Recent content by scuttlefish

Last year I put each new super immediately under the previous supers and directly on top of the brood box, can't say for sure that it worked any better than just putting them on top of the stack but certainly didn't cause any problems. I put my supers on with drawn comb frames on the outside...

Cheers all. Just realised this thread posted twice for some reason. Sharon, about a dozen play cells through the brood box (same for all my hives) but only one (on the face of the comb) had an egg in it. I'll be checking again tomorrow anyway, even if it hasn't developed into a QC it's about...

Thanks o90o - I have the frame marked & the egg should be hatched by tomorrow, I'll have another look then.

Are there any eggs or open brood in the hive? How long is it since the last time you inspected (i.e. when the queen might have been squashed)?

I found a newly laid (i.e. Standing upright) egg in a queen cup/play cell a couple of days ago, but no royal jelly. Despite my extensive (not) beekeeping experience I haven't seen that before. Is that (normally) just the queen laying in an open cell or is it an intended queen? For some reason I...

I found a newly laid (i.e. Standing upright) egg in a queen cup/play cell a couple of days ago, but no royal jelly. Despite my extensive (not) beekeeping experience I haven't seen that before. Is that (normally) just the queen laying in an open cell or is it an intended queen? For some reason I...

And it just gets busier... ;) As for me, inspected hives #3 - #6 today (#1 & #2 were inspected on Thursday). QPL and good stores in all, no QCs, two chalkbrood mummies in #3 but otherwise no signs of disease. Changed the plastic QX on #4 for a zinc one and changed the brood chamber on #6 for a...

Cleaned up some old brood boxes and floors that I swapped out at the weekend. I was rather chuffed to see that the old box off #1 hive - first one I bought - is still in good shape & the (pine/deal) wood is still perfectly sound after five years in use. Guess I didn't do too bad a job of...

Found a dozen or so QCs with freshly hatched larvae in #2 so broke them down (after checking the hive was Q+ of course!) and demaree'd the hive (new BB over QX, 2 supers, QX & old BB, no separation board). My first time doing it, hopefully it'll be okay. At six hives I can't afford the extra...

I think I'll be following that advice and sitting in the apiary under an umbrella, waiting for a break in the rain to inspect! :D

Added a super to each hive and cursed the rain - inspections are overdue on all six but if the weather forecast is right it'll be the weekend before I can get into the brood boxes without the bees all being washed out the front door. I'm preparing for there being multiple QCs in all the hives...

Do the bees know that? ;)

Don't panic.

I use QXs on all six of my hives & have never seen a problem with them, either metal or plastic.

Swapped the last of my solid floors for mesh and swapped some old brood frames full of granulated stores for fresh foundation (2/hive). Next job is to swap out a couple of old brood, draughty brood boxes for decent ones.