Slow bees this year, or just mine

[EdNewman]

Hi All, reading through the forums it looks like things arean't as busy for bees this year?

Mine are being really slow and I'm not sure if I should be worried. The two in the garden are normally really prolific and for the last three years have tried to swarm in May and I have take a super of honey from each at the end of May. This year they are sat on 5 frames with the queens laying on three and making no attempt to draw out the two new frames of foundation I have boot at the edge of the brood.

Should I be concerned, or just let them get on with it?

Ed

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Mine seem busy enough - quite a few Demarrees on the go, A/s's undertaken and half a dozen nucs made up already, with a few more next week - most colonies are on multiple supers.

 

[Tremyfro]

It seems some bees are doing well and others are not. I had a slow colony...I tested for nosema...positive. So I treated them and now they are going really well. In fact I treated all my colonies to reduce the nosema load. I read that nosema is present in most hives but during the warmer months the production of bees surpasses those that die off from the nosema...so although the buildup is slow they do appear to recover. I was surprised how quickly they are all building up now. I might even get a little honey this year after all if it stops blowing a cold wind and raining.

 

[Jthebeek]

Hi just keep an eye on them they will probably be late bloomers but I'd probably give them a dose of hive clean. It is only semi successful for treating varoa but I find it can give a weaker colony a boost.
Hope all goes well from here

 

[snelgrove]

It seems some bees are doing well and others are not. I had a slow colony...I tested for nosema...positive. So I treated them and now they are going really well. In fact I treated all my colonies to reduce the nosema load. I read that nosema is present in most hives but during the warmer months the production of bees surpasses those that die off from the nosema...so although the buildup is slow they do appear to recover. I was surprised how quickly they are all building up now. I might even get a little honey this year after all if it stops blowing a cold wind and raining.

What did you use as a treatment and how?

 

[Hivemaker.]

Hi All, reading through the forums it looks like things arean't as busy for bees this year?

Mine are being really slow and I'm not sure if I should be worried. The two in the garden are normally really prolific and for the last three years have tried to swarm in May and I have take a super of honey from each at the end of May. This year they are sat on 5 frames with the queens laying on three and making no attempt to draw out the two new frames of foundation I have boot at the edge of the brood.

Should I be concerned, or just let them get on with it?

Ed

Test for Nosema and check % of varroa mite infestation.

 

[Tremyfro]

What did you use as a treatment and how?

I made up some 1:1 syrup and added 5 ml of Hivemakers nosema basic recipe to 1 litre of syrup. Sprayed the bees on the comb..just enough to wet their wings. Repeated this twice more at 4 day intervals. I saw a good response.
I bought a handheld pressure pump...it did the job very smoothly.

 

[nantmoel]

We still have two that are very slow to build up, treated them for nosema treatment by spraying them with 'Hivemakers' nosema basic recipe to 1 litre of syrup.

 

[thorn]

I put it down to a cold, wet spring. There wasn't much forage about in suburban Leeds until recently, while my country hives found a good source considerably earlier.

 

[Firefly]

Wind, rain, temperature, forage - so variable place to place and day to day. Mine went ballistic for 2 weeks in early May; much slower week last week, judging by stores and new brood. Forecast says 12 deg max on Wed and 6 overnight - they will be burning honey to keep warm!

OSR going over; maybe they'll notice the hawthorn they've been flying over to get there

One of them is a colony that tried to swarm on Apr 17 2 years ago. No sign of it so far this year, except for all the drone brood

 

[Pete D]

Not too bad in this neck of the woods, supers a few weeks back, extracted last week and again tomorrow, nucs made up................, not as good as 2014 but better than 13 or last year at the moment.