This morning my son had been collecting eggs (hen) when he heard frantic activity from hive 5 and a whirling cloud of bees could be seen. He immediately sent me a message thinking it was a swarm. I was surprised at this as last week had not revealed any charged queen cells and there was plenty of comb space for laying.
I suited up and prepared a super to take down to the apiary in case space was becoming nectar choked. Having entered the apiary the cloud of bees had abated and inspection showed normal numbers within the hive, still adequate empty space in the comb, new eggs, larvae and sealed brood. As the empty super was not required I placed it above the crown board but below the roof until next inspection.
Hive 2 queen was seen but the brood pattern isn't very good. HM is laying but not enthusiastically, she's going to be replaced if things don't improve.
Hive 3 queen has finally got her act into gear and is laying up a storm. I managed to find the queen at last and mark her green.
Hive 4 which was weak was in the terminal stage of being robbed out by the stronger hives. I couldn't find the queen but decided to shake the colony out as it was doomed. The hive will be scraped clean and sterilised with glacial acetic acid vapour.
Hive 6 is expanding and has eggs, larvae and sealed brood. Nectar and pollen stores are coming in plus the super added last week is full of bees and nectar being loaded into the cells.
Hive 1 which was terminated previously is sitting in the shed, closed up tight with a saucer of acetic acid inside for a couple of weeks.
Some you win, some you lose!
I suited up and prepared a super to take down to the apiary in case space was becoming nectar choked. Having entered the apiary the cloud of bees had abated and inspection showed normal numbers within the hive, still adequate empty space in the comb, new eggs, larvae and sealed brood. As the empty super was not required I placed it above the crown board but below the roof until next inspection.
Hive 2 queen was seen but the brood pattern isn't very good. HM is laying but not enthusiastically, she's going to be replaced if things don't improve.
Hive 3 queen has finally got her act into gear and is laying up a storm. I managed to find the queen at last and mark her green.
Hive 4 which was weak was in the terminal stage of being robbed out by the stronger hives. I couldn't find the queen but decided to shake the colony out as it was doomed. The hive will be scraped clean and sterilised with glacial acetic acid vapour.
Hive 6 is expanding and has eggs, larvae and sealed brood. Nectar and pollen stores are coming in plus the super added last week is full of bees and nectar being loaded into the cells.
Hive 1 which was terminated previously is sitting in the shed, closed up tight with a saucer of acetic acid inside for a couple of weeks.
Some you win, some you lose!
