Wow amazing advice! I’m sure they meant all bees other than honey bees so I
shall pass on the knowledge to appease the council and I shall get shopping,
thanks so much.
Karen
Karen Giles
Senior Design Engineer
Black Dog Design Ltd
t: 07790 908144
e:karen@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
On 16 Sep 2019, at 12:14, Ann Welch <ann.welch123@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Sounds good Karen :-)
Just one last thought....
Regarding the idea of mitigating the impact of "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 will fly 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:<Purple Verbina.JPG>
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
e:karen@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
On 15 Sep 2019, at 15:07, Ann Welch <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:<Buckingham garden centre bees 2 2015-02-25 12.49.46.jpg>
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!
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
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