Bees haven’t been reading the books - nightmare spring

[Nighthaunt]

Well today officially makes in a nightmare for my first spring as a beek.

I only got my nuc in June and within two weeks a queen cell so did an artificial split - both hives came through the winter strong and ended up having to empty some winter stores from the overwintered nuc supers to make space for a flow that started in my area about mid March.

I took a course with my local BBKA branch last year and we’ve remained good friends - did a first proper inspection start of April - few play cups but none charged in each hive.

Commuting to London and Weather meant didn’t go back into hives until 9th April with two colleagues - aim to find the new queen from last year in the main hive and mark her. Only to find a sealed Queen cell in the main hive, no sign of queen, and plenty of other unsealed queen cells - same in the nuc.

Well knocked down to a single capped cell in main hive and nuc, formed a new nuc from another frame out of main hive with uncapped queen cell, frame of brood and a shake of bees.

went back in on the 22nd to knock down any emergency cells, no sign of an opened queen cell so left one closed cell in the main hive.

typically on the 23rd - 11am the main hive swarmed - managed with help to capture swarm and that’s now in another nuc, assumed at time was a massive cast swarm as the main hive was packed with bees even with 3 supers on.

move gone back through and ironically this was a prime swarm - queen didn’t go when first queen cell was capped - she waited another 8 days at least before departing.

To cap it all, got back today to a small cast swarm from the main hive. The odd thing is 3 of us couldn’t see any eggs on the 9th or the 22nd (possibly my sight as subsequently have had to get varifocals) - however we checked throughly and 3 of us couldn’t see any eggs on the 9th.

Am I going bonkers? Feel swarm control this year has been an absolute disaster (which to be fair it has been) - will be making sure queens marked this year - and also ensure that possibly artificial split in March if weather is good as was this year.

anything else I should learn / avoid doing next year - I know leaving it more than 7 days for inspection is fatal - even in the first week of April - but any words of advice to avoid any more abject failures?

 

[Erichalfbee]

First don’t beat yourself up. Stuff like that happens to all of us…..
You’ve already seen that more than 7 day inspections don’t work.
It might be a good idea to clip your queens.
Bees sneak queen cells all over the place so if you’re looking for them you need to shake or brush the bees off each frame. Look for eggs with a pencil LED torch. I use one if I’m hunting eggs.
Bees are pretty resilient. They usually sort our mistakes out.
I’ve made plenty

 

[JamezF]

I'm getting the impression that where it's been quite mild there's been a lot of very early swarming activity this year. Someone I do some work for just down the road emailed me yesterday to say they'd had a swarm a few days previously. Shame they didn't tell me at the time, particularly as it's moved into another part of their office roof.

I think we need a new first line for the traditional rhyme:

A swarm in April is ... not what I was expecting

James

 

[Nighthaunt]

First don’t beat yourself up. Stuff like that happens to all of us…..
You’ve already seen that more than 7 day inspections don’t work.
It might be a good idea to clip your queens.
Bees sneak queen cells all over the place so if you’re looking for them you need to shake or brush the bees off each frame. Look for eggs with a pencil LED torch. I use one if I’m hunting eggs.
Bees are pretty resilient. They usually sort our mistakes out.
I’ve made plenty

Thanks - going to try that - hoping varifocals work as my old glasses were just distance / however 3 of us couldn’t find any eggs in the hive - just also really thrown by the capped queen cell and old queen co-existing for 8 days.

think I need to accept that regardless of weather being below 15 need to do inspections - I’ve evidently missed a queen cell when knocking down on the 22nd - hopefully should be clear until queens all mated

 

[enrico]

Alot of us are having swarms. They built up rapidly and flows were good. Everything in their favour. They are often swarming before a super is filled so numbers are down for a good crop this year.

 

[Erichalfbee]

Thanks - going to try that - hoping varifocals work as my old glasses were just distance / however 3 of us couldn’t find any eggs in the hive - just also really thrown by the capped queen cell and old queen co-existing for 8 days.

think I need to accept that regardless of weather being below 15 need to do inspections - I’ve evidently missed a queen cell when knocking down on the 22nd - hopefully should be clear until queens all mated

Yes colonies do not always swarm as soon as a capped cell is present. Very often they don’t. I sorted one today with capped cells and queen still home.

 

[W0otz]

Yes colonies do not always swarm as soon as a capped cell is present. Very often they don’t. I sorted one today with capped cells and queen still home.

I would suggest the weather can hold them back, but I I helped @Nighthaunt retrieve the swarm today in the drizzle! Perhaps the weather can only hold them back for so long and they eventually reach the "sod it, we're off" point, which would help explain why it's taken so long for this swarm to emerge since eggs/queen were last seen.

 

[pargyle]

Well today officially makes in a nightmare for my first spring as a beek.

I only got my nuc in June and within two weeks a queen cell so did an artificial split - both hives came through the winter strong and ended up having to empty some winter stores from the overwintered nuc supers to make space for a flow that started in my area about mid March.

I took a course with my local BBKA branch last year and we’ve remained good friends - did a first proper inspection start of April - few play cups but none charged in each hive.

Commuting to London and Weather meant didn’t go back into hives until 9th April with two colleagues - aim to find the new queen from last year in the main hive and mark her. Only to find a sealed Queen cell in the main hive, no sign of queen, and plenty of other unsealed queen cells - same in the nuc.

Well knocked down to a single capped cell in main hive and nuc, formed a new nuc from another frame out of main hive with uncapped queen cell, frame of brood and a shake of bees.

went back in on the 22nd to knock down any emergency cells, no sign of an opened queen cell so left one closed cell in the main hive.

typically on the 23rd - 11am the main hive swarmed - managed with help to capture swarm and that’s now in another nuc, assumed at time was a massive cast swarm as the main hive was packed with bees even with 3 supers on.

move gone back through and ironically this was a prime swarm - queen didn’t go when first queen cell was capped - she waited another 8 days at least before departing.

To cap it all, got back today to a small cast swarm from the main hive. The odd thing is 3 of us couldn’t see any eggs on the 9th or the 22nd (possibly my sight as subsequently have had to get varifocals) - however we checked throughly and 3 of us couldn’t see any eggs on the 9th.

Am I going bonkers? Feel swarm control this year has been an absolute disaster (which to be fair it has been) - will be making sure queens marked this year - and also ensure that possibly artificial split in March if weather is good as was this year.

anything else I should learn / avoid doing next year - I know leaving it more than 7 days for inspection is fatal - even in the first week of April - but any words of advice to avoid any more abject failures?

Sounds like a baptism of fire for you .. you will look back on it as a learning curve but when you are in the thick of it it's not a lot of fun !

Hopefully, you have got over the worst of it without any major disasters and can look forward to a calmer rest of the season (I wouldn't bank on it though !)

 

[Finman]

Honeybee is a wild animal. First you must learn in practice, how bees' instincts lead their behaviour. It took 7 years to me that no big surprices happened.

First year = first biological cycle of bees' behaviour. .. How you could anticipate what the hive is going to do next. Quite many beekeepers try to nurse bees against their instincts . The basic thing is, how much space for brood.

And hives have quite much variation in their behaviour.

 

[Nighthaunt]

Sounds like a baptism of fire for you .. you will look back on it as a learning curve but when you are in the thick of it it's not a lot of fun !

Hopefully, you have got over the worst of it without any major disasters and can look forward to a calmer rest of the season (I wouldn't bank on it though !)

Other than with rain threatened went up in suit with no gloves - one got up cuff and another at point cuff elastic must have caught it - currently on business trip up in Manchester with one forearm and wrist twice the size of the other.

I’ve picked by the Wally Shaw book, Swarming, biology and control which need to work my way through, and then plan for next spring (as well as weekly inspections for rest of year once queens laying.

 

[Martimart]

Well today officially makes in a nightmare for my first spring as a beek.

I only got my nuc in June and within two weeks a queen cell so did an artificial split - both hives came through the winter strong and ended up having to empty some winter stores from the overwintered nuc supers to make space for a flow that started in my area about mid March.

I took a course with my local BBKA branch last year and we’ve remained good friends - did a first proper inspection start of April - few play cups but none charged in each hive.

Commuting to London and Weather meant didn’t go back into hives until 9th April with two colleagues - aim to find the new queen from last year in the main hive and mark her. Only to find a sealed Queen cell in the main hive, no sign of queen, and plenty of other unsealed queen cells - same in the nuc.

Well knocked down to a single capped cell in main hive and nuc, formed a new nuc from another frame out of main hive with uncapped queen cell, frame of brood and a shake of bees.

went back in on the 22nd to knock down any emergency cells, no sign of an opened queen cell so left one closed cell in the main hive.

typically on the 23rd - 11am the main hive swarmed - managed with help to capture swarm and that’s now in another nuc, assumed at time was a massive cast swarm as the main hive was packed with bees even with 3 supers on.

move gone back through and ironically this was a prime swarm - queen didn’t go when first queen cell was capped - she waited another 8 days at least before departing.

To cap it all, got back today to a small cast swarm from the main hive. The odd thing is 3 of us couldn’t see any eggs on the 9th or the 22nd (possibly my sight as subsequently have had to get varifocals) - however we checked throughly and 3 of us couldn’t see any eggs on the 9th.

Am I going bonkers? Feel swarm control this year has been an absolute disaster (which to be fair it has been) - will be making sure queens marked this year - and also ensure that possibly artificial split in March if weather is good as was this year.

anything else I should learn / avoid doing next year - I know leaving it more than 7 days for inspection is fatal - even in the first week of April - but any words of advice to avoid any more abject failures?

Not far off a mirror image as to what happened to me.

Inspected for stores and removed fondant mid March. Weather changed and went cold and wet, with hard frosts most nights. I had to go to a couple of football stadiums in London, planned inspection for the Friday after it warmed up on the Tuesday and both my Hives swarmed on the Wednesday and Friday mornings. Luckily I caught and rehomed both swarms.

Every days a school day especially with Bee's. The swarm that happened on the Friday I took to be a cast, it was tiny. Put them in a Nuc box and checked the next day and they have one of my marked queens in.

When looking back I don't think I could of done anything differently. Maybe I could of added a frame of foundation to give some more space. In reality these colonies, produced queen cells and started thinking about clearing off when it was really cold and wet.

I think we've just got super bee's.

 

[Erichalfbee]

It happens to all of us. I had a colony in the middle of a Bailey change. Huge colony but I had CBPV last year so wanted them on new comb and with a new queen. Queen was already up laying in top box which was nearly all drawn. Spotted queen cells so nuc'd her and left one queen cell. Thought maybe I should look in the bottom box. 2 emerged QCs and one emerged into my hand. I should have looked in the bottom box sooner.

 

[Nighthaunt]

One thing I hadn’t twigged was the need if swarmed to go through and knock down and queen cells - thinking had missed one from knocking down to one the day before the prime swarm - it’s taken me too long to grasp this.

I went through today (was out when had a small cast swarm - caught) - and found another 4 capped queen cells - did the Wally Shaw method and uncapped two to release the virgins into the hive - other two still not developed enough so discarded) - they should duke it out until there is only one Virgin remaining who will go on her mating flight.

That’s been a learning point for both me and W0otz - in future any swarming go through and if not a prime swarm remove all cells - if a prime swarm leave one cell and check again in 7 days.

should have solved any more for this year now - lesson in how not to do things and making assumption that as no eggs and capped cell on 9th April that any more queens emerging was impossible - a suspect queen went back on lay before stopping again ready for the prime swarming on 23rd.

lesson learnt - will not make the same mistake again and should be on top of it all for next year.

The two virgins I released were stunning - absolutely pitch black. Quite an experience (only matched by repeated stings from bees to hand - currently knuckles as deep as my wrist which was swollen from previous stings).

 

[blackcloud]

A month ago I had one reprobate find a tiny hole in the veil before I did.

We were both commendably calm initially but respective patience ran out as I gently struggled with a stuck zip.

Managed to flip off hood without incident other than spectacles flying off in the process.
Bee flew off bored .

Swmbo ,trying desperately not to laugh, then trod on my glasses .

Much swearing and right- lens -in- the -long-grass-seeking without-being-able-to-see-anything ensued.

Bee ,sensing it was missing out on the fun returned and needled me in the neck.

Vision Express sensing they too were missing out on the fun loaded my card for just shy of 500 gbp


Good times.

 

[Nighthaunt]

The indent dip is where knuckle was - could be interesting as swelling can only increase over next few days before decreasing - localised only - so not having an allergic reaction.

 

[Erichalfbee]

Ouch!
I used to carry Apis Mel (sorry homeopathic so maybe bunkum but I took it anyway) in my bee suit pocket. Start as soon as stung.

 

[sean-a]

Piriton....or the supermarket own brand equivalent

 

[Newbeeneil]

Much swearing and right- lens -in- the -long-grass-seeking without-being-able-to-see-anything ensued.

I had a similar experience while trying to swat a rather attentive guard in an out apiary. One one of my lenses popped out into the long grass. After lots of unsuccessful feeling in the long grass I got the idea of putting a tissue in the empty lense aperture. This meant I was not confusing my brain with one eye in focus and one out. Within about 5 mins of this tweak I found the lost lense!

 

[Wilco]

I had a similar experience while trying to swat a rather attentive guard in an out apiary. One one of my lenses popped out into the long grass. After lots of unsuccessful feeling in the long grass I got the idea of putting a tissue in the empty lense aperture. This meant I was not confusing my brain with one eye in focus and one out. Within about 5 mins of this tweak I found the lost lense!

I just shut one eye.

 

[Swarm]

View attachment 31781
The indent dip is where knuckle was - could be interesting as swelling can only increase over next few days before decreasing - localised only - so not having an allergic reaction.

It might travel up your forearm. My hand was like that last year when moving supers for extraction. I copped a beauty after the last visit, picked up my marigolds with soggy hand and she got me right on the crease where ring finger meets palm. That woke me up!!! Took a piriton when I got home.