Wharfedale Beekeepers Association
As a follow up to the
donation WBKA sent through the Joliba Trust to assist beekeepers in
Our thanks go to Bruce Speed for preparing the following:
SOME IMAGES OF
BEEKEEPING IN
British bees are of
the species, Apis melifera although
the native British bee has been bred with bees from
This picture shows a
small apiary of British National hives (the most common type) within a walled
area, which gives them protection from strong winds and sheep, but most hives
are kept in the beekeeper’s garden like the ones below. The hive on
the right is double-walled for weather protection, where the white painted
outer boxes cover similar boxes to the National hive on the left. Bees
enter the hive at the bottom of the boxes. The beekeeper has removed the roof
and is puffing smoke under the crown board, which on this hive is made of clear
plastic, before he inspects the colony.
The picture shows two
boxes sitting on a stand with an alighting board at the entrance. The top
one (the “super”) contains surplus honey and the lower one,
separated by a queen excluder, is the brood box where the queen lays eggs and
there are also stores of honey and pollen to feed the larvae. When the
bees have settled after being smoked, the beekeeper will remove the top box and
check the bees in the brood box. He will look for the queen and
judge her strength by the amount of larvae, while looking for any signs of ill
health in the colony. Extra “supers” can be added if there is
a lot of honey, and the system enables honey to be collected without destroying
any bees.
The beekeeper stands
behind the hive as first fame is removed. When it is time to collect
honey, a one-way bee escape is inserted into the hole in the crown board (shown
here lying beside the hive) and the board placed under the
“super”. The bees go down through the escape leaving it free
of bees to be taken away for extracting the honey.
In British hives the
eleven frames fill the rectangular shape of the box with a bee-space of 10 mm
between, around the sides and below. The frame shows bees clustering over
capped larvae, which is surrounded by open cells of pollen and capped honey.
When a colony is
first stated the beekeeper will have constructed some of the wooden frames into
which a sheet of wax foundation has been secured. This thin sheet of
beeswax has been imprinted with the hexagon shape that the bees will draw out
into new comb. The wax has been strengthened with thin stainless steel
wire so that it does not collapse when the honey is extracted. The
picture below shows the wire as the bees begin to repair a damaged frame after
honey extraction. Extracted frames are returned to the hive for the bees
to repair and refill with honey.
There are many plants
that provide sources of nectar and pollen over several months of the
year. From March, some trees and wild flowers yield pollen and nectar,
and from April many wild flowers and garden flowers provide a source of both,
as shown in the picture of field and its surrounding of trees. The trees
surrounding this field include sycamore (Acer
pseudoplatanus), horse chestnut (Aesculus
hippocastanum), and Lime (Tilia)
all of which provide good sources of nectar from April to
July. The wild flowers in the foreground mainly flower in June and July.
Garden fruit trees,
and many shrubs and flowers also provide pollen and nectar through the spring
and summer months.
Commercially grown
crops such as field beans(Vicia faba),
borage(borago) and oil seed
rape (Brassica species) provide large areas of forage for
beekeepers near those fields. A crop of oil seed rape is shown below.
Oil seed rape is a
common commercial crop in many areas and, with its high sugar content, the
nectar is very attractive to bees and they will often work it to the exclusion
of other nearby sources of nectar. However, it presents a problem for the
beekeeper because the honey crystalises within a few weeks and will become too
hard to extract and difficult for the bees to use for brood food.
In parts of Yorkshire
and other areas of
Because heather honey
is so highly prized, beekeepers will often take their beehives from their usual
home to the heather because, even if they do not extract the honey, it provides
their colonies with a good store of food for the winter when bees cannot
forage. The colonies shown in the first picture and below have been taken
to a site near heather. If it is a good year on the heather, the colonies
will also be strong will a lot of healthy bees ready to survive the winter, like
the one in the picture.
Beekeeping in
Bruce Speed
Wharfedale Beekeepers Association
May 2009
Gallery
Our members are keen
on photography, and here is a small collection.
Feral Honey bees 
Kettlewell 17/06/2007
