The Derbyshire Beekeepers Association

From DBKA Website

Frequently asked Questions

If you're looking on some background information on the Association, or you'd like to join and need contact details or a membership application form, click here. If you're thinking of keeping bees click here.

Upcoming Events

Current and upcoming events in 2008 from the events programme. All events are open to members and any person with an interest in beekeeping, Get in touch with us if you need any further details about any event.

Tuesday 7th July 7.30pm

Informal association indoor meeting at the Comrades' Club, Crich

Saturday 11th July All Day

Thorne's (http://www.thorne.co.uk) Open Day at Wragby in Lincolnshire

Saturday 18th July All Day

Alrewas Show. Burton Branch will have a display and sales stand

Saturday 25th July 3.00pm

Apiary Meeting at Ruby Wright's Apiary near Ashbourne

Hints, Tips and Jobs for This Month

Hints from the Informal association indoor meeting for the month of July.

July is the month of the main honey flow when beekeepers should capitalise on their careful management that they have exercised throughout the season. The season could be forward in spite of the recent bad weather. If it happens to turn warm in combination with high humidity we could expect a large honey flow.

Removing honey: look at our removing honey procedure in, “What to do in May”. There it explains the step by step method of removing the frames from the supers and transferring them into a spare. We also point out that it is beneficial to remove honey from the hives first thing in the morning preferably if the temperatures during the previous day might have been on the cool side.

Remove supers from the hives. Store in a warm place and make provision to extract as soon as possible. Set up and prepare your workspace. The equipment you are going to need is as follows: an extractor, decapping knife, something to put the cappings in, such as a bucket or tray, a J cloth and a floor cloth. Be prepared to wipe up any spillage as you go.

Hold each frame in a vertical position over the decapping tray and cut upwards. The advantage of cutting upwards is that you can see what you are doing but be careful to keep your hand away from the knife. Put the frames into the extractor and in doing so try to evenly distribute the weight to get an even balance. If the extractor is unevenly balanced it will tend to move around all over the place and be difficult to operate. Turn the extractor slowly and try to detect any unbalance, if necessary move frames around. Continue to extract the honey slowly first a couple of minutes one way and then the other. As soon as the load becomes lighter you can then safely increase the speed. If there are any frames containing granulated honey you may need to reorganise the frames to re-establish the balance. If you are operating a hand wound extractor try to spin evenly and not in jerks, sudden increase and decrease in speed might burst the combs. One important thing make sure the tap is closed at the bottom or else there could be a sticky floor (honey runs silently). Most extractors can extract two supers full of honey, drain it off before the level of the honey reaches the frames. Drain the honey through a coarse filter into a settling tank. Whilst it is draining you can be reloading the extractor with more frames ready for the next extraction. Continue with this process until extraction is complete. After extraction you might need to scrape away any granulated honey that was not extracted through the normal process.

Let the honey stand for about 48 hours so all the air bubbles can rise to the surface, then skim away the surface residue. You should now be left with good clean honey. The honey can now be bottled or stored in storage buckets. As you are draining the settling tank, check to see no further residue has accumulated, move it away from the exit tap and lift out if you can.

Bear in mind when harvesting honey, don’t leave the colony destitute, leave some honey on. Remember the colony has a higher bee population at this time of the year than it did around early springtime, so ensure there is sufficient super space. If conditions turn cool in August they might need that food.

If you are selling honey through a third party ie shops, then you need calibrated scales or scales with crown stamped weights to weigh each jar of honey. The scales must be traceable back to the national standard. Also the labelling must be correct, see the BBKA web site. The Association has purchased a set of weights for calibration purposes. These weights can be borrowed from the association by individual members to check the calibration of their own scales and record any deviation in calibration.

Moving hives to other locations: many beekeepers this time of the year move their hives to either the heather or other apiary sites. The main rules for moving hives is that the distance must be more than three miles or less than three feet. Before moving the hives whether it is to the heather moors or another apiary site we assume you have the landowners permission and the site is prepared. The equipment required to move hives are; travelling screens, hive straps, entrance closures and a vehicle to move them. This process is best carried out by two persons, as hives are heavy and might cause injury if one person tries to lift a hive on his own. Prepare the hives ready for removal the day before the day you intend to move them. Remove the roof and crown board and place the travelling screen directly onto the top super. Temporarily replace the crown board and roof and allow the bees to come and go as normal. Close the bees in last thing at night. As it gets light at about 4.00 am this time of the year it is appropriate to close the bees in last thing at night. After you have closed the entrance, take off the roof and crown board and replace the roof over the travelling screen in a diagonal position like a cocked hat. This will protect the bees if it rains during the night and also allows enough air to circulate. Place the hives on the vehicle so that the frames are in line fore and aft, so any sudden braking will not make the frames move so thus not causing unnecessary suffering to the bees. Stack hives entrance to entrance to minimise the chances of the entrance closures coming loose. Also this provides a cushioning effect, which will minimise any vibration. Roofs and crown boards can travel separately or be packed around the hives to limit any movement.

If you are transporting the bees on a long journey say more than sixty miles and it is warm, spray water over the travelling screens. Sometimes there is an advantage in moving bees in the rain and when it is cool. At your destination lift the hives off the vehicle onto the hive stands. Place the hives so their entrances are facing different directions, this prevents drifting and robbing. Remove the straps and place the crown boards directly onto the travelling screens with the roofs on top. Finally remove the enclosures. Make sure you can account for the same number of entrance closures as you have hives. The travelling screens can be removed at a later date if needed. It is not a good idea to remove the travelling screens as soon as they have arrived they as need to settle.

For more information, feel free to attend the monthly meeting at Crich

All notes to date are available here