Extraction today … quite a few mixed frames of OSR and whatever followed it. Having spent the last few hours clinging onto the extractor I don't know why this bloke is smiling so much …
Fat-Belt-3.jpg
Extraction today … quite a few mixed frames of OSR and whatever followed it. Having spent the last few hours clinging onto the extractor I don't know why this bloke is smiling so much …
Fat-Belt-3.jpg
So there I was on Sunday tra-lalling about the patter of little bee feet etc. etc
Following my now good advice to our local association I waited until my husband returned and then weighed in. Amidst the raging kerfuffle of my horrid bees I was just exclaiming to my self about the 95% capped brood frame on the second frame in when smoker went out. As I was trying to relight it i realised too much tra-lalling had resulted in lack of concentration and I had two stings under the chin. Retreat called, off with all the layers and very quickly felt unwell. NHS 24 called (don't do this folks, just ring 999) and after being ill all over the bedroom the boys in green arrived and set about sorting me out. Blood pressure in my boots, which they failed to sort out so off to Raigmore it was, but nothing fancy like blue light. When I got there I was recovering and told I wasn't interesting enough for RESUS, where they were all waiting, so into A&E. Kept in over night given stuff for BP and out all OK the next day if a little shaky. A&E doc said it might be a conflict with a beta blocker that caused the sudden drop, and they gave me a couple of EPI pens, but was not told to give up beekeeping for good.
So the plan, and I would be grateful for any input here, is to turn beekeeping for this season over to my husband and some local friend beeks to help him. , There has been no sign recently of any swarming and both queens were late last summer supercedures, plenty of space with two brood boxes and 2 supers on each and masses of forage around here and the heather in under a month. So we will let them get on with it - they are so foul and if they do swarm they won't be missed.
Just before the heather is out we will take off any sealed blossom honey and give them back the wet frames to fill, along with the remaining super, with heather honey. End of September take off heather honey, do varroa control feed etc etc.
Meanwhile I have two gentle queens being raised in Drumgerry's apiary, the intention was to re-queen these hives with some of his lovely genes (well his bees genes, not his). I will bring them back here when its time for them to go into nucs and over winter them here. In spring kill off the grumpy queens and combine. Does this seem like a plan. I thought of killing off the queens in the autumn but this way I'll have a chance of getting more colonies through the winter.
I'm also going to ask my GP for a test to see how allergic I am. Meanwhile I will try not to go anywhere near them, but I miss the daily checking of what they are up to. Its a great shame as they have been such prolific bees and flying in all but the wet, through the cold and cloudy.
Onwards and upwards
Bridget
are you using a full bee suit Bridget ?
All in one I mean
When I wear a jacket and separate trousers they often get in
If you could see me dressed and ready to go Drone Ranger, you would laugh - every precaution including three layers including the full bee suit. My fault, I forgot to double check the velcro under my chin
I'd be tempted to requeen them sooner rather than later Bridget. But that's because I value the pleasure I get from beekeeping a bit more than the honey I get from beekeeping. Not sure I fully understand the "getting more colonies through the winter" comment … surely it's 2 (horrid colonies) + 2 (nucs with dg's genes) or just 2 requeened colonies? Although they'd probably be easier to requeen in the spring that's a long time away to be spent (having others) dealing with unpleasant colonies. I presume nucs overwinter well in your bee house?
Sorry to hear that. Definitely see your GP. There is a test called a RAST test, or at least there was when I went through this some years ago. It gave a 1-5 rating which lead on to a desensitisation course in my case.
Same with me, I've finished my extensive weekly venom jags recently & now on the monthly ones for the next 2 years. Apart from the start in the winter months, I've been at the bees without a break. I take a daily Fexofenadine 180mg tablet and carry an epi pen, double layer incl gloves (blue nitrile over leather). I was stung last week (right after my monthly jag) survived and although still a large red & itchy patch developed gradually over the 24 hours to peak the next day (this is a unique thing according to the clinicians I'm under), but it's no where as bad as what I was experiencing last year. My fault, I was too busy gabbing that I didn't zip my veil. However, it's a personal choice I'm lucky I have no other ailments, if I did or had full anaphylaxis I may of decided otherwise. H
Yes Gavin I will. This link provides some useful information about a new campaign to help people with allergies to bees.
http://beeresistant.com/
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Well I really do like honey Fatshark.....but one queen is not marked and will be really hard to find at present what with all their tempers. I don't think it fair to ask some else to work with these bees at present. By the time the brood has dwindled sufficiently and the heather stopped ( and we have three weeks away in Septemer) it will be early October and I am presuming that is too late to re queen. I over wintered a queen last year in the bee house. Mind you, when it comes to making up the nucs if they were better behaved we could try with the marked queen colony.
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