. These are small hives that usually hold five or six brood frames. They are very useful for a number of purposes and every beekeeper will probably eventually feel the need for one. You can use a full hive, but a nuc is cheaper and smaller.
An experienced beekeeper will use a nuc for; holding a swarm, breeding new queens, holding small colonies, creating a colony from a new queen and creating queen-mating colonies.
Setting up your Apiary
Seek advice from an experienced beekeeper to help you before setting up your apiary. The Beekeepers Association have a leaflet - Choosing an apiary site - which will guide you during this process.
Some important points to consider whilst setting up your apiary are; always site hives where the bees’ flight path will not interfere with golfers, ensure that the apiary is on level ground and that there is good access for you. Access is important when transporting frames due to their weight.
Try to ensure that hives are given early morning sun and are not situated in a damp, shaded position. Water is also important to bees, so a pond or even a bird bath can be used to aid the bees. If using a birdbath, stones/peddles should be added to aid the bees as they will be able to stand on the stones to drink the water.
Always keep your apiary site clean. Do not drop discarded wax or syrup. If you do, pick or wipe it up. Have a plastic container to hand for such debris - the wax can be rendered and will probably be worth having.
Looking forward to our next article on Beekeeping on a Golf Course, we will be looking into building up a nucleus colony, hive inspections, equipment required and bee stings.
Edward Ainsworth, Head Greenkeeper, Avro Golf Club, Stockport
PC JUNE/JULY 2014 I 115
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