At present i have heaps of honey bees around the place, specially the two 15m maple trees. I am guessing they coming from the guy across the road(about 250mts away) who has hives. What things do i need to be aware of when i put my own hives/bees in?
maples are a wonderful source of nectar…and honey [quote=“nic351, post:1, topic:3354”]
What things do i need to be aware of when i put my own hives/bees in?
[/quote]
************ In what respect?
If you are looking to have bees of your own and you are concerned they may “fight” with the bees from you neighbor, don’t be. Although honeybees may rob honey from other hives, This usually happens when the hives are next to each other. With the maple trees you have, it’s probably easier for them to get syrup from the trees than to rob any hive further away.
I’m guessing you don’t have your Flow Hive yet, right? If you receive it in winter, unless you buy a nuc (which you probably won’t be able to get until spring) You won’t be able to get bees to colonize your hive until march…
And you might get yourself a mentor which will be useful.
Unless he has a penchant for Buckie or Carnis
There’s absolutely nothing to be aware of in relation to the bees across the road. When positioning your hive, be aware that bees are attracted to lights & night. Also you need to face the entrance away from walking traffic & where you mow your lawn.
I agree with Jeff, in fact your neighbour may be a great mentor and its always handy to have an extra pair of hands when needed or a second opinion.
Thanks for the information. I should have better framed my question. I was wondering about the robbing of the hive which was answered thanks. And any chance of spreading diseases…
I am getting a hive or two to start before the flow hive comes in feb 2016. My neighbor is going to interduce me to the old mate over the road so i hope he is the helping type. I was told to bring one of the meat chickens for his freezer to soften him up…ha ha… i finally got in touch with local beekeeping group and contacts for beginners course…
If i do want bee’s they will be ready in 6 weeks after the guy is finished doing farmers crops…
Thanks again for all the advice and ideas…
Very nice… what an ideal situation, that fresh chook is worth its wait in gold… very jealous robbing and disease is always an ever present risk but can happen anywhere anytime so I would get too hung up about. Keep your bees as natural as possible in a sunny position with access to fresh water and make sure they have plenty to forage on (remembering they can travel 5km away for food) thats the best you can do for them.
Well done Nicola, I love the barter system, however I don’t think you’d need a meat chicken to soften him up. Most beekeepers are happy to share information. Although it wears a bit thin when you give someone good advice & they ignore it. After a good while I started charging for beekeeping lessons. It was nice the other day a bloke who did a class with me phoned me & told me he’s getting plenty of honey.