What did you do in the Apiary today?

[Millet]

Checked to see if these virgin queens were laying okay, they are, inseminated some more this morning...apart from that just another normal days bee work.

Roads have suddenly become very busy too, lots of cars and teams of two wheeled Lycra clad road hogs.

my journey took 1hr longer today through the holiday traffic and them lycra folk wearing nut huggers..

 

[colinc]

Checked to see if these virgin queens were laying okay, they are,


I was thinking immaculate conception for a minute there....


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[Hivemaker.]

I was thinking immaculate conception for a minute there....

Be nice, lol....they are of course no longer virgins.

 

[Erichalfbee]

Checked to see if these virgin queens were laying okay, they are,


I was thinking immaculate conception for a minute there....


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No...
Mary herself was the Immaculate Conception....ie she was born without Original Sin
The Virgin Birth was how she produced Jesus......no sex

 

[Hivemaker.]

my journey took 1hr longer today through the holiday traffic

Most annoying ones are those that are unable to reverse, they shouldn't be driving really.

 

[Hivemaker.]

The Virgin Birth was how she produced Jesus......no sex

God was the father of Jesus, so she was up to no good with him when Josephs back was turned.

 

[Hivemaker.]

Looking at the night-time temperatures for the week ahead (min 1 degree C), I'm glad that I wait until May to start queen rearing.

I don't worry about the night time temperatures although, they are forecast around 5 to 8 here, the day time ones are of more importance, less so when II queens.

 

[colinc]

God was the father of Jesus, so she was up to no good with him when Josephs back was turned.

God is omnipotent which is kind of the inverse of impotent, maybe he is always up to no good [emoji6]Jesus may have siblings ....... no there is a thought.


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[Erichalfbee]

God is omnipotent which is kind of the inverse of impotent, maybe he is always up to no good [emoji6]Jesus may have siblings ....... no there is a thought.


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Gods are always up to no good

 

[B+.]

I don't worry about the night time temperatures although, they are forecast around 5 to 8 here, the day time ones are of more importance, less so when II queens.

Do you incubate your drones (http://coloss.org/beebook/I/instrumental-insemination/4/1?searchterm=dron)?

 

[Hivemaker.]

Do you incubate your drones

No.

Providing heat (a light above the flight box) and food (bee candy) will extend the active period of drones.

Keeping them fit and vigorous/active for much longer is easier if they are caught and caged in a twin cage, beside a lot of attendant bees and a feeder with some fondant in.

 

[B+.]

Keeping them fit and vigorous/active for much longer is easier if they are caught and caged in a twin cage, beside a lot of attendant bees and a feeder with some fondant in.

Yes. I meant during the development cycle though. I've read (but can't remember the reference) that food (i.e. proximity to pollen combs) and heat are important to the development to the sperm. The suggestion was that drones that develop early in the season, when its cooler, have a reduced semen load. Do you find that?

 

[Hivemaker.]

Do you find that?

Most have a high yield, some don't.

 

[B+.]

I had a call to go to a swarm about 4 or 5 miles away. The guy on the phone said the bees were all over the place as he was cutting his hedge. When I arrived, there were maybe 4 or 5 bees flying around the last bit of hedge he hadn't cut.
"Why?" You may ask.....the stupid man was trimming the flowers on the hedge they were feeding on!
Moral of the story: always ask if there is a cluster, not just lots of bees flying around!
No matter how sure (and excited) they are on the phone, the absence of a cluster will usually mean its a wasted trip.

 

[Eyeman]

Moral of the story: always ask if there is a cluster, not just lots of bees flying around!
No matter how sure (and excited) they are on the phone, the absence of a cluster will usually mean its a wasted trip.

Got a panic call about a swarm from a home owner. Gardener has to stop cutting hedge because of bees and he took a picture. Asked home owner to get gardener to send be the picture. Sure enough a cluster of honey bees in the hedge. I went around and apart from the odd bumble bee there were no honey bees. I then asked when was the gardener there- 3 days ago!

 

[B+.]

I then asked when was the gardener there- 3 days ago!

Been there. Done that!

 

[For want of a better word]

God is omnipotent which is kind of the inverse of impotent, maybe he is always up to no good [emoji6]Jesus may have siblings ....... no there is a thought.


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Being brought up as a Primitive Methodist, I was under the understanding that we are all the children of God?


.... then I discovered I could ( with the good Lords help make cider!!)

Yeghes da

 

[For want of a better word]

Yes. I meant during the development cycle though. I've read (but can't remember the reference) that food (i.e. proximity to pollen combs) and heat are important to the development to the sperm. The suggestion was that drones that develop early in the season, when its cooler, have a reduced semen load. Do you find that?

Towards the end of last season from a batch of 100 drones only 16 had enough sperm to usefully extract.... these were from my yellow stripey NZ Italian stock.

But on Good Friday I discovers from 10 overwintered nucs only one has gone "drone layer"!

Yeghes da

 

[B+.]

Towards the end of last season from a batch of 100 drones only 16 had enough sperm to usefully extract.... these were from my yellow stripey NZ Italian stock.

Yes. This can happen too.
You have to make sure that they're at least 2 weeks old or they will just be too immature. You can usually tell this by the colour of the cornua (if they are clear, they are immature - they should be yellow/orange) or the contraction of the abdomen (it should be as hard as a stone - if it is soft, there will be no semen). Have you seen Dr Schleys video on semen collection (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iVjLkUVt-Lg)?

The point I was trying to make earlier was that drones need a good diet and plenty of warmth (the same conditions a developing virgin queen needs) or the semen load of the drone will suffer.

 

[Hachi]

Just got in from moving two hives from someone giving up to one of my out apiaries.