Rescuing Bees In Cornwall, England

WEBVTT

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in a world brimming with complexity few creatures

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embody harmony like the honeybee with tireless

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precision she dances from bloom to bloom each

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motion guided by millennia upon millennia of

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instinct each act in service to the whole and

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then There are the beekeepers, watchful stewards

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of this ancient symbiosis. Part agriscientist,

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part poet, they move along their hives with the

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efficiency of mow, levy and curly, tending to

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the bees' needs as best they can comprehend,

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and with the infrequency of a waterfall in the

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Sahara, sometimes running off flapping and flailing

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like a penguin on a hot sidewalk. This is their

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journey. Welcome, welcome to Be Love Beekeeping

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presented by our great friends and partners in

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beekeeping. Man Lake. Today we're going all the

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way to Cornwall, England for a discussion with

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a full -time beekeeper who specializes in bee

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rescue, also known as bee removals or cutouts.

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But first a couple of honeybee fun facts. As

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we know, bees are master builders. It's amazing

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to look at the hexagons in the honeycomb, but

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have you ever thought to yourself, why don't

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they use circles or squares or triangles? In

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36 BC, Roman scholar Marcus Terentius Barrow

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was pondering the hexagon -shaped honeycomb and

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proposed an answer, which was dubbed the honeybee

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conjecture. The honeybee conjecture states that

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a hexagonal structure was the most efficient

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way to divide a surface into regions of equal

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area with the least total perimeter. I think

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what that means is the least amount of wax needed,

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but Vero was never able to actually prove this

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theory. Well, 2 ,000 years later, in 1999, mathematician

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Thomas Hales produced mathematical proof that

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Vero was right and the hexagon is simply the

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most efficient shape to hold the most amount

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of honey while using the least amount of building

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material. Are they architects? Are they geniuses?

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Are they mathematicians? I don't know, but as

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always, like I say, bees are amazing. Now, if

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you're the type that wants to geek out on this,

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I'll put a link to Hale's 22 -page report down

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in the show notes. Okay, how about one more fun

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fact? We've all heard of the oldest profession

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in the world, but did you know that beekeeping

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is the second oldest profession? Based on Egyptian

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art, we can trace beekeeping back at least 4

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,500 years. In fact, honey was found in King

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Tut's tomb, and it was still edible. It's likely

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that people have been gathering honey from bees

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in the wild for at least eight to ten thousand

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years. All right, it's time to visit with our

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guest in beautiful Cornwall. We are going across

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the pond today to talk with our very special

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guest our new friend Molly Earl How are you Molly?

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I'm pretty good Eric. Thank you so much for having

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me on Really? Yeah, just pleasure to be here

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talk about bees That's what we're going to do.

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We're going to talk about our mutual love for

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bees. Hey, before we jump into it, tell us where

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you are and what your business is called. Well,

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my business is called Bees Off. So I started

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that, well, probably like six years ago, live

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bee removals. So when they go into... Chimneys,

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walls, floors. You know, I see that you guys

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do it all the time in estates, bees in buildings.

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So I set up a company bees off to kind of re

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-home these poplar bees. And then off the back

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of that, as I got into it, so every colony saved

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through the colony kept. and it's snowballed

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so what started as a hobby 10 years ago with

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a couple of hives now I'm running kind of 300

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hives across the middle of Cornwall and there's

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an amount of honey that comes with it so where

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I am today is in my honey studio and we're just

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about to start taking our spring crop off so

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that's gonna yeah that's hence everything is

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shined ready to go and I thought what better

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backdrop for a beekeeping chat than a shiny stainless

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steel honey room It is. It's beautiful. Now,

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when you clean it that much, does it still smell

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like honey? Absolutely. The floor is always sticky.

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You can't clean that away. Oh, that's awesome.

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A hobby gone, I won't say gone wrong, a hobby

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gone a little bit crazy. A hobby gone right.

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Yeah. Yes. So when we talk about bee removals

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here in the States, mostly what you're doing

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is what we refer to as cutouts. Is that what

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you call them there? No, I call it a B removal.

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We don't really use the word cut out, but it

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does involve a lot of cutting bricks and walls

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and floors open. So for us a removal is it might

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just be a swarm that landed in the eaves of your

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front porch or something like that. And we're

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going to come and nicely take that swarm away

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for you. But if it involves getting inside a

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building, cutting open a roof, a wall, we just

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sort of call them cutouts. But we're more blunt

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here, and you guys are a lot more... You have

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the King's English. Yeah, exactly. The swarm,

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if it's hanging in a bush or a tree, and it's

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nicely bivouacked somewhere, you can just put

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a sheet down and shake it into a box. That's

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a swarm collection. So yeah, a bee removal is

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something. And you know, I always say... Every

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colony I remove is one kept. So that's the B

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removal. It's going on to a nicer life rather

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than the aggressive cut out with a big hacksaw

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that you see. So yeah, we do try and make it

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sound a little bit more like there's a finesse

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to it. I hope there is. I'll bet there is. Now,

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after you do a removal, do you have someone that

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comes in and fixes, like if you're cutting open

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a wall? Do you have somebody that comes in and

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fixes that after or is the homeowner responsible

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for that? We do everything. So from the initial

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call and through like always going to do a proper

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survey first, they're using thermal cameras,

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probe cameras, drones. You like do a site visit

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so you can get a real feel for the place and

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you're looking at it near a school. Is there

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people that are going to need to be warned? You

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know, there's a there's quite a lot to take into

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account before you've even gone. And then after

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the removal. We take all the bees away, but then

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we'll also make good. We'll bee -proof as best

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as you can ever bee -proof a house. And we know

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bees. Bees need, what, like a five, six mil gap

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to get back in. So taking away the void where

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they've been is critical. And then bee -proofing

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as much as sensibly possible. But all the repairs,

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we always offer that service, so I'm quite lucky.

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I've got friends that are really handy, so. We've

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got tree surgeons, roofers and a builder. So

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these are the guys that come and help me do the

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removal and we can do all the repairs afterwards.

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Sometimes if it's a listed building, then there's

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like a heritage work, then some people prefer

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to have their own contractors, which is always

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an option. But as the rule, I'd say 90 % of the

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time we do all the repairs as well. What made

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you want to get into that side of it? Honestly,

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I've always loved bees. Since I first took Hives

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on, we're talking, what, 10 years ago now. I

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started with a couple of colonies and they were

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really stingy. I didn't know what I was doing.

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They died, but I wasn't going to be beaten, so

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I definitely got the bee bug by then. So I started

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through the British Beekeeper's Association,

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did a couple of courses, started going to the

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lecture circuit and Tom Seeley read his books,

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anything of like, you know, just... learning

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by osmosis, joined the bee club. So I just really

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got into it. And then as I wanted to increase

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my apiary from two to five, I'd start being a

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swarm catcher. So you can go, you've got a limited

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insurance in the British Beekeepers Association

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to go and catch a swarm in a bush, shake the

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bivouac into a box. Nice. But the amount of times

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I'd get to places and they say, it was my own

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fault for not asking the right questions. that

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swarm has been in the chimney for 13 years or

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the bees came with the house so we don't know

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where they are but this is they're coming in

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and out through this air vent you know these

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aren't swarms that you can just catch these are

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what you'd call a cutout so I'd call it a bee

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removal I'm quite handy I did a lot of landscaping

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and carpentry and they say I've got friends that

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are roofers and builders there's no reason why

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we couldn't do it we just need a van full of

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an awful lot more tools, much better insurance,

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and yeah, and it's sort of built from the ground

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up, really, but I just love the idea of it. Really,

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you know, if a house or a homeowner's been had

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a real problem with bees all this time, and sometimes

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you'll see it, and the only option they've had

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is to kill them, so they've had them killed,

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of course, it doesn't solve anything, does it?

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Because you've got... not just contamination

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for other colonies. You've got all the wax that's

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still in the wall. You've got all the honey that's

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going to run out. You've got all the other pests.

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But at the end of the day, you've still got the

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same attractive colony to bees. So the next time

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it swarms these and another one will move in.

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You know, we've been to places and they've had

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sort of four different ages of dead out where

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they've used poison. And then finally they found

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me and we can open up the wall and take them

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out and everything else and bee proof it. So,

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you know, to help the bees. It's fantastic, but

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it is kind of nice just to give people the option

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because save the bees, nobody really wants to

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be killing them. So this is definitely a much

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better option. Are there any laws there to protect

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the bees? Some of our states and counties here

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have laws where they've told exterminators, if

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they're honeybees, you can't kill them. No, we're

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not there yet. They're endangered, but they're

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not protected. But you can't buy a pesticide.

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that's got bees on the label, which tells you

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everything you need to know. That's the way it's

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going. Eventually bees will be protected. You

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can buy pesticides for wasps and flying insects,

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but nowhere on a label over here will you find

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that you find a pesticide for bees. The British

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Pest Control Association, their advice to pest

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controllers is if it's bees, you can kill them

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if it's a threat to life or not. There's kind

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of a few little reasons why you can do it. But

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if you do use poison, you're supposed to seal

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up every entrance. Completely impossible if they've

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gone into a chimney, because you can't seal up

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a chimney that comes down into a live fire. And

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then once the colony is dead and you've sealed

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up the entrance, go back in, take out all the

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poison, all the comb, all the dead bees and make

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good. If you're going to do that anyway, why

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not do it before you poison them and do it with

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a live colony and you get, you know, the same

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level of work, but a feel good factor and the

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bees are saved. So, but no, there are no laws,

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unfortunately, to protect them yet. Yeah, what

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are some of the most difficult places to remove

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from? You keep mentioning chimneys. To me that

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sounds really difficult. Actually, I don't know,

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chimneys... We've done so many from chimneys

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now. If you think about it, it's the most logical

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place for a bee to go, okay? They come from the

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wild. They like a tree cavity. They especially

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like beech trees. You've got these huge great

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trees with a nice sort of... one foot, sort of

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one and a half foot cavity. I don't know what

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your American equivalent of the foot is, but

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it's a decent, you know, you're looking at sort

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of 70 litres, aren't you? We have cut down, well,

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not just us, but where are all these tree cavities

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now? They're just not around like they used to

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be. So up at the flight zone, you've got chimneys,

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they're a foot or so wide, they're nice and tall,

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they're usually capped off, so it's usually disused

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ones. So yeah, it's perfect for bees. But they'll

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drop down a metre or two inside a chimney, even

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longer. Some of them have been huge that we've

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dealt with. But there's ways to do it. I think

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over the years, my neighbour's a welder and I've

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got him to weld me up some pretty special devices

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to be able to do long reach comb catchers and

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dragging out combs as long as your body is always...

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quite a good, quite good fun when you get a really

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long one. Yeah. So give us an idea of some of

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the tricks of the trade. What kind of a device

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do you have to get down in that chimney to pull

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the comb out? But the first thing really is to

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get underneath it because if you say it's a chimney

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that goes down to an old bedroom or somewhere

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that's an abyss that you're not going to get

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that comb, you can't risk dropping the comb.

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because if you can't retrieve the comb you've

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just got another swarm trap waiting for the next

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one. So I always get underneath the colony so

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you can use a thermal camera to see exactly where

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the brood nest is and then you can drill down

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the chimney stack. Sometimes they go all the

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way down into the loft before you get to the

00:13:47.210 --> 00:13:49.669
bottom of the colony. So you can drill a hole

00:13:49.669 --> 00:13:52.230
in, make sure you're underneath it, take a brick

00:13:52.230 --> 00:13:55.610
out and then block the chimney underneath the

00:13:55.610 --> 00:13:57.990
colony. Or once the chimney stops that nothing

00:13:57.990 --> 00:13:59.970
can drop though then you can work from the top.

00:14:00.110 --> 00:14:02.269
And the honey is a sticky nightmare, as you know,

00:14:02.370 --> 00:14:04.389
to try and deal with and lift. So once you've

00:14:04.389 --> 00:14:06.470
cut the honey, which is usually at the top, and

00:14:06.470 --> 00:14:08.129
you're just left with those brood combs that

00:14:08.129 --> 00:14:10.509
are a lot stiffer, then you can just kind of

00:14:10.509 --> 00:14:12.850
cut down the side. My neighbor, as I say, has

00:14:12.850 --> 00:14:15.429
made me this really long comb catcher. It's kind

00:14:15.429 --> 00:14:18.429
of like a hook, I guess. It can go down, slide

00:14:18.429 --> 00:14:20.409
down the side of the chimney and catch underneath

00:14:20.409 --> 00:14:22.929
it. So when you cut the sides down, you can pull

00:14:22.929 --> 00:14:26.490
the whole thing out. Yeah, it's a... Wow. I just

00:14:26.490 --> 00:14:28.610
remember once doing one in Perranporth, which

00:14:28.610 --> 00:14:31.129
is a little seaside town, and it was opposite

00:14:31.129 --> 00:14:34.169
a bus stop, right, so... We were up there and

00:14:34.169 --> 00:14:35.769
all the people are waiting for the bus and they're

00:14:35.769 --> 00:14:38.230
watching and watching what we're doing. And finally,

00:14:38.529 --> 00:14:40.549
the two of us now have got our arms deep in the

00:14:40.549 --> 00:14:42.409
chimney, one's on the knife and one's on the

00:14:42.409 --> 00:14:45.090
comb catcher. And when we stand up almost on

00:14:45.090 --> 00:14:47.330
tiptoes on the top of the scaffolding and pull

00:14:47.330 --> 00:14:49.870
this comb all the way out, the people's mouths

00:14:49.870 --> 00:14:52.330
like gaped open at the bus stop. I think they

00:14:52.330 --> 00:14:54.690
would have missed their bus to see that thing

00:14:54.690 --> 00:14:58.190
through. It was a crowd puller for sure. How

00:14:58.190 --> 00:15:02.279
long was that comb? I've got a photo of me holding

00:15:02.279 --> 00:15:04.320
it up to my eye level, dropping all the way down

00:15:04.320 --> 00:15:06.200
to my feet. So, you know, by the time you take

00:15:06.200 --> 00:15:08.100
the honey off the top, you're talking two meters,

00:15:08.460 --> 00:15:11.120
it would be dropping into the chimney. Yeah.

00:15:11.759 --> 00:15:14.480
Wow. Is that some of the biggest ones you've

00:15:14.480 --> 00:15:17.539
done? I think chimneys are always, because chimneys

00:15:17.539 --> 00:15:21.000
are kind of confined to the foot's width, then

00:15:21.000 --> 00:15:24.220
it makes them go long. But some of the ones where

00:15:24.220 --> 00:15:26.840
you get them hanging internally in the eaves

00:15:26.840 --> 00:15:30.240
of houses, they can get absolutely huge just

00:15:30.240 --> 00:15:33.240
because they've got the space to go. Or flat

00:15:33.240 --> 00:15:36.019
roofs, you probably have the similar thing. So

00:15:36.019 --> 00:15:39.740
a flat roof has got maybe a six to eight inch

00:15:39.740 --> 00:15:43.539
timber. Right, so you've got a nice kind of what

00:15:43.539 --> 00:15:46.610
you'd call a Langstroth. medium, I suppose, kind

00:15:46.610 --> 00:15:49.190
of size. But those timbers run the length of

00:15:49.190 --> 00:15:51.230
the building. So when bees crawl in underneath

00:15:51.230 --> 00:15:53.409
the fascia board, they can just go in and in

00:15:53.409 --> 00:15:55.769
and in. And, you know, again, they've been really

00:15:55.769 --> 00:16:00.029
long. But it's just, it's just really good. It's

00:16:00.029 --> 00:16:02.309
just fascinating. Everyone is different. You

00:16:02.309 --> 00:16:06.309
know, they all we all know bees build comb, but

00:16:06.309 --> 00:16:08.809
the way that they build comb, I see it getting

00:16:08.809 --> 00:16:11.090
an opportunity to actually look at wild colonies

00:16:11.090 --> 00:16:13.549
and see how they're well, just how they live.

00:16:13.889 --> 00:16:16.779
It's a It's just a real, it is a pleasure to

00:16:16.779 --> 00:16:19.679
be able to learn from them really. Like the hot

00:16:19.679 --> 00:16:21.879
way versus the cold way. Have you heard of that?

00:16:21.960 --> 00:16:25.539
No. Okay. So, you know, if you have your, you've

00:16:25.539 --> 00:16:28.620
got your hive and you've got your door. So the,

00:16:28.620 --> 00:16:32.240
the, the hot way is the combs running once way

00:16:32.240 --> 00:16:35.399
and the cold way is when you have the combs running

00:16:35.399 --> 00:16:38.120
across the door because tents, it shuts the draft.

00:16:38.519 --> 00:16:41.059
So if I'm ever doing a flat roof, almost 100

00:16:41.059 --> 00:16:43.659
% of the time, the combs always start the cold

00:16:43.659 --> 00:16:46.779
way. So where they come in, they're kind of...

00:16:46.649 --> 00:16:49.070
come onto the face of the comb to stop the draft.

00:16:49.450 --> 00:16:52.129
And then after maybe four fins, then they'll

00:16:52.129 --> 00:16:54.269
change and they'll run the warm way. So they

00:16:54.269 --> 00:16:56.490
have this kind of draft stop and then the fins

00:16:56.490 --> 00:16:59.009
change and they run long ways because it's, I

00:16:59.009 --> 00:17:00.649
guess, just easier to go when you're building

00:17:00.649 --> 00:17:03.070
comb straight down the tunnel. But they always

00:17:03.070 --> 00:17:05.950
shut the door first. And the same in a chimney,

00:17:06.069 --> 00:17:08.890
like if you've got an open chimney, for example,

00:17:09.390 --> 00:17:11.670
they'll build, I call it snake comb, but it's

00:17:11.670 --> 00:17:14.779
like... a really wild comb, such a really twisted

00:17:14.779 --> 00:17:18.200
mess. There's no like two pieces the same, but

00:17:18.200 --> 00:17:20.359
once you get down maybe like a foot, so they've

00:17:20.359 --> 00:17:22.539
closed the door with all this twisted comb and

00:17:22.539 --> 00:17:24.839
then the fins open out and then the fins just

00:17:24.839 --> 00:17:26.539
drop down straight. So they always kind of do

00:17:26.539 --> 00:17:30.079
a front door system, if you like, with a comb

00:17:30.079 --> 00:17:33.680
as a blocker, a draft excluder. Yeah, they're

00:17:33.680 --> 00:17:37.880
amazing engineers. Yeah, absolutely. Thomas Seeley,

00:17:37.920 --> 00:17:39.900
all of his research on swarms and where they

00:17:39.900 --> 00:17:41.740
like to and their environments that they live.

00:17:41.960 --> 00:17:44.700
That's why I get the sort of the 70 liters. That's

00:17:44.700 --> 00:17:47.720
what they're looking for. But it can be a 70

00:17:47.720 --> 00:17:51.240
liters as a box shape, as a square, as a circle.

00:17:51.940 --> 00:17:54.259
It can be inside a cavity wall. So they've only

00:17:54.259 --> 00:17:56.779
got kind of two or three inches depth, but they've

00:17:56.779 --> 00:17:58.740
gone really, really wide because they haven't

00:17:58.740 --> 00:18:01.819
got the depth there. Everyone is different. It's

00:18:01.819 --> 00:18:04.839
really good to see. Give us an idea of your technique.

00:18:05.220 --> 00:18:08.519
Once you pull this comb out, how do you get it

00:18:08.519 --> 00:18:11.660
into a box? We'd all start, as soon as the colonies

00:18:11.660 --> 00:18:13.880
opened up and you can start to get into it, of

00:18:13.880 --> 00:18:15.720
course the bees all come out on a flurry. We

00:18:15.720 --> 00:18:17.799
don't have any of these crazy Africanized bees.

00:18:18.220 --> 00:18:20.579
It's really rare to get a super defensive one.

00:18:21.000 --> 00:18:23.940
We've had maybe really only three, four that

00:18:23.940 --> 00:18:27.259
I would consider actually aggressive for the

00:18:27.259 --> 00:18:30.319
duration. So usually they come out on a flurry.

00:18:30.640 --> 00:18:32.579
We've got a bee vac that a friend of mine has

00:18:32.579 --> 00:18:36.200
made up. So that's good for taking the bee numbers

00:18:36.200 --> 00:18:39.460
down. It's a ventilated wooden box. ventilated

00:18:39.460 --> 00:18:42.539
on the top, a smooth bore hose so it doesn't

00:18:42.539 --> 00:18:45.220
damage the bees and then as the colony is open

00:18:45.220 --> 00:18:47.579
you can take the bee numbers down by gently backing

00:18:47.579 --> 00:18:50.220
them off into this kind of bee safe box if you

00:18:50.220 --> 00:18:53.220
like. Quick break to discuss what just might

00:18:53.220 --> 00:18:57.140
be on your mind right now. Come on admit it you're

00:18:57.140 --> 00:19:00.369
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00:19:00.369 --> 00:19:02.369
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00:19:02.369 --> 00:19:05.789
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00:19:05.789 --> 00:19:09.309
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00:19:09.309 --> 00:19:12.309
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00:19:16.490 --> 00:19:20.650
uncapping knives supplies for a comb honey everything

00:19:20.650 --> 00:19:24.059
and i mean everything you'll need. But if you

00:19:24.059 --> 00:19:26.779
aren't there quite yet and the honey flows right

00:19:26.779 --> 00:19:29.839
around the corner, make sure you have extra supers

00:19:29.839 --> 00:19:33.480
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00:19:33.480 --> 00:19:36.119
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00:19:40.700 --> 00:19:45.420
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00:19:45.420 --> 00:19:50.490
.com. Discount code MLBlove10. Now when you're

00:19:50.490 --> 00:19:52.910
working with the comb you kind of assess it so

00:19:52.910 --> 00:19:55.869
usually you get wax moth damage and some comb

00:19:55.869 --> 00:19:57.910
that just nobody would want not even the bees

00:19:57.910 --> 00:20:00.309
so you've got a waste bucket you've got a honey

00:20:00.309 --> 00:20:02.230
bucket to separate out the honey because it's

00:20:02.230 --> 00:20:05.009
just so sticky and it doesn't transport well

00:20:05.009 --> 00:20:07.210
but when you get onto the brood combs you're

00:20:07.210 --> 00:20:10.650
just looking I'm looking for well, what we'd

00:20:10.650 --> 00:20:13.750
call bias, brood in all stages, eggs, larvae,

00:20:13.750 --> 00:20:16.289
sealed brood. And if it's got either one of those,

00:20:16.410 --> 00:20:18.450
now I'm looking for disease. So is there loads

00:20:18.450 --> 00:20:21.089
of sap brood, chalk brood? Does it look like

00:20:21.089 --> 00:20:23.450
riddled with furoa? Maybe I'll uncap some drones

00:20:23.450 --> 00:20:25.769
just to have a little look. And if I think that

00:20:25.769 --> 00:20:29.190
that brood is healthy, I have empty frames into

00:20:29.190 --> 00:20:31.289
a hive that's up there with me, and we'll just

00:20:31.289 --> 00:20:35.150
cut it out to a frame size, set the comb inside

00:20:35.150 --> 00:20:37.410
the frame and hold it in with elastic bands.

00:20:38.700 --> 00:20:41.940
once I'm back at the apiary, over the next couple

00:20:41.940 --> 00:20:43.539
of weeks when they're in a hive, they're back

00:20:43.539 --> 00:20:46.240
with their brood, feeding them, always feeding

00:20:46.240 --> 00:20:48.559
them, but you can tell the ones are doing well

00:20:48.559 --> 00:20:50.539
because they chew through the elastic bands and

00:20:50.539 --> 00:20:52.599
it's like spaghetti coming out of the front of

00:20:52.599 --> 00:20:55.559
the hive. So just a quick drive up to the quarantine

00:20:55.559 --> 00:20:58.160
site, you can see the ones that are on the uptick

00:20:58.160 --> 00:21:00.240
because they're dragging the elastic bands out,

00:21:00.400 --> 00:21:03.490
it's like... It's so good, you know, you sometimes

00:21:03.490 --> 00:21:06.230
you'll see them and they'll be working together

00:21:06.230 --> 00:21:08.670
to Really pull like a couple of bands and maybe

00:21:08.670 --> 00:21:10.329
we've got snagged in the door and they're pulling

00:21:10.329 --> 00:21:13.089
the whole bands out together There'll be it's

00:21:13.089 --> 00:21:15.849
fantastic, isn't it? Yeah, and before they do

00:21:15.849 --> 00:21:18.450
that, they're gonna connect that comb up to the

00:21:18.450 --> 00:21:21.210
top and bottom of the frame So it usually fine

00:21:21.210 --> 00:21:25.569
Yeah, that's why I've always feed them just anything

00:21:25.569 --> 00:21:28.329
to make life easy Usually all the ones that come

00:21:28.329 --> 00:21:30.869
back they get a pollen patty and they're good

00:21:30.869 --> 00:21:34.210
feed. And then I'll take the comb, but I like

00:21:34.210 --> 00:21:37.029
to let all of that brood hatch and then swap

00:21:37.029 --> 00:21:40.250
out all of that for clean foundation that they'll

00:21:40.250 --> 00:21:43.250
draw because they're being fed. So once the next

00:21:43.250 --> 00:21:45.009
generation is hatched, I don't want to really

00:21:45.009 --> 00:21:47.250
be taking comb from the colony because it could

00:21:47.250 --> 00:21:49.349
be harboring any sort of bacteria. You don't

00:21:49.349 --> 00:21:51.970
know, but I like to take the young because the

00:21:51.970 --> 00:21:54.150
bees like to be with them. At the end of the

00:21:54.150 --> 00:21:56.170
job, that bee back I've got, it's got a sliding

00:21:56.170 --> 00:21:59.890
floor. So I've got my hive with the brood in.

00:22:00.009 --> 00:22:03.230
and then I can put the bees on top at the end

00:22:03.230 --> 00:22:06.750
of the extraction, open that sliding floor, obviously

00:22:06.750 --> 00:22:08.769
strap the two together, but now the bees can

00:22:08.769 --> 00:22:11.569
go straight back onto their young, onto the brood,

00:22:11.710 --> 00:22:13.869
so it keeps the brood warm and it keeps the bees

00:22:13.869 --> 00:22:16.329
happy, but you can, it's audibly, they'll chill.

00:22:16.470 --> 00:22:18.170
The second that you put them with their brood,

00:22:18.450 --> 00:22:20.809
it's like a switch is flipped and they're just

00:22:20.809 --> 00:22:23.529
calm again, it's really good. Is part of your

00:22:23.529 --> 00:22:27.450
process then finding the Queen and then that's

00:22:27.450 --> 00:22:30.009
also going to attract and calm the worker bees

00:22:30.009 --> 00:22:34.349
down? Honestly, I like to find the Queen. Sometimes

00:22:34.349 --> 00:22:36.289
you don't, but you always know whether you've

00:22:36.289 --> 00:22:38.569
got the Queen. I would never leave a job without

00:22:38.569 --> 00:22:42.019
getting the Queen. You know what bees are like.

00:22:42.279 --> 00:22:44.079
The first thing that the queen will do if you're

00:22:44.079 --> 00:22:45.779
looking for her in a hive is she'll run around

00:22:45.779 --> 00:22:47.839
to the dark side. So if you pick up a frame,

00:22:48.259 --> 00:22:50.180
you always want to check the reverse side. Well,

00:22:50.180 --> 00:22:51.960
first, when you pick it up, you look in the box

00:22:51.960 --> 00:22:53.880
to see if she's running to the dark side. Then

00:22:53.880 --> 00:22:55.640
you look at the flip side of the frame because

00:22:55.640 --> 00:22:58.559
she doesn't like to be visible mostly. It's the

00:22:58.559 --> 00:23:01.059
same in a bee removal. You know, as you're working

00:23:01.059 --> 00:23:03.579
through the comb, if you lift up some floorboards

00:23:03.579 --> 00:23:05.680
and the whole thing comes out, then you might

00:23:05.680 --> 00:23:08.119
find her on the comb. But if you're picking carefully

00:23:08.119 --> 00:23:11.640
through, you might see her on the comb, but inevitably

00:23:11.640 --> 00:23:13.579
she'd have run into a corner somewhere that's

00:23:13.579 --> 00:23:16.200
dark and the bees will bivouac around her. So

00:23:16.200 --> 00:23:19.420
if you're kind of hoovering out the bees in a

00:23:19.420 --> 00:23:21.740
larger group, the chances of you seeing her,

00:23:21.839 --> 00:23:24.039
if it's not kind of her running around individually,

00:23:24.240 --> 00:23:28.039
are slimmer, but you... You can tell by watching

00:23:28.039 --> 00:23:31.079
the bees where she is really. They think they're

00:23:31.079 --> 00:23:34.200
keeping her covert, but you can always just tell

00:23:34.200 --> 00:23:38.400
because they face her and fan. Or worse, they

00:23:38.400 --> 00:23:42.019
run after her. One of the things that I saw on

00:23:42.019 --> 00:23:44.420
your website, and I thought this was very cool,

00:23:44.960 --> 00:23:47.819
and this might be a good idea for some beekeepers

00:23:47.819 --> 00:23:51.279
that are trying to... look for alternative sources

00:23:51.279 --> 00:23:55.160
of income through their beekeeping. Or another

00:23:55.160 --> 00:23:59.039
way of branding is what you guys have done with

00:23:59.039 --> 00:24:03.079
your hive products, honey, wax, etc. Would you

00:24:03.079 --> 00:24:06.920
explain how you have branded them that is in

00:24:06.920 --> 00:24:09.579
conjunction with your bee removal business? Well,

00:24:09.740 --> 00:24:12.700
the rescue bee. When I started the removals,

00:24:12.880 --> 00:24:16.740
honestly, it was to boost my numbers and obviously

00:24:16.740 --> 00:24:19.589
I found a niche. which is brilliant. I loved

00:24:19.589 --> 00:24:21.849
it and it snowballed from there. So I know that

00:24:21.849 --> 00:24:24.390
I'm really, really lucky just to have found that,

00:24:24.390 --> 00:24:26.789
well, to stumble into something, A, that I love,

00:24:27.009 --> 00:24:29.109
B, that there's a market for, and it keeps me

00:24:29.109 --> 00:24:31.589
and my whole family with dinner on the table

00:24:31.589 --> 00:24:34.750
and things to do in the day. Doing the removals

00:24:34.750 --> 00:24:36.589
to increase my numbers meant that I've ended

00:24:36.589 --> 00:24:39.579
up with quite a few hives. When I started, I

00:24:39.579 --> 00:24:41.660
was doing all my honey processing in the kitchen

00:24:41.660 --> 00:24:44.180
and the kids were nappies and the dogs were puppies.

00:24:44.319 --> 00:24:46.619
It definitely wasn't food hygienic, but it was

00:24:46.619 --> 00:24:48.779
really good fun. I get the time hops on my phone

00:24:48.779 --> 00:24:51.500
and I think like, wow, it has changed a lot in

00:24:51.500 --> 00:24:57.079
those few years. And then when COVID hit, although,

00:24:57.099 --> 00:24:59.539
you know, everyone can remember that, but we'd

00:24:59.539 --> 00:25:02.000
just had quite a big harvest. We had four tons

00:25:02.000 --> 00:25:05.160
of honey sitted in what used to be the office

00:25:05.160 --> 00:25:07.789
room in the garden. So I was like, we really

00:25:07.789 --> 00:25:10.309
need to do something. We need to focus on this.

00:25:10.829 --> 00:25:14.349
So my partner gave up her job and came across,

00:25:14.670 --> 00:25:17.630
set up the Rescue Bee and so there was a lot

00:25:17.630 --> 00:25:20.490
of going to markets, a lot of the branding, starting

00:25:20.490 --> 00:25:23.730
to sell to shops. And honestly, it's really the

00:25:23.730 --> 00:25:26.349
Rescue Bee has come on in the last couple of

00:25:26.349 --> 00:25:28.230
years, but we can barely keep up. Like now I'm

00:25:28.230 --> 00:25:31.289
here now and they extract it in the honey room.

00:25:31.859 --> 00:25:34.079
itching to get out into the yard tomorrow to

00:25:34.079 --> 00:25:35.720
start putting in some honey because we're down

00:25:35.720 --> 00:25:40.180
for the dregs. It's been really good. So just

00:25:40.180 --> 00:25:42.079
to give an overall picture, let me make sure

00:25:42.079 --> 00:25:46.240
I understand it right. So all of your hive products

00:25:46.240 --> 00:25:49.539
are marketed under the, what did you call it

00:25:49.539 --> 00:25:52.279
again? Rescued Bee? The Rescued Bee, yeah. Yeah,

00:25:52.299 --> 00:25:55.380
the Rescued Bee brand. So when people come and

00:25:55.380 --> 00:25:57.859
buy, whether it's at a farmer's market or online

00:25:57.859 --> 00:26:01.160
or wherever, they're seeing that and they can

00:26:01.160 --> 00:26:05.259
feel good about this honey came from bees that

00:26:05.259 --> 00:26:08.339
were actually rescued instead of exterminated.

00:26:08.900 --> 00:26:11.420
It's a lovely story but it is a true story and

00:26:11.420 --> 00:26:14.359
although I've got jars there but each of the

00:26:14.359 --> 00:26:17.119
jars has got a little bit of our story on the

00:26:17.119 --> 00:26:20.160
side. I've got people that I've taken bees out

00:26:20.160 --> 00:26:23.440
of their roofs and they'll come and order honey.

00:26:23.849 --> 00:26:26.289
They won't go to anywhere else. They just love

00:26:26.289 --> 00:26:29.289
the story that it's from bees that have not been...

00:26:29.289 --> 00:26:31.369
They have been rescued, haven't they? You know,

00:26:31.450 --> 00:26:33.789
what were the options, really? You can't live

00:26:33.789 --> 00:26:35.990
with bees if they're in your house causing damage

00:26:35.990 --> 00:26:37.750
or you're having your roof replaced. The bees

00:26:37.750 --> 00:26:40.130
have got to go. So to know that they can go on

00:26:40.130 --> 00:26:43.009
to live in the countryside in little apries that

00:26:43.009 --> 00:26:46.289
are managed 24 -7 all year round. You know, honey

00:26:46.289 --> 00:26:48.970
is not the focus, but it is a product of just

00:26:48.970 --> 00:26:51.630
keeping a lot of bees and everything, you know,

00:26:51.630 --> 00:26:54.200
whether it's a candle. all the wax that we get

00:26:54.200 --> 00:26:56.539
from removals. It's disgusting, some of it, it's

00:26:56.539 --> 00:26:58.720
just you, most people would look and just throw

00:26:58.720 --> 00:27:00.680
it away, but I know that there's gold in that.

00:27:00.799 --> 00:27:04.339
If you just can steam it, go through a water

00:27:04.339 --> 00:27:08.240
bath a few times, it's sieved like endlessly

00:27:08.240 --> 00:27:11.700
through J -cloths, and the blackest, dirtiest

00:27:11.700 --> 00:27:13.619
wax that you just don't think, there's anything

00:27:13.619 --> 00:27:16.539
in it apart from casings, it will come out this

00:27:16.539 --> 00:27:19.000
gorgeous golden colour, and the smell is unreal,

00:27:19.440 --> 00:27:21.849
and that all goes into... all of the like lip

00:27:21.849 --> 00:27:25.609
balms, wax wraps, candles, cosmetics, soaps,

00:27:25.670 --> 00:27:28.609
all those things. It's all from our own hives

00:27:28.609 --> 00:27:31.450
and it's all just because of the bees. You know,

00:27:31.450 --> 00:27:33.970
there's so much more to a bee than making honey.

00:27:34.769 --> 00:27:36.509
One of the things that I love about your approach,

00:27:36.509 --> 00:27:38.470
I'm going to read this from your website here.

00:27:39.029 --> 00:27:42.470
We take a gentle, bee -first approach to colony

00:27:42.470 --> 00:27:45.069
management, creating environments where our bees

00:27:45.069 --> 00:27:48.470
can truly thrive. Stand by that. I stand by that.

00:27:48.630 --> 00:27:51.539
The main apiary I spend time there every single

00:27:51.539 --> 00:27:53.579
day. That's the one I've got the most control

00:27:53.579 --> 00:27:56.460
of. A lot of the outfries are at the generosity

00:27:56.460 --> 00:27:59.559
of other companies. Some of them really industrial.

00:28:00.039 --> 00:28:03.059
There's one at a power station. So it's a huge

00:28:03.059 --> 00:28:06.180
diesel power station. It's on these gigantic

00:28:06.180 --> 00:28:09.940
electric pylons, a 40 ,000 volts substation.

00:28:10.000 --> 00:28:12.400
I find an electric fence because the security

00:28:12.400 --> 00:28:14.759
is pretty intense there. And then there's my

00:28:14.759 --> 00:28:17.519
bees. Now, anybody would tell you that bees and

00:28:17.519 --> 00:28:19.559
electricity just don't mix and I would stand

00:28:19.559 --> 00:28:22.779
by every day and say it's wrong, but just the

00:28:22.779 --> 00:28:26.319
other side of that fence is, I'm not sure how

00:28:26.319 --> 00:28:29.980
many acres, is miles and miles and miles of SSSI,

00:28:30.119 --> 00:28:32.680
so that's like site of a special scientific interest.

00:28:33.140 --> 00:28:35.759
It's all moorland and heathland. Now they're

00:28:35.759 --> 00:28:38.960
the lucky ones. Back at my apiary, a friend of

00:28:38.960 --> 00:28:41.339
mine's got a digger. Every year we go and scrape

00:28:41.339 --> 00:28:44.299
back of a swathe of the ground and put down wildflower

00:28:44.299 --> 00:28:47.839
seeds, but unless it's for cilia, the bees. tend

00:28:47.839 --> 00:28:50.799
to go off into the hedgerows and I get hundreds

00:28:50.799 --> 00:28:53.279
and thousands of bumblebees and solitary bees

00:28:53.279 --> 00:28:55.559
and all the other pollinators as all the hobbleflies

00:28:55.559 --> 00:28:58.279
come but you'd be hard pressed to find one of

00:28:58.279 --> 00:29:00.720
my bees because they like to go out think oh

00:29:00.720 --> 00:29:03.339
yeah that looks nice and then off they go and

00:29:03.339 --> 00:29:06.140
find a sycamore tree. It's sort of like when

00:29:06.140 --> 00:29:08.759
we set up a really beautiful water source for

00:29:08.759 --> 00:29:11.119
them, right near the hives. I don't know if you

00:29:11.119 --> 00:29:15.440
have this experience. Beautiful, you know, rocks

00:29:15.440 --> 00:29:18.799
and pure water and everything, and they'll fly

00:29:18.799 --> 00:29:21.119
right over it and go to the neighbor's chlorinated

00:29:21.119 --> 00:29:23.720
swimming pool or something, or a mud hole in

00:29:23.720 --> 00:29:28.000
the road or, yeah. It's true. The cow yard, like

00:29:28.000 --> 00:29:30.740
one of the acreages, they're a farm and the farmer

00:29:30.740 --> 00:29:32.799
will get in tucks. Sometimes you'll think there's

00:29:32.799 --> 00:29:35.799
a swarm, but it won't be. It'll be run off from

00:29:35.799 --> 00:29:37.960
where the cows, especially if they've just mucked

00:29:37.960 --> 00:29:41.000
out. It's the water and cow manure. They love

00:29:41.000 --> 00:29:43.680
it. So yeah, they can be grubby little things,

00:29:44.559 --> 00:29:48.000
really. I won't tell them that you said that.

00:29:48.539 --> 00:29:51.700
It's all in the macronutrient. Hey I'm curious

00:29:51.700 --> 00:29:53.859
what is it like beekeeping where you are? Give

00:29:53.859 --> 00:29:56.859
us an idea of the weather and how harsh the winter

00:29:56.859 --> 00:29:59.640
is and things like that so we know what it's

00:29:59.640 --> 00:30:03.660
like beekeeping there in Cornwall. Okay so you

00:30:03.660 --> 00:30:05.720
know all English people love talking about the

00:30:05.720 --> 00:30:09.460
weather so you're really playing into our hands

00:30:09.460 --> 00:30:12.099
with that one and beekeepers love to moan about

00:30:12.099 --> 00:30:16.079
the weather so our seasons are... it's a funny

00:30:16.079 --> 00:30:18.680
one really you know six months of the year you

00:30:18.680 --> 00:30:21.480
don't look in a hive. really from October through

00:30:21.480 --> 00:30:24.319
to March, the bees are left to their own devices.

00:30:24.420 --> 00:30:26.839
So I would say we've got a relatively short season.

00:30:27.259 --> 00:30:30.420
And it honestly depends year on year. Like last

00:30:30.420 --> 00:30:33.420
year, the spring, which was sort of April, May,

00:30:33.740 --> 00:30:37.079
was outstanding. For the spring crop last year,

00:30:37.140 --> 00:30:39.220
the weather was just right. Everything was giving.

00:30:39.380 --> 00:30:43.599
We get a lot of Hawthorn, Blackthorn. Such a

00:30:43.599 --> 00:30:46.140
stone fruit lives in the hedge. Really, really

00:30:46.140 --> 00:30:49.650
good for nectar. Sycamore is a It's a type of

00:30:49.650 --> 00:30:52.970
Acer, big yellow pinnacles that hang down. That's

00:30:52.970 --> 00:30:55.309
another massive honey crop, if the weather plays

00:30:55.309 --> 00:30:57.750
nicely, which it did last year. This year it's

00:30:57.750 --> 00:31:00.410
been a little bit more hand -to -mouth. I know

00:31:00.410 --> 00:31:03.789
we've had prolonged periods of rain. It's just

00:31:03.789 --> 00:31:06.150
felt like forever rain, really. And the bees

00:31:06.150 --> 00:31:08.470
have eaten most of the honey, but now we're just

00:31:08.470 --> 00:31:10.970
coming into summer. So we've got all the blackberry

00:31:10.970 --> 00:31:13.730
to look forward to. I'm pretty lucky with some

00:31:13.730 --> 00:31:16.529
of the ivy crops and Himalayan balsam and fireweed,

00:31:16.529 --> 00:31:20.740
you'd call it. Yes, so there's still plenty to

00:31:20.740 --> 00:31:22.640
come and the weather, hopefully now it's been

00:31:22.640 --> 00:31:24.759
nourished with the rain, will be sunny for a

00:31:24.759 --> 00:31:28.599
while. But it's very, it's very turbulent. Cornwall,

00:31:28.740 --> 00:31:30.720
I think, is probably the wettest part, or maybe

00:31:30.720 --> 00:31:32.839
the Scottish and the Welsh would disagree. But

00:31:32.839 --> 00:31:34.960
I feel that Cornwall gets its, definitely its

00:31:34.960 --> 00:31:37.880
fair share of, of rain. But then, you know, like

00:31:37.880 --> 00:31:39.619
it was surprising. The other day it was raining

00:31:39.619 --> 00:31:41.839
and there was bees hanging all around the swarm

00:31:41.839 --> 00:31:44.180
trap. And in fact, I had stellatext on top of

00:31:44.180 --> 00:31:46.609
the swarm trap. It's like an insulation. Maybe

00:31:46.609 --> 00:31:48.690
it kept the water warmer, who knows, but the

00:31:48.690 --> 00:31:50.849
bees were all around the cellotex or around the

00:31:50.849 --> 00:31:53.089
cut edge having a little drink. And that's like

00:31:53.089 --> 00:31:56.190
eight o 'clock at night in the rain. So. Yeah,

00:31:56.309 --> 00:31:59.529
go figure. How cold does it get? And do you get

00:31:59.529 --> 00:32:02.599
any snow? We'll occasionally get snow. It's very

00:32:02.599 --> 00:32:04.599
mild down here, really. It's more wet than anything

00:32:04.599 --> 00:32:08.019
else. Sometimes we'll get snow, but it will be

00:32:08.019 --> 00:32:10.259
the kind of mushy snow that doesn't hang around.

00:32:10.420 --> 00:32:13.099
None of this kind of Michigan snow that covers

00:32:13.099 --> 00:32:15.099
houses and makes everything look like a lovely

00:32:15.099 --> 00:32:18.019
cake. No, we don't get anything. Nothing lucky

00:32:18.019 --> 00:32:20.539
like that, I'm afraid. We'll get the kids pray

00:32:20.539 --> 00:32:23.980
for a day off school, and so the finest little

00:32:23.980 --> 00:32:26.619
misting of snow, and they'll be all playing like,

00:32:26.619 --> 00:32:31.420
oh, is the school shut? No. And, you know, we

00:32:31.420 --> 00:32:33.440
have pretty nice summers. Cornwall's a bit of

00:32:33.440 --> 00:32:35.799
a hotspot as a tourist destination coming down

00:32:35.799 --> 00:32:38.619
because it is really pretty. We've got surrounded

00:32:38.619 --> 00:32:42.059
by coast land, all the central sort of swathes

00:32:42.059 --> 00:32:45.059
of moorland and heathland. So in terms of bees,

00:32:45.380 --> 00:32:47.160
there's plenty of forage around, definitely.

00:32:47.539 --> 00:32:49.960
It's just getting the weather to play ball, really.

00:32:50.759 --> 00:32:52.980
But all in all, they don't do too bad. All right.

00:32:52.980 --> 00:32:55.680
Let's talk about pests for a second. Is Varroa

00:32:55.680 --> 00:32:58.880
a big problem for you? on Defro, which is our

00:32:58.880 --> 00:33:02.480
kind of government site for agriculture. You

00:33:02.480 --> 00:33:04.339
have to mark everything down as having Varroa

00:33:04.339 --> 00:33:06.779
now. So unless you actively say you don't have

00:33:06.779 --> 00:33:08.599
it, it's just assumed that they're everywhere.

00:33:09.240 --> 00:33:11.980
I'll always treat for Varroa, pretty much regardless,

00:33:11.980 --> 00:33:16.440
actually. But yeah, it is definitely around for

00:33:16.440 --> 00:33:18.579
sure. But I try and keep on top of it before

00:33:18.579 --> 00:33:21.039
it gets a hold. You know, doing the removals,

00:33:21.180 --> 00:33:23.400
you'd think for a resistance, well, they're not

00:33:23.400 --> 00:33:24.839
going to stay there if they've been wiped out

00:33:24.839 --> 00:33:28.240
by Varroa. If a colony's been wiped out by a

00:33:28.240 --> 00:33:31.420
Varroa and then it dies out and then a swarm

00:33:31.420 --> 00:33:33.799
moves straight into that old comb and picks up

00:33:33.799 --> 00:33:35.519
and the homeowner's been on holiday, they're

00:33:35.519 --> 00:33:37.000
not going to know there's been a transference

00:33:37.000 --> 00:33:39.339
of ownership inside their roof colony, are they?

00:33:39.519 --> 00:33:41.359
They just think they've still got bees there.

00:33:41.700 --> 00:33:44.019
So most of the time, if we're doing removals,

00:33:44.359 --> 00:33:47.059
the bees will have deformed wing virus. If you

00:33:47.059 --> 00:33:49.380
don't see the Varroa actively on the comb, you'll

00:33:49.380 --> 00:33:51.740
see the size of it. So deformed wing virus, maybe

00:33:51.740 --> 00:33:54.539
a little bit of sack brood, very rarely chalk

00:33:54.539 --> 00:33:58.119
brood, actually. But yeah, a little bit of bold

00:33:58.119 --> 00:34:01.079
brood running around. A swarm can even take some

00:34:01.079 --> 00:34:05.119
of it with them, unfortunately. Yeah. Yeah. No,

00:34:05.359 --> 00:34:07.720
it's, well, it's the best time to treat. If ever

00:34:07.720 --> 00:34:10.960
I get a swarm before, well, it's in that broodless

00:34:10.960 --> 00:34:15.380
state. I've got oxalic acid, the instant VAP,

00:34:15.440 --> 00:34:18.179
so I'll give it a couple of goes with that while

00:34:18.179 --> 00:34:19.960
waiting for the brood to kick in. But it's a

00:34:19.960 --> 00:34:22.079
really good way, kind of natural, if you like,

00:34:22.440 --> 00:34:24.840
to knock down any varroa before it. before it

00:34:24.840 --> 00:34:27.900
gets a hold. But no, I'm always really mindful

00:34:27.900 --> 00:34:30.980
of pests and diseases and all of my removals

00:34:30.980 --> 00:34:33.920
go into kind of a strict quarantine. Anything

00:34:33.920 --> 00:34:35.880
that is even questionable has a double strict

00:34:35.880 --> 00:34:38.300
quarantine. And then especially if there's ever

00:34:38.300 --> 00:34:40.159
a really, really sick one, it just comes home.

00:34:40.480 --> 00:34:43.659
So I've got kind of three stages of biosecurity

00:34:43.659 --> 00:34:46.079
because you just can't, you know, it would be

00:34:46.079 --> 00:34:48.840
terrible for me or for anyone to bring disease

00:34:48.840 --> 00:34:52.400
into an area. So I'm pretty hot on biosecurity

00:34:52.400 --> 00:34:56.059
as much as I can be really. Very smart. And I've

00:34:56.059 --> 00:34:58.880
read that you're starting to get a few Asian

00:34:58.880 --> 00:35:03.099
hornets there in England. We are. Yeah, we are

00:35:03.099 --> 00:35:05.840
starting. Honestly, I think it's unfortunately

00:35:05.840 --> 00:35:10.119
inevitable. I really do. Not to be pessimistic,

00:35:10.800 --> 00:35:14.139
but it's tracked this far, hasn't it? It's tracked

00:35:14.139 --> 00:35:18.289
so far. all the way from Asia is not going to

00:35:18.289 --> 00:35:21.610
stop in France or Jersey. So, you know, look

00:35:21.610 --> 00:35:23.510
at Brittany is a similar sort of place, isn't

00:35:23.510 --> 00:35:26.550
it? They've got one. What's their statistic now?

00:35:26.670 --> 00:35:28.429
I forget, but it's something staggering, like

00:35:28.429 --> 00:35:31.690
11 nests every kilometer or it's just kind of

00:35:31.690 --> 00:35:35.110
got absolutely a mega hold. And we've already

00:35:35.110 --> 00:35:37.269
had some sightings here, but we're still in the

00:35:37.269 --> 00:35:39.710
track and trace stage. We've had a couple down

00:35:39.710 --> 00:35:42.010
in Cornwall. Definitely, we even had one on the

00:35:42.010 --> 00:35:43.789
Isles of Silly, which is a tiny little island

00:35:43.789 --> 00:35:46.309
off the coast of Cornwall. But, you know, you're

00:35:46.309 --> 00:35:48.030
talking about an insect is going to come over

00:35:48.030 --> 00:35:51.170
in a camper van or on a boat or in a handbag

00:35:51.170 --> 00:35:54.050
or in a plant or one of our supermarkets had

00:35:54.050 --> 00:35:57.030
a rhinoceros beetle and a lavender. A rhinoceros

00:35:57.030 --> 00:36:00.219
beetle is about four inches long. It's not a

00:36:00.219 --> 00:36:03.019
cross that was for sale in a supermarket. So

00:36:03.019 --> 00:36:06.059
if you can sneak a rhino beetle into a supermarket,

00:36:06.280 --> 00:36:09.219
I think a little insect on the wing is not going

00:36:09.219 --> 00:36:12.039
to have too much of a problem. All right. Last

00:36:12.039 --> 00:36:14.820
thing before we wrap up, Molly, I want to hear

00:36:14.820 --> 00:36:18.519
if you have had at least one or two wild and

00:36:18.519 --> 00:36:22.360
crazy beekeeping stories. And anyone doing cutouts

00:36:22.360 --> 00:36:26.099
or swarm removals, as you put it, has had plenty

00:36:26.099 --> 00:36:28.400
of them. But are there one or two that stick

00:36:28.400 --> 00:36:30.400
out to you that might be fun for us to hear?

00:36:31.280 --> 00:36:33.500
I mean, there's one I could admit was a warning

00:36:33.500 --> 00:36:35.860
for everyone. And there's one it was just the

00:36:35.860 --> 00:36:38.539
most the most ferocious one, really, like, I

00:36:38.539 --> 00:36:40.380
have such good fun doing it, honestly, I really

00:36:40.380 --> 00:36:42.900
look every one I do. I honestly look forward

00:36:42.900 --> 00:36:45.199
to seeing what the bees have been up to, how

00:36:45.199 --> 00:36:46.980
it's going to be what the colony is going to

00:36:46.980 --> 00:36:50.730
be like, like this. There is a joy to it. And

00:36:50.730 --> 00:36:53.570
I am lucky there, I know. But as I said to you

00:36:53.570 --> 00:36:56.349
before, very rarely you'll get a really mean

00:36:56.349 --> 00:36:59.510
one and it'll be mean throughout the whole thing.

00:37:00.170 --> 00:37:03.070
And there was one, again, they told me it was

00:37:03.070 --> 00:37:05.889
a swarm that had just gone in, but they had had

00:37:05.889 --> 00:37:08.590
bees there previously. So when you're doing the

00:37:08.590 --> 00:37:10.690
inspection and you can see bees on like a little

00:37:10.690 --> 00:37:13.260
bit of old comb, you're like, OK, well. It's

00:37:13.260 --> 00:37:15.039
a dead out and they've moved into a dead out.

00:37:15.099 --> 00:37:17.440
So it all sort of figured with the story. It

00:37:17.440 --> 00:37:20.300
was never a swarm moved in. It was the most aggressive

00:37:20.300 --> 00:37:22.719
colony of bees. So we're up on the scaffolding

00:37:22.719 --> 00:37:26.199
now beside a railway line. And the bees are just,

00:37:26.579 --> 00:37:28.380
as soon as we cracked that fascia board, they're

00:37:28.380 --> 00:37:31.719
absolutely wild. They're covering us. But it

00:37:31.719 --> 00:37:34.820
got to the stage that... You just really have

00:37:34.820 --> 00:37:36.519
to, there's no one else around. It was a farm

00:37:36.519 --> 00:37:38.800
in the middle of nowhere. So we carried on, but

00:37:38.800 --> 00:37:41.340
I had to have two suits on. Now I've got a 3D

00:37:41.340 --> 00:37:44.400
printed mesh suit, which is Hornet proof. And

00:37:44.400 --> 00:37:46.300
they were still getting me through the elbows,

00:37:46.840 --> 00:37:49.519
all the places that they love to go. Face, wrists,

00:37:50.139 --> 00:37:52.480
elbows, armpits, and crotch, unfortunately, if

00:37:52.480 --> 00:37:54.239
we're honest, that's just where bees seek you

00:37:54.239 --> 00:37:57.579
out, isn't it? So I had double suits on, double

00:37:57.579 --> 00:37:59.860
gloves, taped up to the wrists, taped up to the

00:37:59.860 --> 00:38:02.460
ankles. But we just have to do a bit, go and

00:38:02.460 --> 00:38:05.219
take a breath. go and do a little bit more, but

00:38:05.219 --> 00:38:07.679
I'm just not set up for pesticides and I just

00:38:07.679 --> 00:38:10.460
won't really nearly use pesticides. So you just

00:38:10.460 --> 00:38:13.940
have to carry on methodically and calmly and

00:38:13.940 --> 00:38:16.679
just carry on and kick our way through and then

00:38:16.679 --> 00:38:18.820
requeen it. Obviously I didn't take any of the

00:38:18.820 --> 00:38:21.019
broods. I didn't want drones in the quarantine

00:38:21.019 --> 00:38:22.860
at all. They went somewhere miles away because

00:38:22.860 --> 00:38:25.440
I didn't want those genetics mixing with anything

00:38:25.440 --> 00:38:28.420
of mine. And yeah, I did manage to requeen it,

00:38:28.420 --> 00:38:31.980
but it was a really long day and it was a really

00:38:31.980 --> 00:38:34.750
long time getting it just manageable afterwards,

00:38:35.309 --> 00:38:40.389
actually. That was a real commitment to the job,

00:38:40.530 --> 00:38:45.130
that one. And my warning for other people, smokers,

00:38:45.849 --> 00:38:48.510
how many times do you tell people where your

00:38:48.510 --> 00:38:51.869
out aprons are? Probably never. I know I'm really

00:38:51.869 --> 00:38:54.269
secretive with mine. So not even probably my

00:38:54.269 --> 00:38:56.130
partner knows exactly where half of the aprons

00:38:56.130 --> 00:38:59.599
are. It's like a general area. And I was trying

00:38:59.599 --> 00:39:02.260
a new smoke of fuel, but now I've got it pretty

00:39:02.260 --> 00:39:05.360
well set up. I have wood chips, oak pellets,

00:39:05.920 --> 00:39:07.539
I have floor scrapings, because a friend of mine's

00:39:07.539 --> 00:39:10.400
a tree surgeon, so it's all mulched, it's nice,

00:39:10.699 --> 00:39:14.760
it's perfect. And I was trying hessian. I couldn't

00:39:14.760 --> 00:39:16.980
get the stuff to go and it was kind of going

00:39:16.980 --> 00:39:18.940
and smouldering and then going out and I got

00:39:18.940 --> 00:39:21.139
fed up a bit so I tipped out on the grass went

00:39:21.139 --> 00:39:24.719
to get my smoker tub to light it again and my

00:39:24.719 --> 00:39:27.280
leg is killing me like the bees are why are they

00:39:27.280 --> 00:39:30.820
stinging me all over and I looked down but my

00:39:30.820 --> 00:39:33.280
leg was on fire and as I tipped out the hessian

00:39:33.280 --> 00:39:35.639
the wind had blown and just caught the hessian

00:39:35.639 --> 00:39:40.400
and just clicked the yeah just clicked my Trouser

00:39:40.400 --> 00:39:42.780
leg really but it had gone up like a rocket.

00:39:42.780 --> 00:39:44.980
They've gone through my b -suit my trousers and

00:39:44.980 --> 00:39:47.880
stopped at my sock Like how that is pretty dangerous

00:39:47.880 --> 00:39:50.619
and now I carry a fire extinguisher and I do

00:39:50.619 --> 00:39:53.340
let people know exactly Oh, I'll let my partner

00:39:53.340 --> 00:39:56.480
know at least What three words like a GPS is

00:39:56.480 --> 00:39:58.539
where the apries are because it could have been

00:39:58.539 --> 00:40:04.239
serious Sounds serious. Oh absolutely. Oh Man,

00:40:04.260 --> 00:40:05.920
you don't think about it though. Do you really

00:40:05.920 --> 00:40:09.480
you know no and We'll do a little survey here

00:40:09.480 --> 00:40:12.460
with our listeners. Madda, shoot me an email

00:40:12.460 --> 00:40:15.380
if you've had your bee suit catch on fire. I'm

00:40:15.380 --> 00:40:17.780
curious how often it happens. I don't hear about

00:40:17.780 --> 00:40:21.019
it very often, but I'm glad you're okay. I'm

00:40:21.019 --> 00:40:23.199
fine. Yeah. I'm glad it doesn't happen very often.

00:40:23.400 --> 00:40:25.239
I hope it never happens again, because it is

00:40:25.239 --> 00:40:28.300
pretty painful. Definitely worse than bee stings.

00:40:28.800 --> 00:40:30.579
Yeah. All right. Any other wisdom you want to

00:40:30.579 --> 00:40:33.340
share with us, Molly? Just have fun. Honestly,

00:40:33.539 --> 00:40:36.159
beekeeping is supposed to be fun, relaxing. It's

00:40:36.159 --> 00:40:39.260
like, personally for me, I just love sitting

00:40:39.260 --> 00:40:42.559
by the bees, you know, whether it's running a

00:40:42.559 --> 00:40:45.099
swarm, if that never gets old, does it? You guys

00:40:45.099 --> 00:40:47.280
do that, you have a little ramp and put a white

00:40:47.280 --> 00:40:49.539
sheet on and then you've got your box of bees

00:40:49.539 --> 00:40:51.300
and you knock them out and you just sit there

00:40:51.300 --> 00:40:53.360
and amongst these cloud of bees it's absolute

00:40:53.360 --> 00:40:56.360
kind of like bedlam, it sounds fantastic and

00:40:56.360 --> 00:40:58.099
you're just watching them march up the hill,

00:40:58.480 --> 00:41:00.360
seeing if you can see the queen, like what's

00:41:00.360 --> 00:41:02.739
she gonna look like? Is she a big ginger one?

00:41:02.840 --> 00:41:05.960
Is she like really dark? It's just... Just never

00:41:05.960 --> 00:41:10.199
let it get tired. Always enjoy it. Take those

00:41:10.199 --> 00:41:13.059
moments when you can. I can tell you love bees.

00:41:13.659 --> 00:41:16.219
I really do. Molly, thanks so much for being

00:41:16.219 --> 00:41:18.500
on with me. I'm going to put a link to your website

00:41:18.500 --> 00:41:20.739
in the show notes if anybody wants to find you

00:41:20.739 --> 00:41:23.219
and learn more about what you do. But it's been

00:41:23.219 --> 00:41:26.880
fun having you today. Thanks ever so much. You

00:41:26.880 --> 00:41:32.690
take care. Thanks again for joining us on Be

00:41:32.690 --> 00:41:35.789
Love, Be Keeping presented by Man Lake. Another

00:41:35.789 --> 00:41:38.510
big thank you goes to V2B Health for their support.

00:41:39.099 --> 00:41:42.119
Vita's Varroa Control Ranger products includes

00:41:42.119 --> 00:41:46.280
Epistan, Epigard, and now Varroxan Extended Release

00:41:46.280 --> 00:41:49.860
Oxalic Acid Strips. Hey, thanks a lot guys. And

00:41:49.860 --> 00:41:52.460
if you haven't yet, please subscribe to and follow

00:41:52.460 --> 00:41:54.719
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00:41:54.719 --> 00:41:58.000
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00:41:58.000 --> 00:42:01.159
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00:42:01.159 --> 00:42:04.320
or topic you'd like discussed on the show, shoot

00:42:04.320 --> 00:42:07.840
me an email, eric at BeLoveBeKeeping .com and

00:42:07.840 --> 00:42:10.309
remember if you're not just in it for the honey

00:42:10.309 --> 00:42:13.349
or the money, you're in it for the love. See

00:42:13.349 --> 00:42:14.050
you next week.