I am almost too excited for words!
A couple of years ago now I bought Neel a beekeeping course as a birthday present. He has always been keen and really enjoyed the course, so ever since then we have been working up to a time when we might be able to get on with actually keeping bees.
It turns out our near neighbour is also keen and had arranged with a beekeeping friend in the village to keep his currently unused National type hives in her garden. He would also offer his help and expertise. So the Hepworth Beekeeping Club (I have made this up – there is no name as yet) was born.
All we had to do now was wait for a swarm of bees in our local area. You can buy a nucleus of bees to start you off but this can be expensive so we were willing to wait. Neel spent the time buying a bee smoker, a hive tool, wax foundation sheets and a bee suit in a fetching camouflage print. I should point out that the camouflage is not so that the bees can’t see you. The idea is that if you have a hive in a busy public area (in a park or wood for instance) it is easier not to advertise the fact that you have a hive to anyone who might want to steal it. Sadly, thefts of whole hives do happen.
We spent some time preparing by putting a new wax foundation sheet into each of the wooden frames within the brood box of the hive. This gives the bees a head start when they arrive and makes sure that they use all the available space on the square frame to make their cells. Bees can smell the wax and so for a while we did have a few interested local bees checking out the hive.
We were resigned to the fact that we might not have bees this year as swarms aren’t guaranteed, but every warm day this week we have crossed our fingers and hoped. And then it came, the phone call we had been waiting for. Our beekeeping expert friend was off to Stowmarket to collect a swarm that appeared in someone’s garden! As it turns out our neighbour had also just collected a swarm from a friend.
The bees arrived in their nuc box (a small hive used to transport them) and within minutes Neel had suffered his first sting (apparently it is better to get this over and done with and to be fair he wasn’t wearing his suit). The next morning (fully suited up) Neel helped transfer the bees from the nuc box to the hive. This involves shaking the frames over the hive and then letting the remaining bees in the nuc box find their own way. We then left them with a sugar syrup meal to keep them going whilst they are making themselves at home and building cells for the first larvae. We discovered that overnight in the nuc they had already started building wax cells!
We are really enjoying watching their comings and goings from the hive. I admit I hadn’t appreciated just how amazing bees are and already I have been astounded by their craftsmanship. Our expert friend is now hoping to find a swarm for the second hive so with any luck we may have honey this year. Perhaps we will be selling it on the campsite next time you visit!
