IMPROVISING WITH THE HONEYBEES by Harry McAvinchey

Just in time to divert attention away from the never-ending  “debate about the Welfare Reforms”, someone has  decided to fly  an Irish tricolour atop Stormont , the seat of all power in Norneverland. This will bring out the conspiracy theorists in their flocks. In Roman times the diversions to keep the public occupied were  bread and circuses. Keep the public busy thinking about anything except how they are being governed. Jude is on the radio tussling with Jim Allister about the whole piece of  fabric japery, but I’m really too busy at this time of year to fully engage with this War of Cloth . They’ll now doubtless spend a small fortune of our hard-earned cash tracking down the arch-criminal spoofer who hoisted  the polyester .They ‘ll spend a king’s ransom on some overblown court case and it will all provide much entertainment in the coming months .

Meanwhile , back in the real world……

With beekeeping , it pays to constantly improvise. When you start off, it ‘s usually with pristine -clean equipment.The hive boxes and equipment will be lovely . The timber boxes  smooth  and damage-free.Your bee-suit a spotless, sinless white. You’re a  beginner and you’re learning all the bee-lore  you can cram in…and there seems to be more and more of it at every turn.You’ll learn enough to get your first hive going and if the weather is with you and the bees are of good stock with a fertile laying queen, soon you’ll be on your way  .That situation doesn’t last too long .Soon you  will have stained your lovely beesuit , possibly torn the netting in the veil or burnt a hole in it while leaning over your smoker  and your hives will become a little more careworn and grubby. Your smoker will be gummed up with tar and everything around the hives will be propolised with that gummy red  sap that the bees stick everything together with. If you are at it long enough , you’ll possibly be collecting old wax for making candles or even some of that propolis , which is a very expensive commodity .You might even get around to brewing  some  honey- mead like Robin Hood’s friend Friar Tuck.The propolis is used in lip balms  , cosmetics and the like.You’ll take it for granted that you’ll steal some of the bees valuable honey too.  Just enough .After all, you are providing their home for them .You are , in effect , their landlord and it’s your responsibility to do the outside running repairs on the hives while they get on with the job at hand.

When I started off I painted all my hives with green weather-stain ; the kind of stuff that is used for fences  and does “what it says on the tin” as the advert on television says.. Well, somehow it meets its ultimate test , out there in all weathers, with thousands of little bee-feet walking all over it. They don’t  take much time wearing  down  the colour and , of course, if they don’t like the colour scheme, they’ll chew it right off anyway. Then there’s the birds scratching at it as they steal the odd sweet bee -treat. I suppose a honey-fed honeybee must taste like a sweet bonbon to a thrush.

I’ve used the fence-stain for several seasons now but I’m changing to some lovely cheap outdoor Masonry  paint that I picked up cheap at the local decorator’s store.I got a  large  ten litre can which was probably an odd off-white tinted  shade and it  should see me through many hives in the future.It’s best to keep the hives a light colour to reflect the heat of the summer , but the bees aren’t really fussy because they’ll maintain an even temperature inside the hive , no matter the outside conditions . You could say that you’ll save them energy for making more honey though…if they don’t have to fan so much to keep the temperature inside just right. Remember too , that when the hives are busy in summertime , you’ll not be able to get near them to paint them .This is a job for a quiet winter day when the bees are generally quieter.

A blowtorch is handy too  for burning that gummy residue off your smoker . That stuff can glue your smoker shut tight and no amount of straining will separate the conical lid from the  fire-can, so it’s best to give it a blast now and again. It’ll bring the steel  up like new  .It’s good for cleaning up the steel queen excluders  too. The propolis and wax will just melt off. If I ‘m changing out a box , it’s a good idea to give it a good scorching  inside to clean up the  corners and nooks and crannies. All sorts of bugs ,like earwigs  can get in there. If the bees haven’t harried them out already , the blowtorch will clean them up. .If there are any holes in your hives…and you’ll get a few cracks and knotholes eventually, leaving timber out in all seasons , a visit to a car accessories shop is worthwhile. Fibre-glass matting kits and car body fillers are great for making weather-proof repairs.  You can bridge the holes with that stuff very quickly and efficiently .You can paint over the repairs  and your boxes will be as good as new. Anything that can save a few pennies is worthwhile.  I used to keep  a  rickety wee Renault 5 car on the road  with that stuff nearly forty years ago. The glory days of motoring before the rigours of the M.O.T. test!

I’ve made all my hive stands from fencing timber  rails and galvanised nails and a simple frame is easily nailed together .A good hive stand is a boon , especially concerning your old back. Even something about a foot off the ground saves a lot of heavy lifting .It’s best remembered that boxes full of bees , wax and honey are very heavy.You’ll probably eventually  want to attempt building a few hive boxes  from scratch and it can be done ,but the measurements and the cuts  need to be very precise. I ‘ve had mixed results , but then  I haven’t got a state of the art table- saw and large workroom .My  hive setup consists now of many mongrel parts including red cedar boxes, pine boxes, boxes made from fencing boards and boxes made of exterior plywood. The exterior plywood needs a lot of care, though .It can be a false saving really.This year I ‘ve invested in some of the “poly hive- boxes” and they seem to be very well -made and much stronger than I imagined polystyrene  could be .It can be made as dense as wood and comes either complete or easily assembled. I’ve made many of my roofs using old fencing board, some plywood and reclaimed aluminium sheeting.Anything that works is fine.

Like I say , improvising and using a little imagination  on equipment can save a few pennies that can be spent on something else.It just takes a little time, imagination  and thought.If as much thought was given to fixing the social problems in the society of Norneverland…. but that really is fantasy- thinking ,because  as I conclude they are arguing on the radio about  Loyalist  murals on the walls of Belfast…..Flags and murals….that’s really all they can think about.