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We have regular droughts here in Australia, and they are drought adapted to some extent, but this time I think it's just too severe. https://milliontrees.me/2015/06/23/drought-adapted-eucalyptus-not-dying-by-the-thousand/

Thanks Swarm. So something like this? https://nre.tas.gov.au/invasive-species/weeds/weeds-index/declared-weeds-index/meadow-parsley

Dry soli always seems bad for nectar here, so I'm guessing probably there too. We are now into our eighth month of below average rainfall, and there has been robbing here at my home apiary each month of it and it continues now into June (our winter), which is amazing. The last significant...

Fantastic filming. Do you know what the light pinkish coloured pollen is? I don't recall ever seeing that down here.

Yes, I'd say so. It sounds like the bees are putting the honey in the top brood box. I suspect that your one very good hive probably has an excellent number of bees in it (perhaps more than the others), and they are of the right age too. It may have got through a larger number of brood cycles...

It doesn't happen to me any more as I don't use (the area of) two brood boxes or have an unlimited brood nest, but yes, it happened to me regularly here, particularly on a light urban flow. What size langstroth are you using?

A queen and a worker.

Globulus?

On my excluders - four or five different manufacturers, they vary from 4mm to 4.40mm.

Yes, it wouldn't be too much fun with damage like that.

I see the damage to the polystyrene, but what happened to the wet frames in the supers? Were they ok?

Buy a large magnifying glass and use that in addition to your glasses. Just hold it between the frame and your veil to focus on the eggs. If you are not used to using one, practice on a frame or object before trying on a "live" frame to get used to using one. Probably something around a 6X...

Yes, slugs seem to be tolerated to some extent. I've heard that in Queensland, a cane toad can get in the entrance of a hive where it feasts on incoming bees. Over time, the toad becomes larger than the entrance and so is trapped inside. When the beekeeper opens the hive, they are confronted...

I've seen spider/s in a bee hive before. The box was too big for the colony, and they couldn't deal with it, but it didn't kill them or cause them to fly away. When did the nectar come in?

Brilliant!

I asked about robbing over there at the moment, and apparently there isn't any, so presumably there must be nectar about. I can't recall anyone mentioning robbing issues there currently.

Lack of sun probably.

Your (meteorological) spring has been the warmest on record by mean temperature? https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/about-us/news-and-media/media-centre/weather-and-climate-news/2024/warm-may-and-spring-for-the-uk#:~:text=April was a wet month,on record by mean temperature.

I have had absconding colonies too, but there has been a "trigger". It will be interesting to hear back about what you find after your more detailed inspection....an excellent idea. https://bee2bee.com.au/swarming-vs-absconding-what-do-we-need-to-know/#:~:text=Absconding is when all of,wrong...

What did you find on inspection of the second of the hives that didn't have much activity?