What did you do in the Apiary today?

[Beefriendly]

I have pure A.m.c.

Perhaps basing advice on Amc behavior for the rest of the UK may be a little misleading? I know local areas differ in their fauna nectar flows. Maybe best to make a judgmental decision based on what your bees are doing in your apiary. I've just started a few queen cells off this week.

 

[Millet]

Went through the three colonies today just to check on stores really and they seem ok for now, i will go equipped with food and feeders next week just to be on the safe side, all Queens still laying well and i found and marked my first ever Queen that must have been delivered by Aliens.. lol all went smoothly that was after she tried tried to fly when i was trying to catch her in the Queen marking plunger tube luckily she flew straight into the tube, she is now back in the hive with a tidy white dot on her thorax.

 

[B+.]

Perhaps basing advice on Amc behavior for the rest of the UK may be a little misleading? I know local areas differ in their fauna nectar flows. Maybe best to make a judgmental decision based on what your bees are doing in your apiary. I've just started a few queen cells off this week.

I think it just depends on your area. In my area, there isn't much visible, but, somewhere they're finding pollen. That's the surprising part. I can't see where it's coming from.
I'm just talking about my area. Amc does far better here than the local mongrel. I'm just highlighting that the season isn't going to go on forever.

 

[Beefriendly]

I think it just depends on your area.

So why not say this? Instead of giving what sounds, on first reading, as blanket advice for the whole of the UK.

It's getting late for cells now.
I noticed workers showing quite a bit of aggression towards the drones this morning

People need to understand that there are major differences between areas and adjust their feeding/treatments accordingly. i.e they need to think what is happening to bees in their area and adjust to their conditions.

 

[B+.]

People need to understand that there are major differences between areas and adjust their feeding/treatments accordingly. i.e they need to think what is happening to bees in their area and adjust to their conditions.

Of course there are. That's obvious. However, this isn't the first time we've had an August. The important point is that drones are starting to be kicked out. If you want to rely on a queen cell at this time of year, I'd say there are a lot of challenges ahead.
It would probably be a month before you saw any eggs if the cell emerged, the queen mated successfully and made it back to her nuc. During this time, whatever workers there are would have to forage, as well as defend the nuc against increasingly desperate robbers / wasps. Then, it would be another 3 weeks before those eggs became adult bees and another couple of weeks before they started foraging. At that point, they might be lucky (if the weather is kind) and forage on ivy. Not much else. Would this be enough to assure their survival? Probably not. They would need feeding with copious amounts of sugar syrup.

 

[Beefriendly]

The important point is that drones are starting to be kicked out.

In your area and with specific reference to Amc perhaps.
My lot are still rearing them.

 

[Goran]

Yesterday felt little rain after..since.. I forgot when.. it just washed burned leaves of plants.l.. Disaster.. i just want to save colonies for next season. Today will apply nozevit.

 

[Monsieur Abeille]

2 out of 3 colonies close to starvation and fed. Will keep a close eye on the 3rd.

 

[Millet]

2 out of 3 colonies close to starvation and fed. Will keep a close eye on the 3rd.

I have been in a similar situation myself over the past several weeks, one colony has been ticking over ok but i think they will need feeding next week and two nucs i made up with new Queens where on the point of no return 2wks ago so both had to be fed and doing ok for now, it is strange though as they still have plenty of forage but then again the weather has been terrible.

 

[colinc]

Checked 3 double BB national hives. 2 have gone from 16 down to half empty 10 frames of brood in the last 2 weeks. Also emptied their half full supers and some of the plentiful stores from the brood boxes.
They have turfed out their drones and no drone brood.

The third colony has gone from 12 frames up to 16 frames still plenty of stores and increased stores in the brood boxes. Plenty of drones still and this is the colony with the smallest oldest queen who they seemed to be trying to supercede earlier in the year.
Maybe they are just raiding their neighbours????

Given up on a late crop don't think we have any HB the RBWH has gone. Hope they do well off the ivy to backfill their boxes.
Nadired the poorly filled supers to empty them.

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[Millet]

Checked 3 double BB national hives. 2 have gone from 16 down to half empty 10 frames of brood in the last 2 weeks. Also emptied their half full supers and some of the plentiful stores from the brood boxes.
They have turfed out their drones and no drone brood.

The third colony has gone from 12 frames up to 16 frames still plenty of stores and increased stores in the brood boxes. Plenty of drones still and this is the colony with the smallest oldest queen who they seemed to be trying to supercede earlier in the year.
Maybe they are just raiding their neighbours????

Given up on a late crop don't think we have any HB the RBWH has gone. Hope they do well off the ivy to backfill their boxes.
Nadired the poorly filled supers to empty them.

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I have had that happen twice to two Nucs with new Queens over the past several weeks and to me it is hard to spot who is robbing who until you open up, one strong colony near two smaller ones give the game away for me, and the best thing i did was move the weaker one elsewhere which resulted in a dead Queen so i united that nuc to another Q+ nuc that was getting robbed,now it is not being robbed as it has twice as many bees.

 

[PaulCarroll]

Amazing to see that we have colonies struggling for stores in August. I am currently feeding 3 out of my 4 colonies as any food they had stored has now gone over the past two weeks due to poor weather and lack of forage. I expect very little in terms of a honey crop this season and I am going to have to consider the position of my hives for next year as clearly the my part of the garden of England is not that fertile for my bees.


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[colinc]

I have had that happen twice to two Nucs with new Queens over the past several weeks and to me it is hard to spot who is robbing who until you open up, one strong colony near two smaller ones give the game away for me, and the best thing i did was move the weaker one elsewhere which resulted in a dead Queen so i united that nuc to another Q+ nuc that was getting robbed,now it is not being robbed as it has twice as many bees.

I was amazed because the weakest colony with the oldest queen has become the strongest by far in a 2 week spell.


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[Dadnlad]

Last 5 supers of honey for the year clearing now, been a poor late summer crop to balance out a great osr-less spring crop

Still waiting on my Lancashire virgins to get laying

More apigaurd ekes built ready for next weekend

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

did the rounds of all the apiaries, taking off cleared supers and putting clearing boards on the rest. Not a fantastic harvest by any means. Just hope the heather brings something on some apiaries.

 

[taurus]

An evening stroll through the hives revealed a multitude of drones crawling around on the ground. I guess the poor chaps have been turned out as surplus to requirements.

My wasp traps with a bait made of jam water and diced Apple seem to be very effective.

 

[Erichalfbee]

Taken most of the rubbish harvest today
First round of vaping for the ones that needed it

 

[masterBK]

Made up 15 gallons of syrup today using sugar from Morrisons (88p for 2 kg bags). I have several colonies this year a bit light on stores that will get fed tomorrow when I take out the MAQS.

 

[Eyeman]

2" long queen cell. On opening plenty of jelly with a dead pupae in the tip.

 

[Barbarian]

A Long Gap

I checked a hive that I had done nothing at since early July.

I found a Brood Box full of bees with a fair amount of capped brood and nectar in a lot of empty cells. No sign of swarming. The single super was very heavy. I gave another super of empty drawn comb.. I am hoping that the bees will move some of the nectar up and make room for the Q to lay.