Beemaster's International Beekeeping Forum

MEMBER BULLETIN BOARD => GREETINGS/TELL US ABOUT YOURSELF => Topic started by: purplemat on April 09, 2013, 06:02:06 am

Title: New to the forum
Post by: purplemat on April 09, 2013, 06:02:06 am
Hi everyone , I'm from the UK I live on the outskirts of Stafford I've been keeping bees for a year now but have just discovered that my first colony has died over winter  :? not sure why as they had plenty of Honey left in the hive and were alive around 3 weeks ago when I checked them during a warm spell we we had .... anyway enough of my troubles , I intend to set up a couple of bait hives and buy a new colony this week to be installed in April , I'm looking forward to sharing my experiences and learning from you all.
Title: Re: New to the forum
Post by: Joe D on April 09, 2013, 10:33:12 am
Welcome to the forum, Purplemat.  I had one hive that was doing good, then a few weeks later they were all gone.  Better luck this time




Joe
Title: Re: New to the forum
Post by: Steel Tiger on April 09, 2013, 11:24:52 am
Welcome and good luck with your bait hives.
Title: Re: New to the forum
Post by: 123_Bee on April 10, 2013, 08:15:20 pm
Hi :)

Good luck with your bait hives. Have you put your name on your local club's swarm-wanted list?

Last year was a bad one for getting virgin queens mated, it rained too much. Early autumn was too cold for thymol to work properly, and December was too warm for a guaranteed brood break needed for oxalic acid to be effective, so some beekeepers used Apistan or Apivar instead. Winter has gone on for too long, there still isn't natural pollen available in some parts of the country.

You won't be the only British beekeeper who has lost bees, but if you have pictures of your dead hive there are people on this forum who might be able to tell you why your bees died.

P.S. You will probably want to change your location in your profile, at the moment you're 'hopelessly lost'.
Title: Re: New to the forum
Post by: Georgia Boy on April 10, 2013, 08:49:04 pm
Welcome and sorry for you losses.

I can only hope the same doesn't happen to me next year.

Good luck with your bait hives.

David