Adventures in Japanese Bee (Apis Cerana) Keeping

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Zasso Nouka
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Re: Adventures in Japanese Bee (Apis Cerana) Keeping

Post by Zasso Nouka »

Honestly man it looks professionally made, I wish my carpentry skills were that good.

The dimensions of the boxes are 290 x 290 x 15mm and the walls are around 35mm thick, there are instructions on how to build them here on this page How to build a capture hive box at the Kyoto Weekend Beekeepers site. Assembly is very easy with no fancy joints.

There is also some further instructions on this page Full version detailing roof construction and some other bits.

Yes, these boxes are used in almost exactly the same way as Warre hives with a new box being placed underneath as the current ones fill and honey is harvested from the top box.

It's funny but now we've got our own hive boxes we've started to notice other peoples hives dotted around as we driving here and there. Not loads and loads but occasionally we see one on the edge of a forest or tucked away under some fruit trees

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Re: Adventures in Japanese Bee (Apis Cerana) Keeping

Post by Zasso Nouka »

So, decided to apply the wax to the inside of the hives yesterday. As we have lots of wax I also smeared some around the sides of the boxes as well as the ceiling and entrance.

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Apparently it's not necessary but we have more wax than we need so why not.

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Re: Adventures in Japanese Bee (Apis Cerana) Keeping

Post by Caleb Fuller »

Beeswax is good for LOTS of things - it can feature as an ingredient in anything from wood polish to skin ointment. But anyway...

I notice a lot of hives around here too. Unfortunately, they are all abandoned. Even my father in law had bees for a while, but they swarmed and left. I suspect his hive was too small and he wasn't nadiring new boxes underneath as the colony grew.

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Re: Adventures in Japanese Bee (Apis Cerana) Keeping

Post by Zasso Nouka »

And so it begins.........

Placed two of our hives out yesterday and cracked open the pheromone attractant, according to the Bee Map swarms have been sighted in Chiba and surrounding prefectures now so we're making sure we are ready.

Placed the first one on the edge of the forest over looking some of our farmland.

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It's shaded by some large trees so they shouldn't overheat in the summer and we cleared the area around the hive so they have clear access when entering and leaving the hive.

The second hive has been placed in our garden and will be shaded by a couple of bushes once their leaves have fully emerged.

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The third hive is currently with a friend who is making up a batch of hive boxes so that if we do capture any swarms we will have plenty to expand the hives. We should get that back next week.

So, it's a waiting game now and we have our fingers crossed some explorer bees will discover one of the hives and like what they find.

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Re: Adventures in Japanese Bee (Apis Cerana) Keeping

Post by Zasso Nouka »

Nothing major to report yet but with all the cherry trees in bloom we are starting to see bees coming to flowers in our garden and farmland so we've decided to leave the flowering chingensai and kabu until it sets seeds before tractoring it into the soil in the hope that will also bring more bees.

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Re: Adventures in Japanese Bee (Apis Cerana) Keeping

Post by paradoxbox »

You might try contacting local beekeepers or suzumebachi hunters and asking them to inform you about swarm reports from the public.

If you can get a report of a swarm in the wild, you can go take care of it yourself, or perhaps broker a deal with the person who goes and collects the swarm.

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Re: Adventures in Japanese Bee (Apis Cerana) Keeping

Post by Zasso Nouka »

That's a great idea, I'll start making enquiries to see if there are any local suzumebachi hunters or bee keepers around.

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Re: Adventures in Japanese Bee (Apis Cerana) Keeping

Post by Eric in Japan »

paradoxbox wrote:You might try contacting local beekeepers or suzumebachi hunters and asking them to inform you about swarm reports from the public.

If you can get a report of a swarm in the wild, you can go take care of it yourself, or perhaps broker a deal with the person who goes and collects the swarm.
Go to your local Fire Department and give them your number, and permission to pass it on to people who report swarms. Tons of people mistake bee swarms for suzumebachi nests, and call the FD.
"... so, the cucumbers said to the cabbage, `Lettuce Go.`"

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Re: Adventures in Japanese Bee (Apis Cerana) Keeping

Post by Zasso Nouka »

Great idea Eric and thank you

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Re: Adventures in Japanese Bee (Apis Cerana) Keeping

Post by Caleb Fuller »

Hi,

Any luck so far?

I visited a local bee-keeper today, who keeps Apis cerana. He said that when he gets a swarm, probably in May, he will let me have it. He had a look over my Warre hive and seems to think it suitable, though I should use an entrance reducer to make it harder for suzumibachi to get in. I've left it with him, and when he has a swarm he will transfer it into my hive, and we'll move the whole thing back to my place in the evening, when they have settled.

I was worried that he would pronounce anything slightly different from the "standard" Japanese hive as unsuitable, but he seemed quite knowledgeable and understood the idea of the top-bar Warre no problem. He actually has some hives in the "standard" Japanese style, and more where he is using a larger, square box, something like 24 x 24 x 24, with shorter Langstroth style frames in it, complete with wax foundation. He would have transferred a hive by moving the frames, but the dimensions were too different, and it would have proved a major operation, so, waiting for a swarm it is...

So, when I get them, I may well be the first person in Japan keeping Apis cerana in a Warre style hive!

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