The WEATHER in the Apiary today

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I remember that.
I kind of hope it isn't too nice on Sat or we'll want to be outside.
If it isn't, will bring along a nice warm cardie for you Swarm - if I see someone in t-shirt, shades, biker boots and goosepimples.
 
Who remembers the WBKA convention, was it 2012? Snow and freezing conditions. End of March 1996 was very cold, again snow everywhere, I remember riding my motorbike in it (that was a bit stupid) This weather is quite normal but beekeepers are not :)
It will be T shirt weather on Saturday. See you all there, don't forget your sunscreen.

I've just made the promised drambuie/honey cake. Actually I made muffins to the same recipe.
 
Well the mercury hit 15C today and the bees where fairly active working the Gorse bushes, they where bringing two type of pollen in though one was yellow and one orange, the gorse pollen looked more orange to me but i could not find where the yellow was coming from, does Gorse do the two colours, here is a few pictures.

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Mine had such large loads of yellow i had to look twice. They where covered head to toe in yellow
 
Millet, I love your photos!

Could it be celandines? our bees collect a lot of pollen from them.

It was fantastic here yesterday, 15c and really sunny, opened a hive today at of the new apiaries to find loads of bees, little brood, and a very large supersedure cell in the middle of the frame. B**gger.
 
Well the mercury hit 15C today and the bees where fairly active working the Gorse bushes, they where bringing two type of pollen in though one was yellow and one orange, the gorse pollen looked more orange to me but i could not find where the yellow was coming from, does Gorse do the two colours, here is a few pictures.

IMG_0710_zpsnncn43b9.jpg


IMG_0764_zpsvhxauxer.jpg


IMG_0779_zpsual7mymr.jpg


Second image down... shows the first wide turgoid ... typically Apis mellifera mellifera

Warm out of the wind here in the sunny greatgreeygreenslimeytamarrivervalleyallsetaboutwithemptysecondhomes!

Yeghes da

IMG_0753_zpsahfrfs0f.jpg

Very nice images
 
First tergite tends to be broader in Amm, defensiveness seems to be an indication of hybridisation with non native stock... difficult to avoid when everyone in your area is bringing in bees from far and wide.

Nos da
 
First tergite tends to be broader in Amm, defensiveness seems to be an indication of hybridisation with non native stock... difficult to avoid when everyone in your area is bringing in bees from far and wide.

Nos da

I bought this lot which was a Nuc size 3yrs ago come June, so what ever aggressiveness is already there within her Majesty , i hope the help from a good experienced forum member can sort this problem out, when i get a couple of new Queens. ;)
 
Is she definitely the same queen in there? Do you see any bees in this colony with single or double, tergite banding? (typical tan leather colour, one or two stripes)
Do you have/can you get a few more pics of them?
 
Is she definitely the same queen in there? Do you see any bees in this colony with single or double, tergite banding? (typical tan leather colour, one or two stripes)
Do you have/can you get a few more pics of them?
She sure is the original Queen as she is marked Blue, that is unless she has been superceded since my last inspection at the back end of Autumn last year, i do not have any more pictures from this year but i will have some from last year and the year before, just out of interest why is the colour of interest, should i be worried.. lol

Edited to add some pictures from last year, i did ask a question last year or the year before about the bees being two different colours as i thought i was getting robber bees, but one member stated which i know now that the queen will be mated by many drones so seperate batches of bees can have different colours.

bees%20on%20willowherb%20017_zps5om9emxh.jpg


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Image 1, 2, 3 appear to have first tergite broad so possibly Amm. 4 and five seem to have that ligurian influence... possibly where the aggression is focused.... if it is a genetic trait
Requeening from a pure Amm stock should sort things out... if you want to go that way.

Yeghes da
 
I was wondering because I could not see any in the first pic at the entrance. Your first images look very interesting AMM wise but there is banding in the next series of pics. May not be one of yours of course, the best way to find out would be bees on the comb. How many colonies do you have Millet?
 
I was wondering because I could not see any in the first pic at the entrance. Your first images look very interesting AMM wise but there is banding in the next series of pics. May not be one of yours of course, the best way to find out would be bees on the comb. How many colonies do you have Millet?

I only have the one colony at the moment, i had thought of the dark bees being someone elses but i have seen them coming and going from the hive.
Here is a few pictures from two years ago

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Dark_zpschokehly.jpg
 
SUN.... April long range looks good!

Must get those supers on today as the Rape is just about to bloom... the bees need the pollen even if the rape is a GM with no nectaries!!!

Yeghes da
 

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