Opening hives!

[For want of a better word]

I'm my neck of the wood the only thing with apery in the name being opened is shed for at lest another month weather depending

Here it's me wallet... with all that really cheap beekeeping kit on sale!

yeghes da

 

[oliver90owner]

for at lest another month weather depending

So, you are saying is it could be less than a month? How much less might it be?

Better to be honest and admit that none of us has a clue.

 

[charlievictorbravo]

I'm only entering now my first full season, so certainly no oracle, but am amazed to see that lady banging through her hives, taking out frames, and discovering that in them there are some bees and stores. Not an epiphany in my opinion, and a bit harsh to be telling them to "get your act together" because there's not much brood. But looks like she's been at it a good few years longer than I!

Joseph

I think the lady in the video is in her second year of beekeeping - she said on another forum that she was going to do her Basic Assessment this year despite only having kept bees for a year but she does a lot of reading and viewing of videos on Utube.

There is a lesson for us all there "don't believe everything you see on the internet" or even "don't believe everything you post on the internet"

CVB

 

[For want of a better word]

for at lest another month weather depending

So, you are saying is it could be less than a month? How much less might it be?

Better to be honest and admit that none of us has a clue.***

I think the lady in the video is in her second year of beekeeping - she said on another forum that she was going to do her Basic Assessment this year despite only having kept bees for a year but she does a lot of reading and viewing of videos on Utube.

There is a lesson for us all there "don't believe everything you see on the internet" or even "don't believe everything you post on the internet"

***
That sums it up !

Yeghes da

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Haha... I was going to leave all the windows open in the hive and go through it with a hoover and feather duster. Isn't that what a bee vacuum is for?!

Ha... well, my understanding of spring cleaning is stuff like sorting out any brace comb that has been built between frames or boxes while they've been closed up, cleaning or changing floors (particularly if solid wood floors), and even swapping frames into a new BB if any mould or wax moth or wotnot have made themselves at home or if the BBs need tlc, painting etc.

All that now above looks a bit excessive, but I imagine checking for stuff like that, and maybe doing none of it.

Dunno... my first spring... I might be talking out of my...

...hat.

I think the bees do all the 'spring cleaning' they require for themselves - the rest is just for our benefit

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Joseph

I think the lady in the video is in her second year of beekeeping - she said on another forum that she was going to do her Basic Assessment this year despite only having kept bees for a year but she does a lot of reading and viewing of videos on Utube.

There is a lesson for us all there "don't believe everything you see on the internet" or even "don't believe everything you post on the internet"

CVB

I think the rule is if you can operate a video camera in a beesuit, upload said filum onto yootoob then you can consider yourself a beekeeping expert - even though the rest of the sane world think you're a complete numpty (and the video proves it).
and this also just proves the real value of a bit of paper.

 

[alldigging]

...but there's plenty of people doing it, silly s*ds - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z5k-aC0PRhw&feature=youtube_gdata

CVB

1.21 in: Wax starter strip put in 10 days ago!

 

[Erichalfbee]

1.21 in: Wax starter strip put in 10 days ago!

It's even better than that. It's sitting in a super full of similar. From an inspection those 10 days ago she considered that she had too much stores so put on a super of starter strips so that the bees would move the stores up.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

There are words for people like her - but I don't think HM would leave them on here for too long if I shared

 

[madasafish]

There are words for people like her - but I don't think HM would leave them on here for too long if I shared

Melliferally challenged?

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Melliferally challenged?

that's easy for you to say

 

[Swinton apiaries]

Here it's me wallet... with all that really cheap beekeeping kit on sale!

yeghes da

Make most of my stuff from scratch
And yer you are right about not having a clue on a propper date as if it gets adnormaly warm like some times it can then if would be maby 3 weeks but as it has been snowing over the high ground here today then no plans yet for at least a month

 

[oliver90owner]

About the only good thing of that video was the realistic sound of the bees. Sounded like they were all around. The busy bees looked more like orientation flights to me. Didn't look like a lot of coming and going.

 

[charlievictorbravo]

Accuweather http://www.accuweather.com/en/gb/solihull/b91-3/month/326970?view=table says the temperature in Solihull on 21 Feb was 14°C.

14° and windy is marginal in my view for opening up and taking all the frames out. How long will it take the bees to re-establish the propolis seals and raise the nest to a comfortable working temperature?

Since the Grand Opening, the maximum temperature has been 6 - 8°C and minima down to -2°C so her bees have had to work to maintain a brooding temperature.

CVB

 

[BeeJayBee]

I'm ... amazed to see that lady banging through her hives, taking out frames, and discovering that in them there are some bees and stores. ... and a bit harsh to be telling them to "get your act together" because there's not much brood.

1.21 in: Wax starter strip put in 10 days ago!

I'm glad somebody else noticed that she's been expecting them to build comb from nothing in early February.

14° and windy is marginal in my view for opening up and taking all the frames out. How long will it take the bees to re-establish the propolis seals and raise the nest to a comfortable working temperature?

Since the Grand Opening, the maximum temperature has been 6 - 8°C and minima down to -2°C so her bees have had to work to maintain a brooding temperature.

Well, it looks as if she's read all the books and seen all the videos so obviously thinks she is a 'good' beekeeper. It's just a pity that some people will see her video and try to copy what she's doing.

It will take them several days to rebuild seals and settle back down again, and then she'll tear open the hive a few days later so she can see what they've been doing.

It would actually be quite useful to know who taught her about keeping bees, or if she's self-taught.

 

[Erichalfbee]

It would actually be quite useful to know who taught her about keeping bees, or if she's self-taught.

Youtube mostly but I know she ran putting supers on two weeks ago past Celia Davies, according to her posts about it.
I would like to think that somebody as experienced as Celia might have misunderstood what she was being asked.

 

[Cussword]

I mentioned sublimation to Celia late last year. She said that the idea was rubbish, I was really surprised.
Although she did sign both my books.

.

 

[Erichalfbee]

I find it such a shame that people can have such closed minds about things. The older I've got the more open I try to be. I think it's extremely important if others are looking to you for guidance.

 

[Charlieanne]

I know her name on the video from seeing posts on the flow hive facebook page - which I stalk out of interest. As far as I remember she started her own bees last year but has done various courses with her association etc as well.

Can't say I'm planning to open my hives until its warmer, my first winter too and have only put fondant on top if I can lift a corner easily - which on 2 out of 3 i can!

 

[bontbee]

The busy bees looked more like orientation flights to me. Didn't look like a lot of coming and going.

You beat me to it - just catching up with threads of the last few days - it looked to me like the mad, short-lived flurry of orientation flights that happen when the sun comes out...

All of my garden hives have been caught in that act over the last couple of weeks, though not necessarily at the same time. It's good to see them getting "prepped for action"! (Whenever that may be...) I'm getting restless now, :brooding is increasing (and eating, surprisingly!!!), judging by the debris on the boards