Just to let every one know that my new colony is doing well. Stores, and Bees in various stages of development all doing well.
Think I have found someone near Pau to supply me with Br Adam swarms. Should have them next month. Want at least one Br Adam colony to put in a friend's garden, but i am keeping in mind that he has young grand children visit. Although it is a big garden, and hive will be taped off, I want to lessen as much as possible the risk of little ones being stung.
Me too, had Nats in England but here Dadants but don't really notice much different.
Hi Chris. I am using Dadant hives, although I learnt to handle Bees in the UK with Nationals.
Thanks Brian. I will check out the links tomorrow afternoon. Off now to feed our remaining puppies; eight left out of seventeen. Also got twelve big dogs to feed and settle for the night.
What hives are you using Alan?
Chris
Try http://www.sagapiculture.fr/ who are Dordogne and Gironde, or http://www.bee-evolution.com/ who are ?? (forgotten) and as a last measure perhaps http://www.adaif.fr/ who are Paris region but have contacts all over. Otherwise just look for Apiculteurs in you local phone book and ask if they have spare colonies or are splitting at present.
Thanks for the link Brian, however it appears that they only sell Queens. As the colony I have is new, I do not think it would be good splitting them and giving them a new Queen.
The urgent issue is getting an other couple of colonies to get me going again, so I think at this stage I will settle for SW Mongrels. However, I still have the problem of finding a supplier. ApiDistribution and La Rouge have already off loaded their colonies for the year, so any contacts would be welcome.
I agree but when I looked at the price of Buckfasts here in France in March when Alan told about his existing one I looked out of interest. If it wasn't already my hair would have gone white! Alan is not so far from me and there are no Buckfast sellers hereabouts so it would be a distance proposition anyway. Personally I would go for SW region mongrels too but if someone really wants Br Adams then they might as well go to an accredited dealer and given German Imkereiregeln (Apiary regulations) which are very strict, hohum... Seems steep to me but then my old beekeeping pals in England have written about £80 for colonies (!!!!) a couple of years ago. €50 hereabouts is normal and swarm collecting even better.
Good Lord, is that the price of a Queen on it's own? You could buy a colony for €50 or €60 albeit a mongrel, but then I prefer mongrels they are stronger.
Just as a matter of personal opinion I'm opposed to imported bees and would always go local, but each to their own.
Chris
I know a German company, just quickly downloaded their link but must rush with dogs already on leads:
http://www.buckfast-zucht.de/index.php?la=en&seite=shop
PS, the site is in English, but need any help just ask, I am bilingual in English and German.
Further to my post of the 28th march, just heard that he supplier can o longer deliver Bees to Toulouse or Bordeaux. Moreover, he is no longer supplying individuals and is sending me a refund!!For reference the company is http://www.eurobeestock.com/. In short, I only have one new colony and no idea where to get another couple of colonies, peferably Br Adam.
Anyone any ideas or contacts? I am prepared to travel.
O by the way, my one new colony is thriving.
Thanks Brian and Chris
I am going to put them in the hive in the next hour. We have plenty of Blackthorne and two Plum trees full of blossom, with another just coming in. Also our Cherries are just showing signs of blossom. This colony I ordered last October via Api Distribution in Bordeaux. Of the other colony, which should have arrived last September, but I could not collect from Toulouse due to my holiday, i have had no news even though were paid for last May. The last i heard was that he breeder would deliver this year.
Very good point. You are only spitting distance from me Alan. Forecasts for the next couple of days take the temperature up to 18 - 20 Saturday, cooler and raining by Monday, so good day to transfer them. Enormous amounts of forage about. Blackthorne is the best I've seen since 2010, cherries all opening, plums, peaches just finishing, dandelions, celandines, pulmonaria, gorse... I had some Buckfasts about 15 years ago and really could work them without gloves, they just walked all over me, literally. As Chris said, nice gentle bees. If it is a good summer they really do work and give us a few decent jars of the amber stuff.
I assume if they are in a rushette they are an existing colony in which case you can open them immediately without any worries because it's their home. If that is the case you can transfer them whenever the weather is warm enough, 15° + is the accepted norm.
Feeding shouldn't be necessary at this time of year there is so much forage. Here we have plum, cherry, blackthorn, apricot, dandelion and loads more.
Nice bees Buckfasts, nice gentle and cuddly. Have fun.
Chris
It is a good question, but if the queen is OK they will start feeding and return. It's a good foraging time, so the colony should expand fast. I have never closed them in myself and my beekeeping 'guru' certainly never told me I should. At a rough guess that would be 38 years ago, so I think on my own form no need.
Collected my first new colony of Brother Adam Bees this morning from Blaye. At the moment they are still in the ruchette. Planning to transfer them in the morning. Should I keep them closed up for a few days, and should I feed them with some syrup? I can ot get any candy till tomorrow afternoon. Early response welcome.
Many thanks
Generally agree but all depending on how much there is wherever, distance always. Rapeseed, never had luck with it in the east of England where it abounds but none hereabouts anyway. Buddleia and forsythia are pretty, end of story. Sweet chestnut is great but there needs to be plenty around. Otherwise seasons vary. Bramble is quite short in SW France so disappointing and for all the maize we have near enough for the little women, they seem not to go for it. Wild flower meadows can be good, cornflowers are good, thistles can be, ox-eye daisies keep them going. Ivy as you say. It is a toss of the coin and after keeping in three very different places. I also reckon bees have tastes of their own almost by the hive. Whatever, I had healthy, very busy colonies this year but they have given me nothing. There's always next year.
You know what they say, ask 10 bee keepers a question and you will get eleven different answers.
so here's my take.
Budleia and Forsythia are useless for honey bees, in fact Forsythia doesn't do much for anything but looks nice. Budleia will only see a honey bee in desperation, great for a handful of butterflies, hover-flies and a some other insects.
If you are stuck in rural France away from plenty of flower gardens then there often isn't much that produces an excess and obviously what there is will depend on your region, all carry their risks and benefits.
OSR (Colza) gives a good spring yield if the weather is good and warm enough, not every bodies ideal taste but gives the bees a rapid spring build up with an excess, needs to be removed fast and spun before it sets.
Tree fruit, apple, pear, cherry, plum etc are all good but risks of cavalier spraying by both producers and "gardeners".
Hazel for early pollen, willows for early pollen and nectar.
Blackthorn as mentioned but probably more interesting to other types of bee, butterfly and insects.
Lime trees are great (pollen and nectar).
Sweet Chestnut yields well, (pollen and nectar), but generally it's a cooking honey for most people due to its bitter taste.
Sunflower I find great and my customers queue up for it.
Bramble is fantastic for honey bees and so many other species as well.
Maize is only good for pollen but for that it is excellent and arrives here in south Vienne at a good time of year.
Ivy is totally magic for taking bees into winter but not for production.
Most wild flowers don't attract honey bees, not to any extent anyway, some of the native herbs are best if you have the right habitat.
Chris
Clover good, have a lot in the lawn. Good for the sheep also. Will try and get more into the fields!!
I'm fine, confusing the medics. Off to Libourne to see my neurologist tomorrow as it happens. Lots of tests and nothing conclusive.
OK, bees. Pines, forget 'em. oak has a short flowering season so not the best. Gorse is good but maize is a curse and sunflowers give really uninteresting honey, which is not just my opinion. The things you should encourage are clover which has a long season, still going strong here, buy a big bag of seed at any agricultural cooperative and scatter now. Next year it be up. Gardeners hate it, bees love it... Cornflowers are good, ox-eye daisies not bad, both have long seasons. Other wild flowers depend on the year, wet or dry and so on but good. I would love to get some honeysuckle going, it is not called that for nothing. If it covered the blackthorn (as long as I get my sloes) I don't mind, otherwise most creepers are a waste of space for pollen. Foxgloves and a few other woodland flowers are pretty good. Think I've about exhausted my head now and must go to stoke the stove or no hot water!
Best of luck with it though.
Thanks Brian.
How are you keeping?
It sounds as if our boundaries are very similar, blackthorn and brambles. I can extend the meadow flower sowing to about 400 sq metres, but outside our boundaries it is all uncultivated grass and mixed woodland, about 500 metres away (mostly pines and oaks). Some gorse around, and maize and sunflowers usually around 2k away.