Recent callers may have noticed both a new number and new voices at the other end of the line. We have been running two numbers for a while but the old 01548 number is now being discontinued and we are using 0844 888 0573. This is a local rate number so calls to it will not be expensive - it is not a premium rate number. The new voices you will hear are our new help as the company has grown significantly this year and we have brought in extra folk to take calls. Only one of them is a beekeeper and a new beekeeper at that but they will take down any technical questions you may have which they cannot answer and pass them to me for my attention. I enjoyed and learned a great deal from answering your calls in the past but the business has now grown to the extent where I can no longer devote the time to answer every call individually. I hope our long established customers will understand the need for this change. I will now be devoting my time to new products and ensuring we do not run out of stock quite so often as we have done recently!
We have now added an option for Saturday delivery to the checkout process on the website and telephone callers will also be able to use this method which will be available for any order up to a maximum weight of 10 kg. The cut-off time for orders is mid-day on Friday, after which any order placed with Saturday delivery will be delivered the following Saturday.
We are trying hard to improve our delivery and scored a remarkable success with a delivery to the Orkneys the day after the order was placed. However, I am acutely aware we have also goofed on a few orders too. Hopefully, the new staff taking orders (compared to the forgetful old bloke doing it before) will ensure these errors are a thing of the past. Our aim is next day delivery wherever possible and we are achieving this in the majority of cases when orders are placed before about mid-day. If you place an order in the evening you can expect the order to be despatched the next day and be with you the day after. We cannot commit to do this with every order just yet but we are working towards this. Where there is urgency please call us and we will try and give your order priority.
The hive entrance reducers have finally arrived and are now available. They can be found in the section called Hive Components 1 on our website. You can also see one of the reducers fitted to a hive at the bottom of this Newsletter.
The entrance reducers are reversible, used one way up they reducer the height of the hive entrance to a single bee space high and inverted they close off the entrance completely, as shown in the image below. It is easy to tell which way up is which - the side with the cut-outs at the ends is the side which will close off the entrance. The straight side is the entrance reducing side.
The entrance reducer also acts as a mouse guard as the entrance is too low for a mouse to squeeze under. My own hives have been run for the last few years with an entrance reduced to this height and I have not had any problems with mice or wasps at any time in the year. For those used to wooden hives, particularly Nationals, it may seem odd to have an entrance reducer which does not reduce the width of the entrance, but a low entrance is very easy for the bees to defend and this design is well proven and will work very well. If a colony is particularly weak and you wish to close the entrance still further, then simply trap a small strip of foam under the entrance reducer so the width is also reduced.
We also have similar entrance reducers available for the new 6 frame nuc boxes. These are being sold only as a pair as the nuc box has two entrances moulded into the floor. Whilst on the subject of nuc box entrances, please note the 1.8kg entrance feeder we stock does not fit the entrance of the nuc box. There are images which seem to show this but the feeder shown is the smaller 1 kg model which we currently do not stock.
The final item for the nuc box is the internal dividing board which can be used to split the nuc into two 3 frame nucs. This is specially shaped and is quite a tight fit and the frame runners will need to be slight notched where it contacts the board. When you come to fit the board you will see exactly where to relieve the plastic. It is easily done with a sharp craft knife and will not interfere with the operation of the nuc when the board is removed, but please take care when cutting the notch and keep your fingers well out of the way of the blade.
We took delivery of an initial consignment of Dadant 4 * 10 professional smokers a couple of months ago and these have sold well, so much so we have sold out. New stock will arrive shortly and the range will also include the smaller Dadant 4 * 7 smoker, which we believe will be popular amongst beekeepers with a smaller number of colonies but who appreciate a quality made product.
We will also shortly be stocking at least one varroa control product.
Queen Trap Anti-Swarm System
The long-awaited queen trap anti-swarming system also arrived last week but unfortunately, after all this wait we found a problem with one of the components. Our supplier has accepted the items are not correct and will be replacing them but this means the system will be further delayed. The first proper picture of the system is shown at the bottom of this Newsletter. The system is shown fitted above a brood box and below the first super and will normally be fitted when the first queen cells are discovered during routine inspection or at the start of the swarming season even though queen cells have not yet been found. A super is not essential as the system will also work under a roof, which is how it is likely to be used early in the season.
The normal hive entrance is closed off with one of the new entrance reducers and a second entrance is opened above the queen excluder. To encourage the bees to find the new entrance quickly a small branch or sloping board can be used to shield the old entrance, but the bees will find their way to the new entrance in their own time if this is not done. The system works by simply preventing the queen leaving with the prime swarm but unlike the use of a clipped queen she will not be lost and will remain in the hive to be re-joined by the flying bees a short while later. After this point things can go a number of ways: either the queen cells will be torn down or one or more new queens will subsequently emerge. If the latter occurs the old queen may be killed and one new queen will remain having killed off all rivals or a single new queen will remain present with the old queen - supersession. If the old queen survives the swarming fever and the queen cells are torn down by the bees there is every likelihood the bees will try again later. In these circumstances we would recommend a new queen, either reared yourself or purchased, is introduced to the hive.
The hive should be returned to normal after 3 to 4 weeks to allow any new queen time to mate, after which the system can be refitted or re-opened and the cycle continued. It is not essential to physically remove the system as the upper entrance can be closed with a normal entrance reducer - which is all it is in the picture below although it is being used in this case as a flight board.
We anticipate some scepticism amongst beekeepers as to the efficiency of this system but it has been trialled for 12 years in Finland on over 1500 colonies and has thoroughly proved itself during this extended trial. The colonies with the system fitted continue to work as efficiently as any other colony and if anything may even work better. This is believed to be because the majority of returning foragers go straight up into the supers and do not deposit nectar in the brood chamber, reducing laying space for the queen. The foragers which go down into the brood chambers are mostly the ones carrying pollen. With the queen trap anti-swarm system fitted drones are also trapped in with the queen but the experience of the extensive Finnish trials is this does no harm to the normal working of the colony. The drones escape when the system is removed.
We anticipate the queen trap anti-swarming system will be attractive to bee farmers because by preventing losses due to swarming it will maximise yields. It will also reduce workload as inspections for queen cells can be suspended once the system is fitted although normal checks for health, disease and ensuring the queen has space to lay must also continue. It will be equally useful to the smaller beekeeper with just a few hives. Used either as a complete swarm control measure throughout the swarming season or else used for a short period if the beekeeper wants to go away on holiday and be assured the bees will still be there when they return. In an urban setting it is important to realise the system will not stop the bees setting out to swarm, so a cloud of bees will still issue from the hive, to the possible alarm of neighbours, but the bees will return a short time later, sometimes 20 minutes although we have seen the time as short as 5 minutes with the bees not even settling before deciding to return to the hive.
Of course no system is completely fool proof and we cannot guarantee this system will never stop your bees finding some way to swarm or abscond, but 12 years of experience on over 1500 colonies in Finland suggest this new product is as close to 100% effective as any method of swarm control can ever be. It does not harm the normal working of the hive and the bees will continue to forage although some disruption is inevitable if a new queen is created and the old queen killed.
Once the replacement parts arrive we will have this new product on our website together with full instructions covering assembly and use.
John Laidler
Modern Beekeeping
21st July, 2010