MJBee
Drone Bee
- Joined
- Dec 4, 2008
- Messages
- 1,812
- Reaction score
- 1
- Location
- Dordogne 24360 France
- Hive Type
- Commercial
- Number of Hives
- 16 a mix of Commercial, National, 14 x 12, Dadant and a Warre
Snow all gone - replaced by rain
still chilly though +5C today
Took the opportunity to check the hives. All the weights are holding up well and all but 1 are heavier than at the same time last year, the fondant given when I trickled on 29 Dec does not seem to have been touched (I say "seem" because it is still visible through the feed hole in the crown board under the insulation).
After a quite high varroa drop in the first week post OA the numbers are now very low ( from 1 to 14 over a 10 day period) The debris patterns are interesting. The Nuc looks as if it is covering all 5 frames, of the others 4 have football size debris patterns in the middle of the hive, 1 is a good size but in the front right quarter of the box. The final one is very odd, it looks as if the cluster is covering 2 or 3 frames only but extends from the front to back of the hive
All give a healthy buzz when tapped and are flying/hive cleaning whenever it is warm enough. So as the title says So far so good
Has anyone else noticed odd cluster shapes or positions?
still chilly though +5C todayTook the opportunity to check the hives. All the weights are holding up well and all but 1 are heavier than at the same time last year, the fondant given when I trickled on 29 Dec does not seem to have been touched (I say "seem" because it is still visible through the feed hole in the crown board under the insulation).
After a quite high varroa drop in the first week post OA the numbers are now very low ( from 1 to 14 over a 10 day period) The debris patterns are interesting. The Nuc looks as if it is covering all 5 frames, of the others 4 have football size debris patterns in the middle of the hive, 1 is a good size but in the front right quarter of the box. The final one is very odd, it looks as if the cluster is covering 2 or 3 frames only but extends from the front to back of the hive
All give a healthy buzz when tapped and are flying/hive cleaning whenever it is warm enough. So as the title says So far so good
Has anyone else noticed odd cluster shapes or positions?
