What did you do in the Apiary today?

[Finman]

I agree, wiring frames is time consuming. I can think of a few tweaks that would make it much faster. Most would require a machine to clip the wire and attach a brass stud on the end so the wire would hold in the end bar instead of having to be wrapped around a nail. I am running 3 horizontal wires in Dadant depth frames and using vertical wired foundation. This provides more than enough support to hold up to extracting. This is a photo of the 5.1mm foundation I received today compared to a sheet of 5.4mm on top. http://www.selectedplants.com/miscan/5.1cell1.jpg

One of the more innovative ways of wiring a frame was documented in Gleanings about 30 years ago. The person was driving frame nails through the side bars, top, and bottom bars, then using pliers to bend a hook into each nail. He then wove a wire on the inside of the frame catching each hook in a diamond pattern. It took about half as much time as wiring through holes in the end bars.

Question is, how to put 'one in hole' the peak of the wire.

.fine innovations, but why no one use them?
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[Finman]

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To me Dadant is too small brood space. I use three langstroths. One box is needed to store pollen in main yield.

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[bjosephd]

boath. It depends on the size of colony.

So when someone puts a super under their brood box you could potentially argue that actually it's not enough space, rather than too much.


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[Karsal]

I've been up to my poly hives on the hillside close to me. Put extra straps around them securing them to their stands and bricks on the edges of the stands weighing the down. I hope they survive the high winds.

 

[The Riviera Kid]

I've hammered wooden stakes into the ground around mine to stop any movement. It was hard work in this wind!

I've been up to my poly hives on the hillside close to me. Put extra straps around them securing them to their stands and bricks on the edges of the stands weighing the down. I hope they survive the high winds.

 

[Anduril]

I've hammered wooden stakes into the ground around mine to stop any movement. It was hard work in this wind!

Been there, I use a fence post Auger now

 

[Finman]

So when someone puts a super under their brood box you could potentially argue that actually it's not enough space, rather than too much.

But never put more space down, because brood must be down.
But if some one put it down, I can not help. He puts, because it is his hive.

I know what to do. That is the difference.

If Super is capped, what heck it doesn under brood.


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[birdsandbees]

Bloody ingrates!

all my hives are securely strapped down to the stands and the stands are all braced, however, I have one hive that is in the process of being rotated 180 degrees on the stand, I've been slowly turning it a bit each visit but this means it isn't currently strapped down only strapped together, I was awake at 4:15 this morning listening to the wind and worrying about this hive so I got up early to go and check before work, its a twenty mile round trip but thought it worth it for peace of mind.
anyhow, with the weather being the way it is I didn't take the suit and I thought its a quick job and they wont be flying, they weren't but the movement brought them out alright!
thought I'd got away with it until walking back to the car I discovered one little lady on my arm as she plunged her sting into it

well that the first sting of the year out of the way.

 

[madasafish]

One frame stand blown away and broken. One varroa board blown away - now ducktaped in place.
One poor poly roof (self made) stripped of some aluminium tape.
One empty nuc on its side..(slate on roof)

Everything strapped down stayed in place

 

[PaulCarroll]

Glad to see I am not the only one celebrating/nursing the first sting of the year. I decided just to pop some extra fondant in to a colony and as I lifted the lid I was greeted by several unhappy ladies one who just gave my hand a welcome caress!! If I had only taken the extra time to slip on some gloves, it would have been no problem. What is the old saying something about repenting in leisure!!!


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[SDM]

Anglesey took Doris head on yesterday. 5 down in total , 2 stayed closed up and just needed standing up. These ones were less than pleased to see me and made full use of the hole in the crotch of my work trousers.

 

[user 6228]

Anglesey took Doris head on yesterday. 5 down in total , 2 stayed closed up and just needed standing up. These ones were less than pleased to see me and made full use of the hole in the crotch of my work trousers.

Perhaps the use of some heavy rocks tied underneath to weigh down the stand. Or placed on cross members below the hives. There a few rocks lying around near Bethesda

Found a couple of those helped a Sunbeam Stilletto reduce its under steer in the snow around Tregarth. But then you dont get snow on Anglesey

 

[Swarm]

That's rotten luck, SDM

 

[Millet]

Anglesey took Doris head on yesterday. 5 down in total , 2 stayed closed up and just needed standing up. These ones were less than pleased to see me and made full use of the hole in the crotch of my work trousers.

What a horrible sight to be greeted with lets hope they pull safe.

 

[SDM]

Perhaps the use of some heavy rocks tied underneath to weigh down the stand. Or placed on cross members below the hives. There a few rocks lying around near Bethesda

The stands are now strapped to big corkscrew caravan tie downs. It was odd to have a northerly so strong.

What a horrible sight to be greeted with lets hope they pull safe.

They've all been out and about today, it seems like business as usual for them.

 

[Brian Bush]

I had similar experiences to SDM yesterday as a result of Doris. My landlord drove round mid morning to tell me my apiary looked like a battlefield. 4 Hives and stands were overturned and others had lost roofs and supers. I do not usually have to lash down hives living where i do but Doris was coming from a direction where the land and hedge funneled the wind through the apiary. It took me an hour to secure everything. I was hit by a flying roof, lost in hive insulation and the door of the shed was damaged. One hive refused to stay upright, very angry girls, the temp was about 14 degrees and they were active. Eventually I wedged it against another hive, cleaned up as much equipment as possible and set off for the other out apiary. I had a 2 mile detour owing to a tree falling on a car, luckily no-one was hurt, and had to drive through a village where it was dustbin day! (It was like dodging giant mortar bombs as the lorry was just ahead of me. Empty bins are lighter than full ones!!!) As i arrived at he apiary i was met by a piece of insulation but only 1 empty hive had succumbed to the wind. I got home to be greeted by my land lord who had been summoned to remove his shed roof from the lane and had spent another half hour righting my hive and wedging them upright with lumps of timber. SWMBO aunt Doris is 96 but she has still cause a disaster.

 

[Millet]

I had similar experiences to SDM yesterday as a result of Doris. My landlord drove round mid morning to tell me my apiary looked like a battlefield. 4 Hives and stands were overturned and others had lost roofs and supers. I do not usually have to lash down hives living where i do but Doris was coming from a direction where the land and hedge funneled the wind through the apiary. It took me an hour to secure everything. I was hit by a flying roof, lost in hive insulation and the door of the shed was damaged. One hive refused to stay upright, very angry girls, the temp was about 14 degrees and they were active. Eventually I wedged it against another hive, cleaned up as much equipment as possible and set off for the other out apiary. I had a 2 mile detour owing to a tree falling on a car, luckily no-one was hurt, and had to drive through a village where it was dustbin day! (It was like dodging giant mortar bombs as the lorry was just ahead of me. Empty bins are lighter than full ones!!!) As i arrived at he apiary i was met by a piece of insulation but only 1 empty hive had succumbed to the wind. I got home to be greeted by my land lord who had been summoned to remove his shed roof from the lane and had spent another half hour righting my hive and wedging them upright with lumps of timber. SWMBO aunt Doris is 96 but she has still cause a disaster.

Dear Lord, i thought i had it bad when the daffodils got flattened, i hope all the colonies pull safe.

 

[dpearce4]

went up to check my hives today after the blow yesterday. All fine but really shocked when I looked inside not one hive has less than seven seams of bees in and most have 9 seams. Got to start thinking about spring right now I think. The good thing is they all have lots of stores so don't need any feeding yet, good to go for the 1:1 syrup feeding from early to mid march.

 

[Erichalfbee]

Heavens.....
It was a bit windy here but nothing out of the ordinary for a winter storm.

 

[colinc]

This is one of the few times in life that I am grateful for the 8 ft conifer hedge at the bottom of the garden