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Beesnaturally
House Bee
- Joined
- Jul 12, 2016
- Messages
- 383
- Reaction score
- 273
- Location
- Kent
- Hive Type
- national
- Number of Hives
- 100
I'm sure you'll have been through this before, and I'll probably get into trouble for asking but: if one were to take any population of bees, and breed determinedly for dark colour, they would presumably end up with dark bees.
The question is: would they have any native bee qualities apart from the darkness genes?
The question is: would they have any native bee qualities apart from the darkness genes?
- Joined
- Jun 10, 2020
- Messages
- 92
- Reaction score
- 125
- Location
- Sligo, Ireland
- Hive Type
- other
- Number of Hives
- 8
What’s the point in keeping hybrids with native bee qualities when you can just keep your native bee? It’s not that hard to source Amm even in the genetic mess that is the UK. Treatment free too or near treatment free if you look
- Joined
- May 31, 2021
- Messages
- 69
- Reaction score
- 50
- Location
- Ashford, Kent
- Hive Type
- 14x12
- Number of Hives
- 2
Well collected my Welsh bees from Ceri today (300 miles there yesterday 300 back today) - settling in nicely and orientation at 18:00 today
View attachment trim.5E47F3DA-2F05-43DE-ADFB-189428C16BD5.MOV
View attachment trim.5E47F3DA-2F05-43DE-ADFB-189428C16BD5.MOV
Thanks for posting those beautiful pics, some gorgeous brood patterns.
What a great weekend.
- Joined
- Mar 11, 2021
- Messages
- 496
- Reaction score
- 266
- Location
- Glossop, North Derbyshire
- Hive Type
- national
- Number of Hives
- 3
What type of "double decker" was it?
- Joined
- Jul 23, 2009
- Messages
- 28,177
- Reaction score
- 9,501
- Location
- Ceredigion
- Hive Type
- 14x12
- Number of Hives
- 9
A double 14x12 Maisie’s and a Payne’s 14x12 with the feeder cut out giving 8 frames in each box.
- Joined
- Jul 23, 2009
- Messages
- 28,177
- Reaction score
- 9,501
- Location
- Ceredigion
- Hive Type
- 14x12
- Number of Hives
- 9
Nice to see new bees out and about. I have two of his
- Joined
- Mar 11, 2021
- Messages
- 496
- Reaction score
- 266
- Location
- Glossop, North Derbyshire
- Hive Type
- national
- Number of Hives
- 3
I was interested because I've tried a maisemore nuc box (bottom bee space) on top of a BS nuc box (top bee space), and it wasn't too bad!
- Joined
- Jul 23, 2009
- Messages
- 28,177
- Reaction score
- 9,501
- Location
- Ceredigion
- Hive Type
- 14x12
- Number of Hives
- 9
Yes a lot of people do but I just didn’t get on with the brace comb. Also because of the lip you can’t rotate the boxes to put them back together. You have to lower them down and I always squash bees
Unless you enjoy sitting on a motorway I assume you are being ironical ...
It's been a beautiful weekend, it's a gorgeous part of the country and a nuc of lovely bees at the end of it.
- Joined
- Jul 23, 2009
- Messages
- 28,177
- Reaction score
- 9,501
- Location
- Ceredigion
- Hive Type
- 14x12
- Number of Hives
- 9
The bit between Cardigan and the M4 is nice though
- Joined
- May 31, 2021
- Messages
- 69
- Reaction score
- 50
- Location
- Ashford, Kent
- Hive Type
- 14x12
- Number of Hives
- 2
It was - lovely drive through some stunning scenery, really enjoyed it.
Polymorph
New Bee
I do the bs nuc bottom with eke to 14x12, then Maisemore brood with bs eke. No problems and top bee spacing on both
Polymorph
New Bee
Had one hive with a failed queen cell. Still sealed with fully formed queen inside but dead. Ended up putting another last year's queen back which I'd separated from a swarming hive. Checked happy with the queen in cage, then released. Five minutes later, surrounded by workers, great when it works. A nice dark queen.
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Very strange year, but then we tend to say that every year 
At this point in the season, I've dealt with just one hive that drew swarm cells at the end of April. I split two more queens away to nucs after seeing charged cells but it turned out just one in each hive. Three more colonies have done the same, a single cell and nothing else, queens ranging from one year old to three years old.
The blue disc queen I posted had a single cell today but it got damaged when I moved the frame, she is still there and BIAS.
I'm particularly pleased with the bees from the queens mated late last year
At this point in the season, I've dealt with just one hive that drew swarm cells at the end of April. I split two more queens away to nucs after seeing charged cells but it turned out just one in each hive. Three more colonies have done the same, a single cell and nothing else, queens ranging from one year old to three years old.
The blue disc queen I posted had a single cell today but it got damaged when I moved the frame, she is still there and BIAS.
I'm particularly pleased with the bees from the queens mated late last year
Attachments
My bottle went today, found four sealed cells in with her so moved her to a nuc and left them with one open cell. She didn't look too slimmed down to me, I was beginning to think she had already left.
The All blacks pictured above have built into a strong colony, calm bees on a brood nest of eighteen frames and three supers full of bees. By comparison, the colony next to them are happy in a single box with brood on ten frames. Stunningly gentle bees in dire need of a third super.
Yesterday I decided to vape a colony as I had the opportunity since they had no super on so I stuck a board in to check the results today. This colony has been ticking along after coming out of winter a little on the small side, however, she has kicked into gear and there suddenly look like a heck of a lot of bees in there. Another shining example of gentle behaviour, the combs are thick with bees and they do not move.
The mite count 24 hrs after vaping was zero, which is very pleasing considering the light touch treatment the colonies have had for the last two years. They now have a super full of shiny, new cut comb foundation to play with.
I have a batch of cells in the incubator which will be the last for this year despite good late results last year.
Busy counting spare, drawn supers now and getting woefully low, looks like the extractor will need dusting off.
The All blacks pictured above have built into a strong colony, calm bees on a brood nest of eighteen frames and three supers full of bees. By comparison, the colony next to them are happy in a single box with brood on ten frames. Stunningly gentle bees in dire need of a third super.
Yesterday I decided to vape a colony as I had the opportunity since they had no super on so I stuck a board in to check the results today. This colony has been ticking along after coming out of winter a little on the small side, however, she has kicked into gear and there suddenly look like a heck of a lot of bees in there. Another shining example of gentle behaviour, the combs are thick with bees and they do not move.
The mite count 24 hrs after vaping was zero, which is very pleasing considering the light touch treatment the colonies have had for the last two years. They now have a super full of shiny, new cut comb foundation to play with.
I have a batch of cells in the incubator which will be the last for this year despite good late results last year.
Busy counting spare, drawn supers now and getting woefully low, looks like the extractor will need dusting off.
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And just to round things off, I just had a lovely message about two of my queens who have been accepted and have frames of capped worker brood. Now promoted to six frame nucs.
