M y name is Jeff Davies, I am 46 years old and I live in the Swiss Valley area of
Llanelli
which is in the County of Carmarthenshire, South Wales. UK.
I was brought up on a farm in the country near to the village of Derwydd, a short distance away from the tranquility of :-
Carreg Cennen Castle.
I started bee-keeping in 1988, starting off with just 2 National Hives, and intending to keep it that way. One of my biggest mistakes however was to register with the local Police, thus making myself available to collect swarms and has a result, over the years I have ended up with up to 10 hives!
I must admit though, that I really enjoy collecting swarms and always find it a fascinating experience, but new swarms need new homes,and every home requires lots of room.
Sadly, due to the Varroa mite, the numbers have now been reduced to just 5 hives, which I suppose is quite a manageable amount.
Whilst on the subject of swarms, 1997 was a 'good' year in my locality with swarms available to collect from mid-April onwards. This year however, (1998) I have attended to a total of only two reported 'call outs' of swarms from the Police and Council and these were towards the end of June. I know that it's a bit premature to draw any conclusions, but I suspect that the Varroa mite has already had a disastrous effect in my area!
It would be interesting to hear how beekeepers in other parts of the country have faired.
Over the years I have gained some knowledge and experience in bee-keeping. I am still learning and I would like to take this opportunity of sharing my knowledge with you.
There is now a great revival in doing things the natural way, and I believe that many of us have had more than enough of man made chemicals.
Let us hope we are not too late to go back in time and work as closely as we can with nature.
I hope that you all find the following 'Hints and Tips' of benefit.
I am a member of the West Glamorgan Bee-Keepers Association and I would welcome any feedback. I can be contacted either by E.mail (bottom of page) or by post via the Secretary of the above Association.
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