So, I heard Kate Middleton keeps bees now. Funny, that. I actually got into it a couple of years back myself. Wasn’t trying to be royal or anything, just fancied a go. Seemed like a decent hobby, get me out in the garden a bit more, you know?
Getting Started
First thing I did was have a chat with old Jim down the lane. He’s had hives for donkey’s years. Didn’t read loads of books, just listened to him ramble on about it over a cuppa. He made it sound pretty straightforward, told me what kit I’d need.
So, I went and bought the gear. The suit felt ridiculous at first, like a spacesuit. Got the smoker, the hive tool, gloves – the whole lot. Found a basic flat-pack hive online, wasn’t too dear. Spent an afternoon in the shed putting it together. Just wood and nails, pretty simple really.
Getting the Bees In
Next up was the actual bees. Bit weird, ordering bees. Got what they call a ‘nuc’ – basically a small box with a few frames of bees and a queen already doing her thing. Went to pick ’em up. Driving home with a box buzzing quietly on the passenger seat was… different.
Transferring them into the proper hive was the scary bit. Got fully suited and booted. Puffed a bit of smoke, like Jim showed me. Gently lifted the frames out of the nuc box and slotted them into my new hive. Tried to be slow and calm, but my hands were shaking a bit, not gonna lie. They all went in though, seemed to settle down okay after a bit.
Figuring It Out
Left them alone mostly for the first week or so, apart from giving them some sugar syrup feed to help them get established. Then came the first real look inside. Fired up the smoker again, took the lid off. Carefully lifted out one of the frames.
Honestly, it was pretty cool. Thousands of them, all busy. Saw the queen, she’s bigger than the others. Looked for eggs, tiny little things. Didn’t really know exactly what I was looking at initially, but you start to figure it out. Saw some weird larvae once, thought it was disease, nearly had a heart attack. Quick search on my phone showed it was just drone brood. Normal. You learn fast.
The Ongoing Job
Now it’s just part of the routine. Check them every week or two in the summer. Make sure the queen’s laying, check they’ve got enough room, look for pests like varroa mites. Put extra boxes on top, called ‘supers’, for them to store honey in when the flowers are out.
- Smoke the entrance lightly.
- Open the hive gently.
- Check each frame, bottom box first.
- Look for queen, eggs, larvae, food stores.
- Make sure they have space to expand.
- Close it back up carefully.
It’s not always easy. Sometimes it’s heavy work lifting the boxes. Got stung a few times, usually when I’m being clumsy. Haven’t harvested a massive amount of honey yet, still getting the hang of the timing for that. But seeing the colony grow, watching them fly in and out covered in pollen, it feels good. Like you’re doing a little bit for nature.
So yeah, Kate Middleton does it. Good for her. It ain’t glamorous when you’re doing it yourself, sweating in the suit, but it’s definitely rewarding. Just gotta get stuck in and learn as you go.
