Sounds good Karen :-)
Just one last thought....
Regarding the idea of mitigating the impactof "your bees"on the forage
of other bees in your area.....It's unclear whether they mean other wild
colonies of "honey bee" living in your area or simply other bees "in
general". (They might not know what they mean of course !! which
wouldn't surprise me). If they mean other "wild" colonies of Honey
bee, then in reality you can do very little about that. If they mean
OTHER bees in general (say Bumble bees and Solitary bees) then I don't
believe there really is much competition anyway. The difference is
that Honey bees are looking for different things to "other" bees in my
experience. Honey bees want quantity and willfly long distances ("up
to" three miles if you believe the books) to find large areas of flower
to forage on, for example, a hedge row full of hawthorn blossom or a
willow tree or a field of oil seed rape, whereas Bumble bees and
solitary bees will be delighted with individual plants. Honey bees are
effectively looking for a "crop" and when you watch them leave the hive
when they've found something interesting you'll see they're full of
purpose. They all leave with speed and direction, they don't hang
around to see what's on the doorstep, they know where they're going.
Having said that, you still need to be seen to be taking the committee's
concerns seriously ..... so it might just be"politically correct" to
plant some "bee friendly" plants around your allotment anyway, whether
they have any real effect on the local insect bottom line or not.
Attracting pollinators onto your allotment is a great thing to do anyway
and may well help with the general health of your plants but it will
also at least "look like" you're doing something about your allotment
committees concerns (/been there done that too.... I was Allotment
secretary for Oakley allotments for several years and I couldn't believe
the absurd negativity I received "from some" when I asked if I could
keep bees on my allotment/..../and I was on the committee !!!!! /).
Therefore.....
I'd suggest you start by planting....*Borage; *a packet of seeds will go
a very long way. Borage is an annual but it will reseed itself and
return year on year. Simply pull it out where you don't want it and
you'll be able to forget the issue there after). It's also drought
tolerant and you can add the flowers to salads and Pimms so you could
think of it as a crop :-D .... (Out of interest, apparently honey bees
can forage Borage (lol) in the rain because the flowers hang down like
bells). Lunch under an umbrella, what's not to love ha ha
Another suggestion is *Sedum.* Sedum is in flower now, so it's one of
the last nectar rich plants of the year and I have seen honey bees on
the Sedum in my garden only this week, although that's probably only
because we're now at the end of the year and they're grateful for
anything they can get just now. Sedum is well known for attracting lots
of pollinators and as it is a succulent, it won't take any harm if you
don't water it either. Something to consider if you have to carry all
the water to your lottie ! It's also perennial, as hardy as they come,
and dead easy to propagate from existing plants but you can also buy
seed :-)
Another plant that attracts pollinators that I'd definitely have a go at
is *Purple Verbena (bonariensis).* Again a cheap packet of seeds from
any garden centre will fill your allotment with plants that will also
reseed themselves. It's also a hardy perennial and again drought
tolerant so shouldn't need watering. It also makes great cut flower so
you can take some home to brighten your kitchen (see pic) ....win win.
The last plant that comes to mind is a little *campanula* that I have
here in my garden (again see pic). I don't know the variety as I've had
it for so long but it's very pretty, low growing, ever green, flowers
prolifically in late spring to early summer (also sometimes has a second
flush in autumn) and when it's in flower it's *permanently* covered in
insects, especially hover flies and bumble bees. It's also a hardy
perennial, totally frost hardy and will seed itself around but it
doesn't go bonkers and seed everywhere, it just plants itself nicely
around the edges here and there, (see pic). It's also drought
tolerant. I've had this plant in my last three gardens for over 30
years now and wouldn't be without it. I have saved the seed from this
year's flush of flowers to take with me when we move again very soon....
so if you'd like some of that I can let you have some seed.
Again I hope that's of some help Karen
Good luck and let us know how you get on :-)
Ann
On 15/09/2019 20:32, Karen Giles wrote:
Amazing thanks, I think this is the way I’m going to go. I also think I’m going to offer to do the closest bit of mowing myself, I have a hand mower and think this would offer a quieter solution and I can always wear my suit while doing it.
Thanks again really good info.
Best
Karen
Karen Giles
Senior Design Engineer
Black Dog Design Ltd
t: 07790 908144 <tel:07790%20908144>
e:karen@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx <mailto:e%3Akaren@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
On 15 Sep 2019, at 15:07, Ann Welch <ann.welch123@xxxxxxxxx <mailto:ann.welch123@xxxxxxxxx>> wrote:
Hi Karen,
I've Attached some pictures of the bees at Buckingham Garden Centre for you to have a look at. These hives have been in that location to my knowledge at least three or four years and are in a very public place, (the path you can see in the picture showing the outside of the trellis screen is a public path). The owners clearly don't see these bees as a problem for either their staff or the customers given the screening they've provided which is about 5 feet or so high (not including the peeks of the trellis). I'm 5 ft 5 and I can see over the top at the sides which don't have those peeks. The green mesh has quite a close weave, you could use debris netting which isn't too expensive (see pic). Given that you will want to work on your allotment without a bee suit and quite close to your bees it might make life much easier if you make them their own little enclosure similar to this.
Also don't assume that if they're docile when you first get them, that they'll always remain docile ! Their character may well change as they build stores and have brood to protect or if they're being stressed by something....like a lawn mower for example. Taking proper precautions from the start might avoid someone getting upset with you.
It might also be very worth while keeping a hat and veil handy, both for you should you need it and to offer the chap that mows the grass to wear if he's going to mow anywhere near your bees. He may well be grateful and again it could avoid a problem for you.
The only problem I see with the proximity of the children's play area is when your bees swarm. It's conceivable that they could end up in the play area. Having said that, I'm sure the children will not go near them but you might end up with an audience when you go to catch them. Actually I live right next to a kiddies play area myself and that was one of my biggest concerns and when it did happen (three times) I was fortunate that I saw the bees go each time. They landed in the hedge between my garden and the field but luckily whilst the children were still at school. I sat on the swing and had a play in my bee suit whilst waiting for them to all go into my swarm box. It was very pleasant ha ha. It's not an over used play area thank goodness.
I hope that's of some help,
Good luck
Ann
On 14/09/2019 20:58, Oxnatbees wrote:
Karen, here's a bit of a late reply. There was a meeting today (more on that in a blog post). It went on much longer than anyone expected!<Buckingham garden centre bees 2 2015-02-25 12.49.46.jpg>
/
/
/> I’ve been given the go ahead for up to 3 hives on my allotment! (I’m starting with 1 next spring!)/
Congratulations!!!
/> I am hoping to tap into your expanse of knowledge regarding facing position and best location to benefit the bees./
/
/
/> I have a corner plot with a large hedge along one side and a barb wire fence between my plot and a horse paddock on the other. To complicate things there is a children’s park about 100m (the opposite direction to the paddock) away which I have been asked to mitigate against bees heading for (not sure that’s possible?!) /
Most people in the northern hemisphere point their hive entrances East or South East_if feasble_. I suspect it doesn't really matter and you see them pointing in all directions. The idea is that the morning light comes in and wakes them up early, then they go out and get more nectar. Now, they definitely get up earlier. I rotated my hives 45 degrees to test this and the bees immediately began flying half an hour earlier. Whether this means they get more nectar is questionable though! If you watch honeybees they are very scent-driven and they do not land on flowers in shade, the flowers must be sun warmed before honeybees feed from them. (Whereas bumblebees are not put off by cold.)
What is usually more important is the flight path. So for example Ann Poulter had some hives in a side passage next to her house. It was shady, and the bee entrance could only face one way, but the bees were fine.
So, most important is whether the flight path of the bees crosses a path / area used by humans. Almost as important though is whether it is near horses. That's because unlike most animals, if a horse is stung it does not run away. Its instinct is to kick out, This could knock over the hive. So you want the hive at least a few feet from the horses.
One trick people often use is to put a head height barrier in front of the hive entrance. For example a fence or hedge. This forces emerging bees to climb above head height before flying on. They tend to cruise at that height - presumably it takes more energy to move up/down than fly horizontally.
Of course a barrier like this can shade the entrance. But as discussed above that is probably not too important. I was going to use a bean fence in front of one (plans changed) - I reckoned this would let some light through but discourage the bees from barging straight out. It's the last few feet before the entrance that are where stings happen, partly because the traffic is concentrated there, but also because the bees zoom straight in / out and don't expect to find a mobile object (you) in front of them.
As it is an allotment you will be near the bees, and sweating. You can expect the bees to find you are a delicious salty drink. You don't want their entrance to face a bed you will work a lot. Helen pointed out a while ago, don't grow plants with pungent saps neat the hive because if you crush them it alarms the bees.
Here is a factor you may not have thought of: ideally the entrance should be a good distance above the ground, for example 12 to 18 inches. If it is down near the ground, it will be in the zone where damp and mist accumulate overnight. Also if you have a stand with legs, you can wrap copper tape round the legs to stop slugs creeping up.
Also in our climate, you ideally want the hive to be in shade from noon on. Do you have any trees on your plot or next to it?
Can you tell us -
- what type of hive you will be using
- which directions (north etc) the sides are on (send a sketch?)
- how big the plot is - if it is small it may constrain you
/
/
/> The final point raised by our council was regarding competition for food with “wild” bees (yes I explained that all bees are wild!!) and whether I can do some planting to mitigate the honey bees effect on other bees food sources. I have to be honest this is not something I’ve given much thought to but any thoughts on this and any planting suggestions would be welcome./
Hmm well some plants are no use to honeybees with their little short tongues, but fine for bumblebees and butterflies. Red clover? I'm hoping someone else can answer this query as it's not my area of expertise.
Paul
<Buckingham garden centre bees 4 2015-02-25 12.49.51.jpg>
<Bucks gardencentre bees 3 2015-02-25 13.01.32.jpg>
<Bucks gardencentre bees 2015-02-25 12.49.16.jpg>
<145g-m-debris-netting-1-1.jpg>
Attachment:
Purple Verbina.JPG
Description: JPEG image
Attachment:
Sedum 2.JPG
Description: JPEG image
Attachment:
Sedum.JPG
Description: JPEG image
Attachment:
Borage.JPG
Description: JPEG image
Attachment:
Campanula.jpg
Description: JPEG image
