It was very windy and rainy again today, but I had'n't gone through all the allotment colonies to try to work out if that swarm on Friday was mine and if so where it came from.
It wasn't obviously one of mine. I found no newly emerged QCs and no colonies with capped QCs apart from the ones that I'd done an AS on and should have been queenless. I clip my queens anyway...so if anything it could have been a caste with a virgin or it could have been a swarm that had no queen, because she couldn't fly or it could have been someone else's.
I was looking for EFB again today after the alert. It was no fun at all shaking frames in the wind and rain, so that I could have a proper look at the unsealed brood. Got a few stings.
I marked and clipped an Italian queen and afterwards she played dead. I have had that happen once before. I checked on her again before I left the apiary and she was at least on the comb and not the bottom of the box, with workers facing her, but she looked disheveled. Only time will tell for her to know if she will make it.
I haven't had time to check the wasteground bees this weekend as triathlon training continues and also it was our BKA meeting. Because I got stung again today the reaction to the sting yesterday has increased so going to work tomorrow will mean I'll be teased about my silly hobby.
Saw the virgin running around in the Adopt a Beehive, which is a relief. Fingers crossed for good mating weather.
PS: I rang the man who had the swarm in the garden on Friday that I had to leave. Although there have been visitors to the bait hive, the swarm has now split into 2 clumps and is still 40feet up the tree.
It wasn't obviously one of mine. I found no newly emerged QCs and no colonies with capped QCs apart from the ones that I'd done an AS on and should have been queenless. I clip my queens anyway...so if anything it could have been a caste with a virgin or it could have been a swarm that had no queen, because she couldn't fly or it could have been someone else's.
I was looking for EFB again today after the alert. It was no fun at all shaking frames in the wind and rain, so that I could have a proper look at the unsealed brood. Got a few stings.
I marked and clipped an Italian queen and afterwards she played dead. I have had that happen once before. I checked on her again before I left the apiary and she was at least on the comb and not the bottom of the box, with workers facing her, but she looked disheveled. Only time will tell for her to know if she will make it.
I haven't had time to check the wasteground bees this weekend as triathlon training continues and also it was our BKA meeting. Because I got stung again today the reaction to the sting yesterday has increased so going to work tomorrow will mean I'll be teased about my silly hobby.
Saw the virgin running around in the Adopt a Beehive, which is a relief. Fingers crossed for good mating weather.
PS: I rang the man who had the swarm in the garden on Friday that I had to leave. Although there have been visitors to the bait hive, the swarm has now split into 2 clumps and is still 40feet up the tree.
