Beekeeping is an un-bee-lievable experience. I was buzzing to try it.
Yes, already the puns are flying. I may have got a bit carried away with them when writing up this new experience. I apologise now.
A More Risky Wildlife Encounter
Earlier in the year I’d experienced some insects up close when I was a keeper for a day. I’d come away from that unscathed. Spending a day around bees had much more potential to inflict me with pain!
I couldn’t bee-lieve how much I learnt about the fascinating lives of these intelligent little insects in just one day. They are utterly amazing. They are intelligent and they are bee-rilliant. (I’m off again!).
The occasional bee flew through the barn. It was full of beekeeping paraphernalia strewn on shelves and across tables. I was one of eight potential future beekeepers that eagerly settled in for an in-depth course in Scarborough.
Our Tutor Had Earned His Stripes
We started with a nice cup of Yorkshire tea and introductions.
Dave was running the course, qualified by his many years of experience and the huge number of hives he has dotted across the North Yorkshire coast.
Ably supported by his friend and fellow beekeeper, the day consisted of theory in the morning followed by lots of practical.
No Bumbling Along On The Day - An Experience To Try Beekeeping
There was a structure to the course, but it was a very informal day and all questions about beekeeping were most definitely encouraged as we covered lots of topics including:
- Safety. Yes, bees can sting us, but we can do a heck of a lot of harm to bees too. So we learnt about the best ways to protect ourselves, and the bees.
- A brief history of beekeeping. You won’t bee-lieve how far back it goes! We gained a fascinating insight of how beekeeping has evolved, in order to understand more about how it is done today.
- Hive types and parts. If we’d gone straight to look at a working bee hive, we’d probably have been too distracted by the sudden close proximity to the bees. In the safety of the barn we learnt about the different components that make up a hive.
- Apiary location. Anyone wondering how much space is need to keep a beehive, (also known as an apiary), and what locations are best, had all of their questions answered and plenty of top tips.
Surprisingly, you don’t need a huge amount of room to keep bees, and if you position the hive entrance about a metre from a fence, the bees will simply fly up and away over it. Clever little things hey?
- Disease recognition and control. Sadly bees are susceptible to disease and it’s important for anyone keeping them to know what to look for so it can be identified early.
- Swarm control. The last thing any budding beekeeper wants is to lose their bees through swarming. It’s completely natural bee-haviour, but there are ways to control it.
Bee-spoke Outfit
Our pre-course instructions had said to bring wellington boots to protect our feet, and to wear long sleeves. They can’t guarantee you’ll leave sting free, but they do everything they can to minimise the chances.
Zipping up my all in one suit made of a fairly heavy duty material, I pulled the ridged hood over my head. The mesh on the front seemed a bit nearer to my nose than I might have liked. I’m sure I’ve seen much bigger nets on people beekeeping on tv, this felt very close to my face.
‘Pollen’ on the latex gloves, they made a satisfying thwack as I released the cuff. You need to be able to easily move your hands to inspect the hives and these were perfect. Dave had also learnt that the bees don’t like this type of glove, so if they do take a rest there, they won’t stay for very long.
(Honey) 'Comb'-ing Up Close - An Experience To Try Beekeeping
There were a few more bees flying about as we went around the corner of the barn to our first hives. Our tutor was going to demonstrate what to do on a hive inspection, and then we would be doing it ourselves. We gathered closer. He opened the hive.
Accompanied by an intense buzz, more bees than I have ever seen in my life flew out. It sounded like they were angry at us for intruding, but it was more likely they were just flying out of the way, mildly annoyed at being disturbed.
‘Stings’ To Look Out For When Beekeeping
Dave pulled out one of the frames using a hive tool. It really is called a hive tool! I haven’t just made that up because I’ve forgotten. That is genuinely the name of it. It’s only quite small, and is used to gently pry the frame away from the hive, as it can get quite sticky with all the bee activity going on in there.
Holding one of the frames up to eye level, Dave pointed out the things we needed to look for during an inspection. He then handed it to us.
We very gently passed the frame around the group. We were all slightly nervous about the bees and not yet confident being around them, and we didn’t want to accidentally squash any. Satisfied with that frame, Dave carefully replaced it.
Insect Inspections An Experience To Try Beekeeping
To successfully keep bees, hives need to be inspected regularly to make sure the insects are happy and healthy. On each inspection there are key things that need to be checked each time:
- Find the Queen. Each hive should have one Queen, and she’s usually very busy as she can lay up to 2000 eggs a day. She can however be very elusive and hard to spot, and you want to check she’s there as that means the hive is doing ok.
- Look for eggs. Sounds easy, but those eggs are like tiny grains of rice and can be really difficult to spot. Find them, and it’s a sign the hive is doing well.
- Check for larvae. The next stage in the bee lifecycle. Larvae are a bit bigger than the eggs so a little easier to identify. Again, an indicator that the hive will thrive.
- Check for parasites and disease. Ideally, you don’t want to find any of these. If you do though, and you’re regularly inspecting the hive, it will hopefully mean something can be done about it.
If everything is as it should be, then you should be on track for a healthy hive and hopefully a small haul of delicious honey.
Hive-ing A Go At Beekeeping
We split into two groups of four and each had plenty of time getting hands on at the hive.
The more we got involved, the more confident we became.
Being in a group was beneficial as it meant more eyes to try and spot the Queen. I’m sure when you have been doing it for a while it becomes much easier to find her, but trying to single her out amongst all of the other bees is like playing Where’s Wally with some stripes moving buzzing things.
Carefully prying out the frames with the hive tool, gently lifting them out and working our way through our inspection check list. Happy with all the checks, we put everything back as we found it, left the bees in peace, and moved on to the next hive.
We soon got used to the bees being so near to us, and were all getting slicker at checking the hives, putting all the morning theory into good use.
From Hive To Honey - An Experience To Try Beekeeping
If the hives are happy and healthy, then all being well you’ll be able to collect some honey which then has a short process to go through to finally become the delicious sweet treat you might spread on your toast. Demonstrating how the machinery worked, Dave explained that this was an indoors task and can get very hot, and very sticky in the summer, but it’s worth it for the lip-smackingly delicious end product.
A Course That Is The Bees Knees
This was a brilliant course. I can imagine beekeeping being incredibly therapeutic as you methodically work through the checks on an inspection, and very satisfying to see your hard work paying off with a healthy thriving hive, and hopefully some honey. I can’t commit at the moment, but maybe one day…
A great mix of classroom and practical. If you’re considering keeping bees but not really sure if it’s for you or not, you’ll definitely come away knowing the answer. If you just want to learn more about these amazing insects and how awesome they are, this course will absolutely deliver.
No Sting In The Tale On A Beekeeping Experience
In case you were wondering about stings, I’m pleased to say that all eight of us got away unstung! Impresive considering the hundreds of bees that buzzed so closely around us.
Right, if this has got you buzzing, I’ll stop ‘drone’-ing on, and get to work with letting you know how you can give beekeeping a go! Take a look below for futher details, and let me know if you give it a try.
Want To Try It Yourself?
- I experienced bee keeping with Bay View Bees who are in Scarborough.
- Courses are available throughout the summer.
- There are lots of places across the UK where you can give beekeeping a go. Many have their own websites, or you can book courses through sites such as Not on the High Street. Virgin Experience Days, Buy a Gift, and Into The Blue.
Cost Of Experience
- The course I went on was a very generous birthday gift from my other half.
- In 2022 it cost £120. This was for a full day with plenty of hands on experience, ample tea and coffee, an absolutely delicious home made lunch and an array of home baking.
Recommendations
- If you book onto a course, follow any recommendations they may give you about what to wear.
- Bees really don’t want to sting people. It is a life or death situation for them. One sting and they will die. So as much as you might want to flap your arms when surrounded by bees, try to stay calm because they don’t have a death wish.
- Let me know how you’ve got on if you try beekeeping!
- Don’t forget your camera!