Best check I think and inspect for disease and leave be for the Winter. I can
attend Monday
Eric
________________________________
From: oxnatbees-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx <oxnatbees-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> on behalf
of David Gosling <dgosling49@xxxxxxxxx>
Sent: 13 September 2019 18:47
To: oxnatbees@xxxxxxxxxxxxx <oxnatbees@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: [oxnatbees] Re: Novice
Thank you for your knowledgeable advice. We had the hive delivered with a
resident, established colony and don’t really know how old it is or how much
honey is in there. Therefore, we’re unsure whether to open it or not. Should we
still wait for over a year to examine the hive?
Thanks again for your help, David Gosling
On Fri, 13 Sep 2019 at 13:36, Oxnatbees
<oxnatbees@xxxxxxxxx<mailto:oxnatbees@xxxxxxxxx>> wrote:
David,
in general Warre hives are only opened about once (sometimes twice) a year, for
a Spring (and Autumn) inspection, and I must admit I don't even open mine that
often, though I know how to if needed.
I intend harvesting honey from one of mine soon, after re-checking it will have
enough stores left. But my colony is several years old. The rule of thumb is
that for any hive type, you don't take honey in its first year: the colony
needs to build lots of comb, propolis the wallsof the hive, build up numbers
etc. You take honey once the colony is established and resilient, in year 2 or
sometimes later if they have a bad year.
(This rule of thumb doesn't apply to commercial bees bought as nucleuses /
nucs. They are sold with several frames of stores, essentially you are
transplanting a complete nest along with brood. The swarm method is superior in
several ways - less disease transmission, the queen gets to mate with local
bees - but some beekeepers don't want to wait over a year for their first
honey.)
To get honey from a Warre, the idea is that you harvest an entire box at a
time, not just a few combs. The downside is that In bad years (poor forage) the
bees may not have enough stores left in the other boxes. A Welsh beekeeper once
said to me: "I get the same amount of honey from my Warres and Top Bar Hives,
but with the TBHs I get a bit every year, and with the Warres I get a big lot
every 3 years."
I have 3 active Warres right now, plus one empty (dead) hive. I would not dream
of harvesting from the colony founded this year. Of the other 2 hives, one
seems to have excess honey. I am gauging this by observing through a window.If
you don't have windows, you can get some idea of the stores by the weight of
the hive, by tipping it without opening it - but I find this tricky.
Paul
On Fri, 13 Sep 2019 at 12:29, Eric Asher
<eric.asher@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx<mailto:eric.asher@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>> wrote:
Dear David
I as a fellow novice would be delighted to help.
I live in Long Crendon.
Eric
________________________________
From: oxnatbees-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx<mailto:oxnatbees-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
<oxnatbees-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx<mailto:oxnatbees-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>> on
behalf of David Gosling <dgosling49@xxxxxxxxx<mailto:dgosling49@xxxxxxxxx>>
Sent: 13 September 2019 12:03
To: oxnatbees@xxxxxxxxxxxxx<mailto:oxnatbees@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
<oxnatbees@xxxxxxxxxxxxx<mailto:oxnatbees@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>>
Subject: [oxnatbees] Novice
Hello, I have recently been given a warr’e hive. They seem to be happy with in
their new environment and very docile , wonder if their is anyone out there in
or around Banbury that could give the hive a ‘once over’ please. I believe
that it is a good idea for a someone who is more experience than us to be
present when we open the hive for the first time, although I have been told
that warr’e hives can be left alone without any interference? Also, wonder if
it is possible to obtain honey from a warr’e hive, although that is not our
first priority.
Thank you for your time,
David
I
