From: "Lucinda Sewell" <lucindajohn@sewellhome.freeserve.co.uk>
Date: Tue, 15 May 2001 21:57:49 +0100
To: <BiologicalBeekeeping@yahoogroups.com>
Subject: getting there

Hi all

Our sunny weekend was referred to as a mini heatwave on Radio Berkshire this
morning :-)

The 2 colonies I shook down onto a mix of mine and Dees wax are a mess.
Although some attempt has been made to draw cells on both foundations it has
mostly been abandoned and wild comb built between the sheets. Both of them,
but I have a few good combs there. So very different. My sidebars are Hoffman,
37mm centres. I 'invested' in them to put some professionalism into my
boxes. Huh! That I think is the problem, something Dave Cushman and Erik
Osterland did start discussing ages ago...did you get anywhere guys? I may
have not followed that thread to its conclusion, but seem to recall you're
on 32 Erik? What spacing do you use Dee? Some of my frames have very
unprofessional round sidebars (3/8" dowel with a slot sawn for fdtn, wire
basebar that doesn't work) I finger space them, and have pretty good 4.9
combs on them in my colonies where I slipped a test frame
in to see who liked it. I haven't checked all, or measured, just popped a
few and had a look. I'll combine them all when they're mostly sealed into
one nuc, and then let them raise a queen on the 4.9.

So I'm not jumping for joy, but I still feel there is definate promise in
small cell for those of us without feral, naturally smaller bees to access.
I personally will be drawing combs in fringes of nests and growing them
gently. I don't like that shakedown one little bit. Not my way to treat a
living creature I wish to harvest. (I shoot and eat bunnies...it's not that.
It's a quality of care thing) I don't think it's me, but those colonies are
twitchy too, could be they don't like queen includer. Ultimately my bees
will draw their own comb for nests. Perhaps in skeps. Anyone want to buy Soil Association (whatever you type to show it's a trademark registered wotsit) oat straw in
a few months? Very non poisonous. And I'll try taranov swarm, or perhaps
Snelgrove, feeding young bees back to smaller combs.

Photos will come Barry, you'll curse me when they do!

Well that's the Berkshire update. Otherwise 3 sisters swarmed on the same
day from 3 apairies(clipped) and mother and daughter are superceding almost
simaltaneously. They're neighbours, on the canola. 2 colonies are very slow,
no disease signs, but not raging forward. Very little chalkbrood this year.
6 out of 6 nucs are goers, and the buckfast are noticeably different in
temper to my local girls. No sealed brood, so they may just hate me for wot
I did...I have some full supers, but mostly uncapped stuff I had got eaten
in a bad week...Drawn comb is my big holdback right now.... any size would
do. My extracting room is in that pre organised mess...and I bought some
very nice formic evaporators.

Oh yeah, and some of the respected beeks here are muttering about
registration of beekeepers, and compulsory training and inspections...funded
by local associations...hmmmm. More power to the bureau...

John Sewell