First Inspection

[Newbeeneil]

I inspected 20 today in the balmy T shirt weather. Good job I did as I am going back tomorrow to put supers on 3 hives which are 10 frames of bees and 6/7 frames of brood in WBCs and they are bringing in nectar from the fields of rape about 200yrds away. I will put a sheet of newspaper with a hole in on the QX just in case we get a really cold snap this weekend.

 

[Mint Bee]

Agreed, where there is OSR starting to come out suggest that inspections will be needed fairly soon (in South). Where there is no OSR, not so bothered, especially as max weekend temperature forecast locally is 9-10C - for what that's worth

 

[Murox]

I inspected 20 today in the balmy T shirt weather. Good job I did as I am going back tomorrow to put supers on 3 hives which are 10 frames of bees and 6/7 frames of brood in WBCs and they are bringing in nectar from the fields of rape about 200yrds away. I will put a sheet of newspaper with a hole in on the QX just in case we get a really cold snap this weekend.

I don't know whether I am envious or not. We have just had the first 2 consecutive days of warmer (10degrees) not too windy weather of the year and I haven't yet opened up any of mine.

 

[fian]

I did the review last week. Since the last cursory look (to add food) in January I have found some dead but most are fine.
From the strongest ones, remove some frame to prepare nuclei (from previous years the optimal window is from the end of March to the end of April). I added a comb to these to stretch and a half rise giving space to avoid premature swarming.
The next review at the end of March, let's hope the weather window is good.

 

[ericbeaumont]

wet, still sitting around 10-12 degrees at the moment

go by what he/she see's and how the weather dictates when inspections can start or at least the first cursory look to see how things inside are going

What did you decide, Nwb?

By way of an update, yesterday I had to upgrade two contract nucs asap in a windless 17C. They were hanging off the front of the nucbox, one had half a frame of open drone brood and filled the BB; in a fortnight it's likely to be on DBB, with the brood split vertically.

After that I went round the corner to the farm apiary and supered the DBBs before they rammed the top box with nectar: dandelion, cherry, plum, & blackthorn is out, and willow beginning to flower, so in this part of Essex it's booming. Swapped the BBs round to get them working.

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[Curly green finger's]

Snow forecasted here over the next few days

 

[hemo]

Likely at least a fortnight before I carry out my first's.

 

[Newbeeneil]

I inspected another 15 today and supered 5. I will be supering a few more this time next week by the look of the amount of brood about to emerge.

 

[Swarm]

I would advise going by weather in your area and what you see at your apiaries, your bees don't read this forum

 

[Mint Bee]

I would advise going by weather in your area and what you see at your apiaries, your bees don't read this forum

isn't that the advice being given to the OP here?

 

[ericbeaumont]

isn't that the advice being given to the OP here?

Yes, and it would be good to have an update from Nwb on weather & forage in their part of Essex, to emphasise that what matters is location, location and location, and not what everyone else is doing.

 

[Antipodes]

What did you decide, Nwb?

By way of an update, yesterday I had to upgrade two contract nucs asap in a windless 17C. They were hanging off the front of the nucbox, one had half a frame of open drone brood and filled the BB; in a fortnight one is likely to be on DBB, with the brood split vertically.

After that I went round the corner to the farm apiary and supered the DBBs before they rammed the top box with nectar: dandelion, cherry, plum, & blackthorn is out, and willow beginning to flower, so in this part of Essex it's booming. Swapped the BBs round to get them working.

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Do you collect much of a spring crop generally?

 

[Sutty]

Do you collect much of a spring crop generally?

I think it's highly variable in the UK generally, last year spring was great - hoping for the same this year, certainly drought seems unlikely to reduce nectar production after a couple of very wet months!

 

[Erichalfbee]

Do you collect much of a spring crop generally?

Last year was exceptional. I couldn't get supers on fast enough. I got a decent crop of Hawthorn and as a bonus some Dandelion which sold out blindingly fast. Ive been in Wales for 12 years and that was the single year the bees managed a Spring Crop. Luckily there is no OSR here

 

[Mint Bee]

Do you collect much of a spring crop generally?

generally have some OSR about locally, in addition to other spring forage. Bees will travel for the nectar and I haven't migrated bee to it specifically prior to this year. Temperature dependent, but a few years ago I harvested about 800 pounds at end of OSR (Spring)*, roughly a third of that years production. One cold spring I think I took less than 100 lbs before the OSR finished.

* as OSR honey sets quickly, my spring harvest is based on when OSR flowering finishes.

 

[ericbeaumont]

Do you collect much of a spring crop generally?

As above, we've had very good early springs in the last few years and yield can be good. I was slow to start last year so had to split a great many as they were rammed with nectar and raring to go; this spring I'm more alert to early flowering (you'd think I'd have learned by now).

 

[Antipodes]

As above, we've had very good early springs in the last few years and yield can be good. I was slow to start last year so had to split a great many as they were rammed with nectar and raring to go; this spring I'm more alert to early flowering (you'd think I'd have learned by now).

Sounds quite good. I take a pair of binoculars with me these days to try and see what's flowering where. Eucalypts here are generally very tall and the flowers tend to be subtle....also rarely on lower branches.

 

[hemo]

Spring crops I find will depend on how warm or sunny it is , when the sun is out the bees do go bonkers. Last spring here was exceptional.
This year so far not only has it hardly stopped raining also the wind never seems to drop and that certainly knocks the edge off temps.

 

[Swarm]

Fifteen degrees and glorious, warm sunshine today, Dandelions everywhere.

 

[Murox]

Fifteen degrees and glorious, warm sunshine today, Dandelions everywhere.

8 degrees, showery with sunny intervals and 30mph west north west wind. Haven't seen a dandelion yet this year and the coltsfoot have put their heads back inside their hoods.