Measure twice, minimize as soon as – The Apiarist

Swear typically 😉

I’ll return to cursing shortly … bear with me.

The autumn solstice is lengthy gone and we’re quick approaching the tip of British Summer time Time . For many northern hemisphere beekeepers which means there could also be 5 months of ‘not beekeeping’ earlier than we begin yet again.

In fact, there are issues we’ve got to do with the bees within the intervening interval.

The hive entrances have to be saved clear to allow them to get out on the inoffensively named ‘cleaning flights’ when wanted. There will likely be a winter miticide therapy to use … most likely lengthy earlier than midwinter. It’s also necessary to keep watch over the load of the hive – notably as brood rearing begins in earnest in late January and February – to make sure the bees don’t starve.

However these three issues aren’t going to fill something like 5 months, so there may be sure to be a while ‘spare’ over the approaching months.

The elasticity of time

Though the 12 months accommodates twelve about equal size months, these of us who hold bees in temperate northern nations expertise a surprisingly warped calendar.

That is what it seems like … the beekeepers 12 months

Apparently the months solely differ in size by ±3 days. Might and December include the identical variety of days, however Might disappears within the blink of an eye fixed, whereas December can drag on interminably.

Weirdly there seems to be an inverse relationship between the accessible daylight to work in, and the period of time it feels as if you have got accessible to really get the assorted beekeeping duties accomplished.

This absolutely defies the legal guidelines of physics?

All of which implies that beekeepers typically have little free time in the summertime and ample free time within the winter.

Some sensible beekeepers have a busman’s vacation and go to New Zealand to tour apiaries (and – extra to the purpose – vineyards).

Others meet up with the entire non-beekeeping actions that apparently ‘regular’ folks do … just like the adorning, or constructing mannequin railways, or flamenco dancing .

Getting artistic

However in the event you nonetheless need to dabble with a little bit of beekeeping – within the broadest sense of the phrase –  by the chilly, darkish days of December and January there are all types of issues you are able to do. 

A few years in the past I wrote an irregular column for my then beekeeping affiliation on do-it-yourself (DIY) for beekeepers.

It was irregular as a result of my use of punctuation has all the time, been suspect, and since it didn’t seem every month. 

That column ultimately morphed into this web site .

In truth, a number of the very earliest articles had been virtually lifted verbatim from the beekeeping month-to-month publication.

I wrote about DIY as a result of it was one thing that:

• introduced me loads of satisfaction
• saved me a couple of quid
• improved my beekeeping

Now, a decade or extra later, I nonetheless use the winter months to do nearly all of my beekeeping-related DIY .

It’s solely within the winter that I’ve the time to suppose issues by correctly earlier than rummaging by the wooden offcuts field and truly constructing one thing.

Measure twice, minimize as soon as

Which brings me again to the beginning of this publish.

The motto for beekeeping DIY may very well be one thing like:

Measure twice, minimize as soon as, swear typically

Nonetheless, having recognized an issue, there’s virtually as a lot enjoyment to be gained from pondering it by to a workable resolution than there may be from the precise woodwork.

However Assume heaps, measure twice, minimize as soon as and so on. doesn’t have fairly the identical circulate.

And, as we’ll see beneath, it doesn’t need to be woodwork.

So I can fortunately fill a couple of hours on a darkish November night desirous about enhancements to a hive stand that would address 1500 mm of rain a 12 months and really uneven floor , or how one can finest assemble the detachable slides for a Morris board.

And by finest right here, I imply for lots lower than the £30 charged for the industrial ones .

Morris board … that’s £8.25 please

A part of the pondering includes how one can deal with the venture with the restricted vary of instruments I’ve. I don’t have the area or the talent to personal a bandsaw, or a thicknesser , or a router.

Virtually the whole lot I construct makes use of a mixture of Gorilla glue, Correx, hand instruments, blood , wooden offcuts and a few actually wealthy Anglo-Saxon phrases.

My DIY expertise are legendary, and never in a great way, however the good thing is that the bees couldn’t care much less. 

Fats dummies

Many of the varied issues I construct develop from concepts that happen throughout the ‘energetic’ beekeeping season.

If it’s wanted urgently I’ll cobble one thing crudely collectively and use it there after which. Nonetheless, it’s unlikely to have acquired a lot thought (or care in building) and so I’m greater than more likely to ponder the way it may very well be improved as soon as I’ve a bit extra time.

I learnt the fundamentals of queen rearing from the late Terry Clare at a BBKA Annual Conference and couldn’t wait to have a go myself.

Fats dummies – mark 1

I used the Ben Harden queenright queen rearing strategy. This wants an higher brood field with many of the area ‘dummied down’ to pay attention the bees on the grafted larvae. For this you want a few ‘fats dummies’ . I constructed my first fats dummies one afternoon utilizing gaffer tape and Correx (see above) and later that April reared my first queens.

However that winter I had time to do a bit extra analysis. Dave Cushman’s web site described fats dummies with integral feeders.

Intelligent.

These would clearly be an enchancment – except there’s a robust nectar circulate you typically need to feed the colony – so I constructed some. 

Fats dummy mark 2 … with integral feeder and insulation

Mine are nonetheless in use … and never only for queen rearing. They’re filled with polystyrene insulation … an embellishment I assumed up . I can use them to cut back ’empty’ area in a brood field occupied by an undersized colony. In truth, with two of them, I can overwinter a four-frame nuc over a robust colony to offer heat from beneath.

Downside fixing

As I mentioned earlier, the issue fixing is a part of the enjoyable. 

I exploit loads of Correx. That’s the fluted polypropylene board that’s used for political posters and For Sale indicators.

Sourcing it’s typically not an issue in the event you’re ready to do some homework.

It’s light-weight, sturdy, accessible in a spread of cheery colors … however most significantly it’s used for political posters and For Sale indicators.

So, it’s typically free.

And that’s a phrase all beekeepers like 😉

Look forward to a common election and hunt down a candidate who has suffered an ignominious and humiliating defeat. Ideally one during which they’ve each misplaced their deposit and and any remnants of help from the political celebration they had been standing for … and ask politely.

And For Sale indicators are much more simply obtained. All the time ask … and keep in mind that it’s dangerous type to take away them if the home has but to be offered.

However there’s an issue with Correx. You can’t glue it with any regular glues. It’s bought some form of floor coating that stops glue from adhering correctly. 

Consider me, I’ve tried.

There are particular glues, however at particular costs 🙁

Roofs

I needed to construct some hive roofs from Correx however needed to resolve how one can fold it ‘throughout’ the longitudinal flutes, after which how one can stick it collectively in a manner that will be weatherproof.

Pizza cutter … take care scoring the Correx

The folding bit was simple … it seems that individuals who hold guinea pigs use these items to make the cages and runs for his or her cavies. And after an hour or two studying about another person’s (bizarre) obsession I found {that a} pizza cutter was splendid for scoring Correx previous to folding it.

The glue I labored out for myself. I constructed a few dummy roofs and held the folded corners along with zip ties or common gaffer tape, zip ties and common gaffer tape, or some (claimed) waterproof tape.

Of those, the waterproof tape – particularly Unibond Further Sturdy Energy tape – labored very well. 

Sticky stuff …

And stays the one one I’ve discovered to work.

It is advisable to evenly sand the floor of the Correx and ideally degrease it with some solvent. I nonetheless have roofs constructed 8 years in the past with the unique tape holding them collectively. They value me £1.50 every to construct as I had to purchase the Correx as the one For Sale indicators I had had been too small.

Right here’s one I made earlier

Many of the issues I’ve made have been by one or two iterations of ‘enchancment’ earlier than I’ve ended up with one thing I’m glad with.

The Kewl flooring I virtually completely use lately had been an enchancment of the unique design I constructed, however have additionally had a couple of extra modifications. 

My honey warming cupboard – one of many first issues I ever constructed – was modified after a couple of years by the addition of a fan to raised flow into the warmed air. This considerably improved it.

The issues I’ve mentioned above are all good examples of why it’s price spending a while within the winter performing some artistic pondering and DIY :

• industrial Morris boards are costly and (I believe) have entrances which are too massive
• I’m not conscious of any commercially accessible fats dummies … please appropriate me if I’m improper
• nobody sells hive roofs (or tremendous carrying trays) for £1.50
• my flooring are perfect for the beekeeping I do and considerably cheaper than something related accessible commercially
• my honey warming cupboard is used to heat supers earlier than extraction, to soften set honey and – as a result of the temperature management and warmth distribution is nice sufficient – has even been used as a queen cell incubator

Electrickery

This winter I’ve three tasks to entertain me.

The primary venture is the second iteration of my DIY transportable queen cell incubator. The primary of those was cobbled collectively earlier this 12 months. Though it labored – roughly – it was removed from passable.

Mark 2 is at present being stress examined.

It’s being examined.

I get careworn.

Queen cell incubator – mark 2 … a piece in progress

I’ve managed to realize actually good temperature management. Nonetheless, I’m at present scuffling with uneven temperatures at totally different areas throughout the field. They barely fluctuate, however they’re not the identical.

Nice temperature management at a spread of (totally different) temperatures

Grrrr.

I’m fairly positive that is solvable and that will probably be doable to construct one thing higher than is obtainable commercially for about 10-15% of the value .

However, virtually extra necessary than that, will probably be an issue I’ve solved that fits me, my bees and my beekeeping … which will likely be very satisfying.

The second venture is a set of hive scales. A number of others have tackled this drawback and there are some actually intelligent and complex options on the market.

The plan is for mine to be the precise reverse.

Easy, and never very intelligent in any respect.

Testing is ongoing 😉

Software program, not {hardware}

And the ultimate venture is software program, not {hardware}.

All my honey jars have distinctive batch numbers. These permit the person apiary (and bucket) to be recognized. The batch quantity is generated by some PHP or perl scripts and used to print a QR code onto a Dymo label affixed to the again of the jar.

QR code containing a batch quantity

However that monochrome pointillist sample accommodates a hidden internet handle as effectively. The purchaser will have the ability to level a cell phone on the code and get extra details about the honey . 

Having offered honey ‘from the door’ for years I’m unsurprised when patrons need to know extra about native bees and the accessible forage … and with these labels they will (and do).

I’ve written the scripts to deal with label creation and logging/redirecting ‘views’. I now have to write down the applications that create the personalised internet pages with the native info lifted from the backend database.

And, with solely ~165 days till I subsequent count on to open a hive, I believe I’m going to have my work minimize out to finish any of those tasks.