Peeblesshire Beekeepers' Association

PBKA Photo Gallery

Granny Grey ones: last summer we enjoyed Granny Grey's hospitality again at Smeaton: the demonstrator was Kenny Borthwick, who keeps hives there, foraging on beans and oilseed rape in East Lothian. After the demonstration Granny Grey gave us a tour of her walled garden, and then treated us to a wonderful tea.

 

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We had 2 visits to Gencis' apiary just outside Peebles - he's just started beekeeping and had bought some of Jim Bogles colonies. They came through the winter OK but the cold, wet spring and summer have caused problems there, as well as in many other apiaries. The first visit allowed us to see the problems first hand - queenlessness, one colony ready strong and ready to swarm, one with a drone-laying worker, and one which had died out.
Our demonstrator, Walter Brodie explained the problems and possible solutions: we returned a month later to see how the various procedures had worked out.
They were:
a queen from a cast swarm introduced to the queenless hive
the large colony was demareed, and then used to create another colony
the drone layer was evicted by emptying all the bees onto the ground away from the hive, and introducing a frame of eggs from the strong hive.

All procedures worked well on our return visit with Geoff Goldstraw demonstrating: one particularly strong hive was selected to take to the heather. (the hive with lots of bees)
One of the hives had produced a fine harvest of lime honey from the nearby lime trees: it was good year for lime honey, for anyone with colonies close to limes.

Mandy

 

 

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Jim Bogle 1933 - 2011

Jim Bogle completely at ease with the bees, no veil, no gloves, doing what he loved most, teaching the youngsters beekeeping. Photograph by Tom McGravie.