New Arrivals at Spike Towers

Saturday 30 June, 7:33 a.m.

The doorbell at Spike Towers rings loud and long.

BKJ2, having been up and about for quite a while, and being much faster than her old Dad, gets to the door first and throws it open.

On the step is The Royal Mail Special Delivery Guy clutching a reasonably sized and well sealed parcel. 

The parcel has dark, meshed-over holes on three sides and a large (and grammatically ambiguous) "FRAGILE BEES KEEP COOL" label covering its fourth side.

BKJ2 turns and launches herself into a Paul Revere-style charge through the house, announcing joyously, and at high volume that, "The Bees Have Arrived!" 

It's an alarm call that propels an instantly awake BKJ1 to the front door faster than the proverbial speeding bullet. 

The Postman, fair play to him, seems totally unfazed by the whole experience. 
He gets BKJ2 to make her mark on his electronic signing device and he listens politely as she excitedly tells him just what's in the box.
LandofSpike suspects that he may well already know.

Job done, Mr Postman breezes off.

So with the front door now firmly closed, LandofSpike, BKJ1 and BKJ2 are left standing in the entrance hall of Spike Towers looking at, and listening to, their New Box.

It's buzzing.

Or, to be more precise, whatever's inside the box is buzzing, and it's doing it rather loudly.

Buzzing

The box, as BKJ2 has already told us, contains the prospective new residents of the BeesofSpike Apiary.

A Five Frame Nucleus of Buckfast Honeybees.

It is, of course, these little fellers that are making all the noise.

They've had a long overnight journey from the Welsh Borders so they're entitled to be a little grumpy.

But their journey is almost over.

Mrs LandofSpike now appears and firmly but calmly, informs LandofSpike that it would be best if he, and his box, were to relocate themselves into the garden at the earliest possible opportunity, preferably a long way from the house.

Calming down... nowhere near the house

Again, fair play, because the loud buzzing noise does seem like a rather angry loud buzzing noise.

So off to the newly christened BeesofSpike Apiary they go.

LandofSpike lashes the box to the hive stand with his Hive Securing Strap, just in case it decides to topple off sideways.

Best to be on the safe side...

Nicely strapped down

That done, LandofSpike left the bees to settle in their traveling box for a few hours, and having missed breakfast in all the excitement, took the opportunity to grab himself a cup of tea and a large, nutritious snack. 

LandofSpike was now alone with his bees.

He read his instructions so he could plan what to do next.

Then he read them again. 

And then he read them again.

Several further rereads later, he suited up and decided it was about time he opened the box.

He had no idea what to expect but his task eventually proved to be extremely simple.

Y'see, LandofSpike might have been a tad apprehensive, but those bees, well, they knew what to do.

The door's under that label

The Nuc was still strapped to the hive stand, with its currently sealed and hidden entrance positioned as close as possible to where the entrance of the hive proper would be situated.

On the front of the Nuc, the big sticker which said "open using flap below" told LandofSpike where the door was concealed. It was possible to feel the edges under the exterior packaging.

The packaging was removed and the small entrance was revealed.

There it is

LandofSpike looked at the door for a long time and then, with the point of a craft knife, he gently and carefully flicked it open...

And the bees came out.

LandofSpike stood and watched.

And out they come

Still coming out

They seemed pleased that their confinement was over and set about immediately checking out the area, flying around the Apiary and crawling all over their box.

They were busy but not angry in the slightest.

However closely they were watched by the bloke in the white spacesuit, however many close up photos of them he took, they totally ignored him, so keen were they to get on with their Beestuff.

Are we still in Wales?

After a short while LandofSpike noticed that something special was happening.

A group of bees were standing by the door, their heads down, their abdomens pointing upwards and they were beating their wings.

They were fanning the Queen's pheromones from the hive into the air to announce to the colony that this was now their new home.

Later on that day bees started returning with pollen on their legs and it was obvious that they were now also already happily foraging.

With a seemingly happy flight of bees now bedding in, LandofSpike decided to leave them to settle overnight. 

Tomorrow, it would be time to transfer them, on their 5 frames, into their new permanent home.

Their momentous move will be documented in the next exciting instalment of the BeesofSpike, coming soon to this very blog.

Your Bees are in the Post

LandofSpike has ordered his bees.

A Five Frame Nucleus of Buckfasts.
The Queen's already marked, which is good, as that means LandofSpike won't have to risk squashing her to death trying to mark her himself.

She's not clipped but that shouldn't be a problem.
The Nuc will be Varroa treated before despatch and will have brood eggs and flying workers.
And, happily, it's all on National frames which will slot right into the Beebox.

They're due to arrive at Spike Towers by registered post in a couple of weeks.

LandofSpike's postman, I'm sure, will be delighted.

Yes, he's delighted

On the one hand LandofSpike is really rather excited about the Imminent Bee Arrival, but on the other hand, he's seriously wondering what on earth he thinks he's playing at.

Up Above the Ground... Bees on Stilts

LandofSpike and BKJ1 have built a stand for the Beebox.

It needed one.

Because Beeboxes like to be raised above the ground.

There are several reasons for this:

a) Working at a Manageable Height

If the hive is positioned too low or too high it's going to be a difficult job hefting honey-laden supers and brood boxes.
Even day-to-day inspections are more arduous if the box is positioned incorrectly.

Ouch to beekeeper back problems.

b) Fresh air

Keeping the hive away from the ground helps to minimise problems with the damp and helps with the ventilation of the hive.

c) Creature Incursion

An elevated hive helps keep crawling insects, especially ants, at bay.

Setting the legs in a margarine tub of cooking oil is a good idea. The sea of oil is a good insect barrier.

CONSTRUCTION

Making the hive stand was a simple enough job.

LandofSpike made it 30" long x 20" wide.

He used 4" x 2" lumber to construct the hive stand and fixed it together with 5mm x 75mm screws.

LandofSpike's Secret Blueprints

The platform was designed so the base of the hive would be at 14" above the ground.

The back legs continued above the deck level to form an end stop for the rear of the hive.

At the front a landing board for the bees was fashioned from an offcut of 15mm planking and it was held in place by some strategically positioned supports.

Without landing board

And with landing board

Once completed the stand was given a couple of coats of garden wood preserver. 

The landing board was painted with the more bee-friendly Dulux Weathershield. 

A landing board isn't really necessary but it's nice to watch the bees crawling around on it rather than just darting efficiently into their front door.

Apparently they like a highly visible landing area so it was painted a highly visible Classic Cream colour.

Weatherproofed stand with hive and landing board

LandofSpike now has to do a little more work on the western borders of Spike Acres before it is fully transformed into the new BeesofSpike Apiary. It just needs a bit more screening along its eastern edge, some more grass and a bit of weatherproofing.

Then all we need is some Livestock.

Living in a Box... Some New Accommodation

It's all very well waxing lyrical about the splendour of being a beekeeper but at some point our beeless blogger does need to have some actual real-life contact with his own boxful of bees.

It does cost though.

So LandofSpike has eventually had to bite the bullet and release funds from his Empire's not particularly vast Reserves of Wealth.

Over the last few weeks Purchase Orders have been raised and orders have been placed.

Subsequently, the Post Room at Spike Towers has been kept busy receiving regular deliveries of Bee-related Equipment from a worthy array of suppliers.

It's very tempting to list all the exciting new arrivals but this post will put aside hive tools, bee brushes and smokers for the time being and deal with our Most Important Piece of New Kit...

The Hive has arrived.

It's rather smart.

It's from Finland and is called The Beebox.

It takes National frames and is made not of cedar but is lovingly crafted out of EPS.

Yes, that's Expanded Polystyrene. 

Not particularly traditional in this country, but hopefully functional, user-friendly and warm in the winter. And with any luck, the bees will love it.

LandofSpike and BKJ1 have spent some time piecing it together and painting it.

It comes flat-packed and slots easily together.

The unpainted Beebox

It currently comprises of (from the top down) a roof, an inner cover, a top feeder, 2 supers, a queen excluder, a brood box and a base with varroa mesh and tray. And a big strap to tie it down.

The Beebox has a cool entrance reducer

Modern Beekeeping recommended painting the Hive with Dulux Weathershield Smooth Masonry Paint. 

So it got several coats of the stuff in different colours for the different components.

LandofSpike thinks it looks pretty good.

How it all fits together

The boys have also been constructing a big stack of frames.

The delightfully and cunningly designed Hoffman ones.

Ten full size frames for the brood box and ten smaller frames for each super.

Frame components

Completed frame

It's a goodly task once you get your rhythm and is extremely satisfying.

BKJ1 was particularly good at it.

LandofSpike will spend some time on frames and frame making in a later post.

The Beebox, painted, but still masked up

So with the Hive now looking box-tastic the next task is to make a stand to keep it well above the ground.

LandofSpike will be lovingly handcrafting this himself.

Anyone who has seen his previous attempts at woodworking will have some idea of exactly just how magnificent this will be...

Deforestation and the Dawn of Empire

The area which marks the Western Boundary of Spike Acres has been a bit neglected of late. 

For example...

And...

So it was with some trepidation that LandofSpike and Beekeeper Junior Number 1 made their way through the undergrowth armed only with standard issue machetes, some homemade napalm, a compass and a fully stocked toolbox. 

Their mission?

To clear a space for the Land of Bees.

More wilderness

Actually, it wasn't too bad.

The vegetation put up only a token resistance and in no time at all sackfuls of the green stuff had been hacked away and a clear earth floor had appeared beneath their feet.

Predictably, removing all the ivy, dust and detritus of the ages from the nooks and crannies in the wall and fence revealed some critters so grisly that even the bug-loving BKJ1 had to think twice before approaching them. 

home to some pretty sizeable MiniBeasts

Several of Shelob's relatives seemed to have set up camp in the ivy and leaf litter under the Boundary Fence and they seemed none too pleased to be disturbed. A couple of the brutes even decided to attack each other. We let them get on with it.

BKJ1 also found a grub which was, frankly, enormous. It turned out to be a stag beetle larva. Sadly there's no photo of this colossus as LandofSpike was so flabbergasted by its immense bulk he forgot to photograph it.

One major consideration when setting up the Land of Bees was that the site needed to be as unobtrusive and as secluded as possible. 

A nicely concealed hive makes for a happier human community. It would also give the bees a calm area in which to get on with their work unimpeded, and isolated from the rest of Spike Acres.

So screening the area on all sides was going to be essential and, possibly, a bit pricey. 

Luckily, during the day's excavations, LandofSpike was able to unearth and salvage some willow screens left behind by the previous civilisation that had colonised the area in a bygone age. 
Largely unaffected by the passage of time, the screens were ready to be re-erected and restored to their former glory.

Evidence of an Earlier Civilisation

Perfectly preserved and re-usable relics

Meanwhile BKJ1 made a great job of converting a reclaimed pallet into a sturdy beekeeper platform. 

New slats were nailed into place and then the whole thing was given a liberal coating of weatherproofing paint.

BKJ1 contemplates his handiwork

The reclaimed willow screen was in great nick and with some judicial trimming and a bit of frame construction it has given the Land of Bees excellent protection on its western and northern borders.

Well, at least it looks less wild than it did 3 hours ago

So that's it for the time being...

Before the Beebox can be installed, the southern and eastern boundaries still need to be screened off, the ground needs to be leveled and the wooden bits still need some more weatherproofing. 

We also need a little weatherproof box to keep all the beekeepery kit in.

However, neat and tidy as it is, that bare earth does still look a bit unsatisfactory.

Fortunately, LandofSpike has spotted some big chunks of turf in a skip very close to Spike Towers.

It looks very much like that discarded grass needs to be liberated and given a new bee-friendly home.