first frost in Hampshire

[user 6228]

Today we had our first frost so it was an opportunity to see how the PU hive bees were getting on

Outside temp at 8am: 0C...

PU hive (0.4K) inside temp at roof level: 41C

Inside temp at floor level (15% ~13% open area sheilded ) measurement point rear far corner from 30 sq cm open angled tunnel entrance: 18C

Bee type: Buckfast, originally from a bee breeder 40 miles NW from my location.

Bee activitiy: One or two scouts out flying (and returning) the rest are staying home at the moment

Note: 18C @ floor is within 1 or 2 degrees of where it has been since September when they went in and entrance was opened wide except for exceptionally hot days when it got to 23c

 

[susbees]

4 or 5 deg here in Monty. 10yo running around in shorts "because it's sunny". Could someone order us up some rain please for the dustbowl? Ta.

 

[BKF Admin]

Bye Bye Wasps !!

 

[mexbigshow]

Bye Bye Wasps !!

sure hope so admin, theyve been a real pain this season

 

[Russel]

4 or 5 deg here in Monty. 10yo running around in shorts "because it's sunny". Could someone order us up some rain please for the dustbowl? Ta.

Tis Wales, let the little one make the most of it, you'll look back at this time with tear in your eye when we're either knee deep in snow, the rains coming at you sideways and thermals all round with a hat on your hat all too soon.

 

[rockdoc]

I too hope admin is right, It will help me decide when to put on the mouse guards!

 

[victor meldrew]

Bye Bye Wasps !!

Can't understand it ; this year my bees have only had the odd visit from an odd wasp or two! No traps set (maybe that's the answer .
However ,when cleaning my extraction equipment outdoors (less messy this way)I was stung by a damned wasp .
I put out a trap and caught a few tens of wasps only , I left the trap in situ but no further takes . I see wasps working the balsam , in much reduced numbers now of course .
VM

 

[Heather]

Mouseguards on today as the temp allegedly going to plummet this next week..
But so warm still in Sussex during the day and lots of teed off bees lugging in pollen by the bucketful meeting a metal barrier- but they are quick learners

 

[Gardenbees]

Well, Admin is right as far as I'm concerned: we haven't had a frost yet, but it has got a lot colder at night, and today there was one solitary jasper hovering apologetically around one of the hives. Quite a change given the hordes of last month.

Despite the odd weather and dry autumn, they're looking good. After a bit of combining I now have two hives both of which are satisfyingly crammed with bees and stores, plus the pick of this year's queens. My sun-trap apiary was so warm this lunchtime, and the bees so calm and busy, that I lifted out a couple of frames to see what was going on (and extricate some Apilife Var slabs that had fallen in between). I've never done that before at this time of year and it's impressive: solid 14x12 sheets of capped balsam and ivy honey, with small amounts of pollen stores around the edges. Some brood in the middle frames, but otherwise I don't think you could get another drop of nectar in either of the 14x12 hives. Both are almost too heavy to move. No need to feed this autumn! Woohoo!

 

[victor meldrew]

Well, Admin is right as far as I'm concerned: we haven't had a frost yet, but it has got a lot colder at night, and today there was one solitary jasper hovering apologetically around one of the hives. Quite a change given the hordes of last month.

Despite the odd weather and dry autumn, they're looking good. After a bit of combining I now have two hives both of which are satisfyingly crammed with bees and stores, plus the pick of this year's queens. My sun-trap apiary was so warm this lunchtime, and the bees so calm and busy, that I lifted out a couple of frames to see what was going on (and extricate some Apilife Var slabs that had fallen in between). I've never done that before at this time of year and it's impressive: solid 14x12 sheets of capped balsam and ivy honey, with small amounts of pollen stores around the edges. Some brood in the middle frames, but otherwise I don't think you could get another drop of nectar in either of the 14x12 hives. Both are almost too heavy to move. No need to feed this autumn! Woohoo!

We had the slightest touch of frost overnight but a clear warm windless day Bees are bucketing pollen in , no mouseguards to impede them
I shall be fitting mouseguards to two colonies later but remainder now have slightly adapted Dartington floors so shouldn't need them if theory works out in practice .
The adaptations include, the back bar being .5" shallower to accommodate a thicker insert (more rigid) and a removable ,angled alighting board.
VM

 

[Gardenbees]

Definitely not time for mouseguards here, yet... bees are very strong at the entrance.

Congrats on passing the 3000 post milestone VM!!

 

[thedeaddiplomat]

Definitely not time for mouseguards here, yet... bees are very strong at the entrance.
QUOTE]

Popped into the Eden Project today. There are three hives on a raised area between the Car Park and the entrance to the project. Two of them don't yet have entrance blocks on, let alone mouseguards! And the bees were working like there was a major flow on! (Maybe there is in the tropical biome).

 

[wightbees]

No frost here that i know of.My bees are very bust,ivy no doubt.

 

[Lois]

Scraped the windscreen for the first time this season but bright and sunny for the rest of the day, warmish but with a chilly wind. I saw a few wasps today and a couple of hornets but they didn't cause any problems to me.

 

[Worldsend]

In my bit of Hampshire my bees are more active than they have been for most of the summer!!

 

[Elaine]

Saw loads of bees crawling through the grass and away from the hive today - I guess it is just them slimming down the numbers and getting rid of bees ready for the winter - makes me feel sad to see it though.......

 

[Erichalfbee]

Saw loads of bees crawling through the grass and away from the hive today - I guess it is just them slimming down the numbers and getting rid of bees ready for the winter - makes me feel sad to see it though.......

Sounds ominous to me. Bees tend to die while working rather than walking away from the hive in some sort of self sacrifice. Acarine? Varroa?Robbers?
Have you treated with thymol this autumn?
I'd be checking for disease;do a mite count perhaps. Is it too cold for a quick look inside?

 

[victor meldrew]

Saw loads of bees crawling through the grass and away from the hive today - I guess it is just them slimming down the numbers and getting rid of bees ready for the winter - makes me feel sad to see it though.......

Not being alarmist but a check on stores wouldn't do any harm
If this is the reason ,then the bees are pretty far gone and need a weak sugar solution spraying on the frames followed by a rapid feed
VM

 

[Elaine]

I was worried to see them - but because it has been warm, and still foraging, we inspected the whole hive less than a week ago - all seemd fine, capped brood, larvae and eggs, and a super with stores. This weekend was frosty iin the mornings (had to scrape the car windscreen Saturday) butup to 18degrees during the day. I am going to have a look today to see if I can find any of the bodies in the grass, and check them out.

 

[Elaine]

Just to add to my last post - this is (still- I hope!) a very healthy full colony, with brood on all frames, with some stores, but there were 2 supers on, both with the middle frames full - but very little stored in the outer frames (upper super only had 7 frames, rest blanked off), so decided to combine - to give them one super with the full frames, so at the last full inspection I swapped things around, putting the full frames in the lower super, and leaving the least full frames in the upper super, blocking off most of the access to it, in the hope they would take it down (I know it is recommended to put them underneath the brood, but with te combination of style of components (poly/wood/home-made) this would have been difficult) Do you think this this reduction in apparent hive space could be a factor?