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Poly Hive Nucs

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Poly Hive

Queen Bee
Joined
Dec 4, 2008
Messages
14,093
Reaction score
393
Location
Scottish Borders
Hive Type
National
Number of Hives
12 and 18 Nucs
Heads up to buyers from myself.

At long long last I got the weather window to make a full inspection today.

Results are as I rather suspected not good.

Best full colony was 5+1 (five frames of brood good enough to stand an empty comb being added in)

Most were on 4+1

Nucs are consistent on 2 frames and pretty weak. My best guess is that the nucs are not going to be on four frames and looking good for another month.

If you want to cancel your order you are of course more than welcome to do so.

PH
 
I dont think you will be the last Beekeeper to be posting this PH.
Checked mine today and they are a good 4 weeks behind.

I am expecting most suppliers to start shipping Nucs late May early June time this year.
What can you do though apart from import foreign queens to put in the Nucs? unless its all about money rather than beekeeping it has to be better to wait and let nature rule.
 
Admin?

Where are the bees to come from to add the imported queens to?

As they say, "that is the question?"

Given that my colonies are struggling to cover the brood they have I cannot boost up the nucs that way and to be honest I don't think that is a safe thing to do anyway at this time of year.

No I will patiently wait for nature to catch up and no doubt all will be well.

Just on a point of interest, no I will post this on the general forum.

PH
 
Sorry for the confusion PH,my thought was along the lines of if you have 300 hives its easy to take a couple of brood frames from each and then pop in an imported queen to make up 100 Nucs.

I was thinking of those that sell with imported queens rather than the rest of us who go with the uk weather..
 
It is not easy to take two frames from a colony that only has five of, if that is all your colonies have is the point I was making.

This year the best laid plans.............. are agley!

PH
 
agley

Is that a word...or Scottish...French... or an abreviation? Please translate (even though I have heard of 'mice and men' in the context).

Regards, RAB
 
awry, askew.

But Mousie, thou are no thy-lane,
In proving foresight may be vain:
The best laid schemes o' Mice an' Men,
Gang aft agley,
An' lea'e us nought but grief an' pain,
For promis'd joy!

How many times have people glibly trotted out, “The best laid schemes” without realising that they were quoting from Burns? The sadness, the despair, the insight contained within this verse are truly remarkable and deeply moving. no ‘thy lane = not alone; gan aft agley = often go awry

http://www.electricscotland.com/burns/mouse.html
 
Last edited:
Hivemaker
A man of many skills but a poet I did not have you down as.
kev
 
Actually I think PH is being far too pessimistic! I collected two nucs from him a week or so ago - they are both bursting with enthusiasm and expanding rapidly. They were both much more than your average five frame nuc. I will be supering one soon. Superb. Thanks PH.
 
Everything is a month behind. Bees and plants so people who get a new nuc in mid to late May will be one of the lucky ones. Jed Marshall is struggling to get his first batch of queens done for May and hes one of the best queen breeders in the country.
 
I have been told that i can expect my nuc around the end of may, and although it might be frustrating, i fully understand the reasons and would prefer to wait and have a good local healthy stock.
 

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