Bee hive

[wolfie]

Excellent work Wolfie. no one else mentioned it but as duty Safety officer, I couldn't help notice your PPE didn't stretch to gloves? I'd have though bee stings to the hands would be rather painful, although I know their supposed to help with arthritis. So did you get stung or are they really well behaved bees? I assume your friend is a more experienced chap, giving you a guiding hand? Essential I should think when starting up in this game.

Hi Simon

Yes my mate is a work colleague and good friend ....he,s mentoring me , he has a few seasons behind him , which id agree its essential .

The bees were smoked from above and to calm them down , they retreat into the brood chamber ( bottom section , which we didnt enter ) , as you can see not many bees were visible considering their is probably 5000 + in there !

PPE is essential , but not using gloves is common place and allows the keeper to move smoothly and deftly thro the frames

When i open up the brood chamber il be wearing gloves rest assured .

Neither of us got stung whilst we checked the frames .

Ive been stung once since i got the bees , during the first couple of days when i was feeding them sugar water at the hive entrance , so much for my kindness in feeding them after their swarm flight LOL .

Regards

Wolfie

[ValeTudoGuy]

I love Bees, but one ofmy true fears in life is bees swarming. I had to remove a beehive from a rabbit's hutch a couple years ago and so i made a makeshift bee auit and smoked them. As i was moving the hive they just went crazy and created a moving cloud of primordial anger.

My bee suit worked and I never got stung but it was terrifying and awfully claustrophobic to be surrounded like that.

Not something I wouldrush into again.

On the other hand, my 4 year old couldnt care less about being stung. He loves picking bees and wasps (well any small creature) up. He gets stung on the hands regularly and just nonchalantly tells me "Daddy, I just got stung."

It how I learned that bumble bees dont have barbed stings, they can sting repetedly like a wasp..

[Horsebox]

[MENTION=13402510]ValeTudoGuy[/MENTION] I didn't know that about Bumblebees. Assumed that they were goners after 1 sting.


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[ValeTudoGuy]

[MENTION=13402510]ValeTudoGuy[/MENTION] I didn't know that about Bumblebees. Assumed that they were goners after 1 sting.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

So did I, they are formidable little creatures..... Hillarious in flight though. But it's a mirracle they can even take off. Lol

[wolfie]

a day with the bees

spun and jarred up the honey

equipment ready

[ValeTudoGuy]

Hows it taste?

[wolfie]

a day with the bees

frames removed from the hive

removing the capping ( bees wax , protecting the honey )

[wolfie]

a day with the bees

spinning the honey

[wolfie]

a day with the bees

sieving the honey a double strainer

[wolfie]

a day with the bees

bottling up the honey

[wolfie]

a day with the bees

labels on......

il have better labels next time , got these in a rush

just got hessian jar covers to make later

24 and 3/4 jars produced

left the bees with all the wild comb , some frames of honey not yet capped with wax and all the brood chamber , this will be more than enough to get them thro the Winter

had a fantastic day

[wolfie]

Hows it taste?

Myself and a mate tasted it , we both considered it tasted like toffee apple !!!!!!

very smooth and a creamy finish on the palate

very more ish we thought , the finish was quite short and then you wanted to taste more

obviously i had no control of how it would taste , just with my location i hoped for something good

have to say im delighted with it

[Johnny Thunder]

That is absolutely fantastic. Well done wolfie.

[ValeTudoGuy]

Good stuff! Is the Wax a byproduct? If so do you have plans for it?

[Emaresee]

Myself and a mate tasted it , we both considered it tasted like toffee apple !!!!!!

very smooth and a creamy finish on the palate

very more ish we thought , the finish was quite short and then you wanted to taste more

obviously i had no control of how it would taste , just with my location i hoped for something good

have to say im delighted with it

Interestingly i reckon what is matketed as greek honey generally tastes of toffee, and sometimes eucalyptus based honey can taste similar....so i wonder what nectar your bees have been collecting