Show us Pictures of your Bees

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Joined
Oct 1, 2009
Messages
6,525
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Location
London N10
Hive Type
14x12
several of recent threads have been showing pictures of types of Bees people keep as part of the discussion

having just bought a new phone with macro, took a few pics of mine todays nothing unuusally but diffrent strains i have aquired over the last few years

i have four different strains, so let see YOUR bees,



top italian crosses
next london brown mongrels
blackish recent swarm bees
Nuc from the swarm QC

so over to you, show us yours bees
 
It is better if you have your entrance block up the other way, then the entrance can’t get blocked with dead bees or debris on the floor, if your entrance block was up the other way, they could still climb over any debris. But that is just my opinion...
 
See now, when I look at your pics. and then compare to my own bees, I have every type above in every one of my hives, all living happily side by side...!
 
My girls

Here we go, my Devon girlies, sorry the first is so blurred - it is clear in 'my pictures'!!!
 
BlueMonsoon,

This is at an active time of the year. The block is there to reduce the entrance against wasps/robbers. It is plenty high enough for bees to get their dead out of the entry slot.

At all other times there will likely be no need for an entrance block at all, in at least two of the hives (so probably the rest are the same).

Regards, RAB
 
oliver90owner.

At this time of year there is a lot of bee die off, drones and workers, on cold, wet days they're not always removed from the hive, thus they can build up on the floor and can block off the entrance. With the entrance block inverted, the entrance space is still the same size, one that the bee can defend from wasps etc, but will also allow the bees to walk over debris and still exit the hive.

Over wintering without an entrance block at all, to me is an invite for a mouse to move into the hive for the winter...
 
No, none of them, effectively. What is the point of them?

Regards, RAB

i agree with RAB ,, if i have a mouse problem then i use a mouseguards as entrance blocks do not stop mice

i do have one dartington style entrance on one hive (last picture) which is a pain because it blocks every winter and i need a bent coat hanger to clear the upper passage but it never get blocked at this time of year, to many bees with nothing to do so lots of undertakers waiting for the bodies

it is going into the "reserve" next year
 
Rubbish! You use mouse guards for that.

As for dead bees blocking the entrance at this time of the year. Never seen it.

RAB
 
MM,

The 'Dartington style' in a Dartington is well protected from falling winter bees - the cluster is about 200mm distant (or more), beyond a short divider during the winter. The brood nest only expands towards the entry/exit slot in the floor in springtime - as I add frames in front and behind the brood nest, as required. A very amenable system.

If it works properly (which, I find, it sometimes does not!) one can get to about sixteen 14 x 12 frames in use, before even thinking about having an upper tier - that's more than a double-brood standard National. Keeps beekeeping simpler and easier at that stage.

BTW are all your colonies on OMFs? I have expanded bit and needed to use a couple remaining solids (previously kept for bait hives) this year, but they might get onto the new OMFs I made if I can get some help to lift them.

Regards, RAB
 
MM,

The 'Dartington style' in a Dartington is well protected from falling winter bees - the cluster is about 200mm distant (or more), beyond a short divider during the winter. The brood nest only expands towards the entry/exit slot in the floor in springtime - as I add frames in front and behind the brood nest, as required. A very amenable system.

If it works properly (which, I find, it sometimes does not!) one can get to about sixteen 14 x 12 frames in use, before even thinking about having an upper tier - that's more than a double-brood standard National. Keeps beekeeping simpler and easier at that stage.

BTW are all your colonies on OMFs? I have expanded bit and needed to use a couple remaining solids (previously kept for bait hives) this year, but they might get onto the new OMFs I made if I can get some help to lift them.

Regards, RAB

all omf, for bait hive i use a an old bs national topped and tailed (and screwed) with ply and a hole drilled in side, had too many kicked over, best swarm i got was on one kicked upside down, rembmer i live in london lots of vandelsim

i am in Herts BKa ( an affilated assocaition) and s R dartington is a leading Herts BKA member the association has a lots of dartingtons but i have never even lifted a crown board on one , we have a few protypes standing unused in the training apiary
 
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A few pictures of my bees from the last couple of years.

This picture won first prize last year in our honey show
BEE%20a21bs.jpg


My feisty bees but hardest workers
aprilc%20009.jpg


28%20022.jpg


Finally my favourite colony
cord.jpg
 
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I can never get my bees to sit still long enough for me to take a photo, especially the queens. No sooner have i spotted her and fired up the camera, she is gone.

I work my bees on my own so any suggestions/tips on the best way to take photos would be appreciated :)

Question for the experts; in the first photo of barratt_sab's pictures. The bee in the middle of the picture has two small dots above her eyes/on top of her head? What are they?
 
From reports on the forum, the first thing to do is get a dedicated camera, not a mobile phone!

Regards, RAB
 
Hi TK,

These are Ocelli, they are simple single lens eyes that are thought to measure light intensity but do not produce an image. There are 3 of them in an inverted triangle - you can just see all three on the bee at the extreme right of the same picture.
 
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