What did you do in the Apiary today?

[JWF]

Had a swarm at lunchtime which filled the garden and next door on both sides with a giant swarm of bees - this is from a colony that I put onto a double brood last weekend and they've drawn out 10 national brood frames, and filled most of them with nectar. And they have a super nearly filled. Obviously missed a queen cell last weekend!

They went in a hedge in the garden and i managed to transfer them all into a standard national brood box, they happily walked in, only for them to bugger off about 2 hours later leaving a load of arsy bees behind which are obviously grumpy now they're queen less - they stung the next door neighbour and my wife, so I'll be moving them further out of the way later on when (hopefully) they'll get their naughty backsides into the hive so i can shut them in.

I predict the stragglers may be a PITA for a few days.

 

[beeno]

Hi JWF,
This is when you should have put a QE on them. It would have kept them in there if the Q was with them or if they went you would have known that the queen is still in the original hive. Have you checked for QCs?

 

[rdmw]

I painted up some mini nucs ready for our queen rearing
Fabulous weather loads of pollen coming in and two colonies back on double brood as they are building up so strongly


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[linoleum bonypart]

Newbies with garden hives should read the above..... I quickly determined gardens aren't the best place and moved in my first year

 

[Erichalfbee]

Newbies with garden hives should read the above..... I quickly determined gardens aren't the best place and moved in my first year

I think for a hassle free life you are spot on.
I'm sure there are lots of people that keep bees in their gardens without problems but the threat is always there

 

[youngyoungs]

Inspected my home hives for the second time. Tale of woe. 1 hive doing really well, 1 hive with 1 frame of brood and three nucs in various stages of going nowhere (1DLQ, 1 tiny queen with no brood, 1 decent sized queen who isn't laying). Looks to me like last years queens didn't get mated properly.............

 

[Webby]

Newbies with garden hives should read the above..... I quickly determined gardens aren't the best place and moved in my first year

I have bees in my garden and you wouldn't know it.

 

[Michael Palmer]

First pollen today. Ya-hooo!

 

[Brigsy]

Gosh. Is this normal timing for you? or a bit late?

 

[colinc]

Inspected yesterday and removed MAQS after a week. Double brood hive going great guns still shuffled slightly to stop stores constraining the brood nest and other hive visibly larger so no brood break noted. Queens obviously survived treatment and put inspection boards in. Mites were far less evident and checked the boards this evening and mite drop seems lower too. Will continue monitoring drop this week. Less DWV evident already as a lot of those bees were seen leaving the hive whilst the MAQS were in. Play cups on the increase too.
Supers added as rape is blooming well 400yds away


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[Jed D]

Full lap today , 5 sites 25 colonies , 7 + hours... felt like a days work !!

One queenless colony , capped brood only , broke down emergency Q/cells ( united with next door ) was going well !!!

Another with Q/cells 3 open supersede cells ( on face on two frames ) & one capped swarm cell ( hanging from bottom bar ).. Queen still present and laying ??
6 good frames of bias ' but they were a bit bunged up ( not much laying space )

Confused by this one..
So performed a back to front split !!!
Prime queen to nuc with brood harvested from other colonies..
Left one open cell , 5 bias and re-jigged frames..

And a third was showing signs of loading Q/ cups..
Another bunged up colony..
Broke down Cups / cells ,swopped full brood frames , for drawn m/t comb & gave them a super..
Hopefully they will change plans and make some honey...

On a postive note,,
1st and 2nd super going on other colonies , OSR coming in..
Although weather and temperature is set to take a dip next week..

Beekeeping is just an emotional rollercoaster......

 

[Michael Palmer]

Just about right.

 

[madasafish]

Newbies with garden hives should read the above..... I quickly determined gardens aren't the best place and moved in my first year

Very much individual circumstances..

With a 20+ acre field with woods behind us and only one next door neighbour who is a retired farmer, any bee indiscretions are smoothed over by a jar iof honey..

 

[Gilberdyke John]

Very much individual circumstances..

With a 20+ acre field with woods behind us and only one next door neighbour who is a retired farmer, any bee indiscretions are smoothed over by a jar iof honey..

Complains about getting stung on average 12 times a year perhaps?

 

[Brigsy]

Just about right.

I see. Thanks.

 

[madasafish]

Complains about getting stung on average 12 times a year perhaps?

Once in 7 years...I bribe every year anyway

 

[Brian Bush]

What a wonderful weekend. Went through all my hives very carefully. Never had them so well advanced as they are this year. Two were a little disappointing, they will get new queens as soon as some are raised.
I will be demareeing one hive later this week as they need more room and can use the top box for raising queens. My Bee Haus I will have to divide next weekend as there are 12 frames of brood. I am going to just split down the middle and let the queenless end raise their own queens. Hopefully there will be some extra queen cells I can harvest and use elsewhere.

 

[Monsieur Abeille]

Took advantage of yesterdays sun for an inspection - brood boxes pretty full with both brood and stores, and supers added to handle the incoming OSR.

 

[Somerford]

Opened 4 x 14x12 colonies at one of the new apiaries. One on 9 frames brood with 2 supers already 60% full, no sign of swarming. Two on 4 frames of brood, healthy, BIAS, supers added for space as a lot of capped brood.
One I had to just throw out onto the grass as the queen has run out of steam. Sad but I caged her to show friends.
And the last - 8 frames of brood, a few drones and at least 7 open queen cells. Split them up as an expanding this year and left the hive with 60% of the frames and a couple of drawn supers on top - v docile could be a good one to watch for offspring

Must admit finding queen cells so early was a surprise !

 

[Erichalfbee]

Opened 4 x 14x12 colonies

Must admit finding queen cells so early was a surprise !

I have had significant activity at all my bait hives for 2 days but now quiet as it's quite cold.
I asked my neighbour half a mile away how her bees were and she told me she never looks into them till the first weekend in May.