What did you do in the Apiary today?

[Gilberdyke John]

Met the owner of a piece of land about 300yds from home, he has said I can keep bees there, happy days. All I need to do now is to clear the area of brambles and bracken.

I'd clear an area within the patch but leave the surround to provide shelter, concealment and forage.

 

[colinc]

First check. All hives doing well. 3 frames with central brood area capped and queens busy and laying looking good. Few mites on the floors so time to treat again


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[Erichalfbee]

Bees out getting water
The big Egyptian Willow in the apiary has taken a hammering for the third year running.
Weather getting worse. Grrrrrrrrrrrr

 

[Tremyfro]

Sooooo blimin' cold this afternoon....after an hour teaching a horse how to load into a trailer...brrrr. The bees rather sensibly had a duvet day. And by teatime the weather closed in again bringing misty drizzle.
I can't even imagine opening a hive yet!
However...the new roof for a Dartington is coming along and should be finished tomorrow... A few coats of paint and it will be ready for occupation this year.

 

[denise washington]

put fondant on all hives but lost a small nuc

 

[REDWOOD]

put fondant on all hives but lost a small nuc

My commiserations [emoji17]


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[Tremyfro]

put fondant on all hives but lost a small nuc

That awful moment when you realise they haven't survived...you feel you have failed them. I learnt a lot last year from the ones I lost. Examining the comb...testing for nosema...looking at the bees under a magnifyer. My colonies were better prepared for this winter because of the losses of the previous one.

 

[B+.]

That awful moment when you realise they haven't survived...you feel you have failed them.

Its all about improvement Tremyfro. Show me someone who hasn't learned something abut their bees and I'll show you someone wh hasn't looked closely enough. After 30 years I'm still learning new things.

I'm spending a lot of time inspecting sticky sheets from under the OMF at the moment..not finding many mites but the microscopic life that inhabits the floor is fascinating

 

[Tremyfro]

Its all about improvement Tremyfro. Show me someone who hasn't learned something abut their bees and I'll show you someone wh hasn't looked closely enough. After 30 years I'm still learning new things.

I'm spending a lot of time inspecting sticky sheets from under the OMF at the moment..not finding many mites but the microscopic life that inhabits the floor is fascinating

That's true. It can make your skin crawl when you see how many 'things' are everywhere...including our own skin...we are crawling with creepy crawlies..lol.
I shall be interested in my sugar roll mite counts when we open up in the spring. This winter the Beehaus have had mega insulation...including under the OMF. Then there are two colonies in poly hives and finally one colony in a wooden hive with top insulation. It will be interesting to compare the spring build ups. My obs are more on a gross scale and yours on a microscopic scale. I'm also going to check all my colonies for nosema....in the hope of avoiding 'panic' posts for help!

 

[madasafish]

Sunny pm so counted seams of bees and took crown board temperatures. Temperatures ranged from 9C (2 seams ) to 19C poly hive 6 seams. One hive had 8 seams of bees - a lot in a lang jumbo with 10 frames.
Nucs were 3 and 4 seams , 14C with week one 1 seam and 9C.

Ambient was 8C.

So I assume I'll lose 1 hive and 1 nuc. All the rest are brooding (pollen patties)

 

[nantmoel]

Put another container of fondant on a Nuc today, the previous container was licked clean.

 

[B+.]

That's true. It can make your skin crawl when you see how many 'things' are everywhere...including our own skin...we are crawling with creepy crawlies..lol.

Ironically, It may mean that I don't have enough mites to do the VSH testing.

Last year, I remember Tieme Wanders telling me he was having problems harvesting 100 mites for each Mini-Plus to do the VSH test. I thought: what a great "problem" to have. Now, I see the problem. I looked at the sticky insert this afternoon (10 day sample) and I couldn't see a single mite. Not one!

 

[Tremyfro]

Ironically, It may mean that I don't have enough mites to do the VSH testing.

Last year, I remember Tieme Wanders telling me he was having problems harvesting 100 mites for each Mini-Plus to do the VSH test. I thought: what a great "problem" to have. Now, I see the problem. I looked at the sticky insert this afternoon (10 day sample) and I couldn't see a single mite. Not one!

Well it is a great problem to have...I'm guessing that is a natural drop you are examining? I read recently about one beekeepers experience of natural drop.....he didn't get many but decided to do a treatment anyway...and had loads drop off the bees. So I decided to go with a sugar roll...I know that can be inaccurate too...but I'm thinking it will be a guideline...hopefully....a lot of if's there..lol

 

[B+.]

Well it is a great problem to have...I'm guessing that is a natural drop you are examining?l

Yes. 21 day natural mite drop of phoretic mites at the start of the season. There is very little sealed brood now but this will start to increase now. I am looking for a mites / day number that can be compared to other assessments later in the year to show the growth of the population. This allows colonies to be compared and scored.
You will have more sealed brood by the time you come to do the sugar roll test so this will be less accurate. The natural mite drop test done now is the most accurate way there is.

 

[Tremyfro]

I can see the value of doing that. I would have to dismantle my under OMF insulation though with the beehausies in order to do it. It's still very cold here most days 3-9* ATM. The OMF is twice the size of a national. So a bit reluctant especially as it's blowing a gale too!

 

[B+.]

I can see the value of doing that. I would have to dismantle my under OMF insulation though with the beehausies in order to do it.

Cold isn't a problem if you can access it from the outside (the bees wont be flying) but it sounds as though your beehouse wasn't designed with an OMF (for observations) in mind?
My wife was on an NUT treasurers course in LLandudno at the start of the week. She said the weather was pretty much as it is here in Bedfordshire (except the snow covering on the mountains).

 

[Tremyfro]

Cold isn't a problem if you can access it from the outside (the bees wont be flying) but it sounds as though your beehouse wasn't designed with an OMF (for observations) in mind?
My wife was on an NUT treasurers course in LLandudno at the start of the week. She said the weather was pretty much as it is here in Bedfordshire (except the snow covering on the mountains).

You can do OMF observations in the same way as any national...it's just that I have put insulation blocks between the OMF and the varroa board. It is so windy here. We are only a short distance from the Bristol Channel....the south and south-west winds batter us as they sweep up the hill. Sometimes it's hard to get the back door shut! We have built a palings fence around the Bee Yard to reduce the wind until and if a hedge can grow. I will soon be taking the blocks off for cleaning...when we start inspections. To give you an idea...we are about two weeks behind with flowers here from down in Cowbridge...out nearest town. Some of our daffs are out but many are still in tight bud.

 

[Erichalfbee]

Yes. 21 day natural mite drop of phoretic mites at the start of the season.........The natural mite drop test done now is the most accurate way there is.

Ah I didn't know that. Can you use the beebase calculator as well?

 

[B+.]

Ah I didn't know that. Can you use the beebase calculator as well?

I honestly don't know but I would have thought so.

The idea is that the natural mite drop should only be done when there is little, or no, brood (preferably no sealed brood because this is where reproducing mites hide). That is why it is done now. Once you have sealed brood, it becomes increasingly inaccurate and other methods (e.g. sugar roll, alcohol/water wash, etc) must be done instead. These are best done in the first week of July when the colony will be at its peak of development.

 

[bontbee]

(Yesterday) watched a mass of new bees getting their bearings. Thermometer next to the hive 6 degs.... Should I tell them what the books say?


I was steaming wax at the time, but fortunately they were more interested in water and pollen - or just relief...