It is the time of year when our bees should be sleeping. They deserve a rest after the effort they have made to provide us with honey this year. The bees got fed in the autumn. This is extra nourishment as they will have stored some food themselves to replace the honey our team harvested. The Community Bee honey is purchased by Weaste plot holders. The money raised goes into the upkeep of the hives, suits for our bee keepers and other bee keeping equipment as and when required.
The Community Bee Keeping team are volunteers – currently from our plot holders. They spend a couple of hours per week from spring to autumn ensuring that all is well in the hives. Extraction time is busy and heavy work often assisted by other local bee keepers and honey harvesters. Volunteer to be part of our team if you have the knowledge and time please.
It is a balance when harvesting the honey to ensure that they are left with as much natural food as they need to survive the winter months. It depends on the number of bees, and a spring balance is used to weigh them. Additions of special foods which are a sugar syrup like substance. Looking after the bees gives some people a great sense of purpose and keeps them close to nature.
Disease Free Sleeping Zone
We cannot be caught sleeping at this time of year. Healthy bees are the key to a good following year. The colony of bees need to be strong and healthy. The team check for varroa virus taking action as required. This is also a time of year when the BBKA hold exams for bee keepers.
The bees will be sleeping or dormant in the hive throughout the wet and cold months of a North West UK winter. Extra insulation can be added with a layer of polystyrene. Whilst they need to be warm and dry the bees also need air flow. With the storms that have been getting stronger each year in January and February it is also good to weigh down the hive roof. Strapping or bricks are good for this job. The hives we have are national types, which are boxes with flat roofs. None of the fancy hives that are often seen in movies!
Unwanted Visitors
It is down that mice like to have a cosy place to return to in the winter as well. What better than a bed for sleeping in and a sweet supply of food and in an insulated mousetel! Mouse guards are useful to put on at the end of October when the bees are clustering and not strong enough to get rid of an intruder themselves. The entrance will also need to be reviewed as dead bees can block it. A little shuffling around makes it uncloggable on-going.
Beekeeper Support
At Weaste we are lucky to have a number of plot holders who have bees on their plots. Some are for honey and some are for queen rearing. We are also lucky to have had assistance from bee keepers who are not plot holders as some of our team have gained experience.
The Manchester & District Beekeepers’ Association (MDBKA) is located nor far from us at Doewr House in Heaton Park. If you want to see how it is done then a visit to their viewing area, extraction room and apiary will let you watch the bees (best to go in the active months of spring and summer). They also sell the honey at their visitor centre. Another great place for bee viewing is with Volition who work with people bees at Manchester Cathedral (up-date March 2022 – Salford Cathedral viewing area).