What did you do in the Apiary today?

[The Poot in Somerset]

Did a reccy and found nearest osr is 1.4 miles away and over a hill, out of sight unless high flying. Scorched hive parts and cleaned up ready for swarm or split. Only a very small number of Buckfasts flying, no interest from other hive - it's just so cold. Looks like wind and heavy rain tonight will ruin tree blossom. Oh well!

 

[Millet]

Did a reccy and found nearest osr is 1.4 miles away and over a hill, out of sight unless high flying. Scorched hive parts and cleaned up ready for swarm or split. Only a very small number of Buckfasts flying, no interest from other hive - it's just so cold. Looks like wind and heavy rain tonight will ruin tree blossom. Oh well!

It's the wind that is causing problems here, if i am sheltered from the wind it is fairly warm but in the wind it is baltic, let's hope the wind dies down and the rain pee's of.

 

[simonforeman]

6.5 degrees here today....wind chill tomorrow will bring temp down to feeling like 4 degrees tomorrow.... so no bees flying for last 3 days and maybe not until Thursday with wind and rain forecast... looks to be getting upto 17-18 for end of week and more settled.

I could of started my first bee keeping year in a better year

 

[Podilia]

There is summerlike weather here, +27 today. We are far from the Atlantic ocean which chills British island. This month was very warm and almost without rains. Colonies have been developing quickly, now they have 3 suppers (my hives consist only of 10-frame suppers 145 mm) and some want another one.
The season of pesticide poisoning has also begun. Many beekeepers inform they observed the signs of poisoning. Unfortunately some farmers and especially agroholdings, blinded by money, don't see anything else around. They are allowed to use chemicals only at night, but they don't. They just ignore all instructions. The laws which are pretty good at the paper, don't work in this country. No responsibility, no fines... If they poison your apiary, you never prove this fact.

The season promise a lot of swarms. I have 18 bait hives and going to make 5-10 new ones if I have time. All weekend painted new boxes, bottoms etc.

 

[Curly green fingers]

Watched 6 bee's collecting water of compost bags in the garden. 7c cloudy no rain . not much else going on to cold.

 

[Millet]

6.5 degrees here today....wind chill tomorrow will bring temp down to feeling like 4 degrees tomorrow.... so no bees flying for last 3 days and maybe not until Thursday with wind and rain forecast... looks to be getting upto 17-18 for end of week and more settled.

I could of started my first bee keeping year in a better year[/QUOTE]

It is a lottery with the weather you just don't know what will happen, i have learned to make the best of what you get and expect nothing good, that way when the poop hits the fan you are all ready prepared for another dud season.

 

[Zante]

I could of started my first bee keeping year in a better year

Trust me, you could have started worse...

 

[Podilia]

Watched 6 bee's collecting water of compost bags in the garden. 7c cloudy no rain . not much else going on to cold.

Do you give them salt? Add a tea spoon or 2 of salt or sea salt to 3 litres of water and set it in the garden. To attract bees use sugar syrup. When they know that place put there a jar with water and salted water. They will take what they need. I use this thing

 

[Curly green fingers]

Do you give them salt? Add a tea spoon or 2 of salt or sea salt to 3 litres of water and set it in the garden. To attract bees use sugar syrup. When they know that place put there a jar with water and salted water. They will take what they need. I use this thing
View attachment 15437

I have a feed station like that them big jars are handy , thanks for the salt idea. My bee's seem to like the pots of compost the most maybe its because they get warm quicker in the sun . perhaps I'll paint one of my jars black ..

 

[Goran]

Today black locust opened flowers, day temps near 30C are much to blame how it gallops toward blooming.. I think it could last as same.. Black ash is still attractive to bees, hawthorn bloomed as never before and still active, dogwood opened its flowers also today.. Seems will start extraction soon, very soon..
Not enough boxes, frames, barrels - I planned to sell the bees prior but plan went to hell.. Now I run all over the hill, can't keep up with bees, hazels, job.. It will be interesting at finish line..
If I recall right about a month without rain and all what has flower bloomed..

 

[mickbees23]

6.5 degrees here today....wind chill tomorrow will bring temp down to feeling like 4 degrees tomorrow.... so no bees flying for last 3 days and maybe not until Thursday with wind and rain forecast... looks to be getting upto 17-18 for end of week and more settled.

I could of started my first bee keeping year in a better year

I started in 2012, best spring ever, I got my overwintered colony in May, brought it home and it snowed. Then it rained all summer. 2012 was the worst beekeeping year for 50 years and average honey yield in the UK was 8lbs I think. I had to feed them end of June because they ate everything that was in the super by the end of June.

This spring in my humble opinion has been the worst spring I have ever known and I am 52. I hope we get a better summer and our bees get a break because they are really struggling. 6C today and 4C forecast tomorrow with 44mph winds. We have had on average 50% lower temps than London this spring. My bees are now about 8 weeks behind were they were last year. Problem is everything is coming into flower now all at the same time and I have no foraging force. They will build up just in time to swarm before the summer dearth arrives mid June.

I have already wrote this year off and hope to build my colonies up better for next year, problem is spring seems to get colder and winter after January lasts longer each year now. I had some really big colonies end of February which have all been devastated by the extended winter. Its a kick in the nuts.

If you get through this start to the year you will have done well and I hope you do better next year.

Cheers, Mick.

 

[For want of a better word]

What are we to do with all this OSR honey..... the 10 Amm colonies on top of the yellow peril are filling a super a day, We have never had to set up the extracting room so early in the season... and the Swifts have not even arrived yet!
Not a lot of experience of OSR as it is not a common crop in the cold, wet area we live in.
Worried it will crystallise before it can be extracted... Ivy honey late in the season goes into the Apimelter.

What is it in the crystalising high sucrose OSR and Ivy stuff that stinks???

Yeghes da

 

[linoleum bonypart]

Get it into buckets worry about it later
Just need a bit better weather here I'm surrounded too

 

[birdsandbees]

had to do my first split yesterday, I took down some charged cups last weekend and gave them an extra brood box, they had started drawing out above but more swarm cells found with one capped.
queen found so did a small split into a Nuc, I was trying to keep this one strong for queen rearing but it seem the urge to divide is strong.
others vary but need teh weather to improve so they can make use of the OSR and get going properly

 

[thibault]

had to do my first split yesterday, I took down some charged cups last weekend and gave them an extra brood box, they had started drawing out above but more swarm cells found with one capped.
queen found so did a small split into a Nuc, I was trying to keep this one strong for queen rearing but it seem the urge to divide is strong.
others vary but need teh weather to improve so they can make use of the OSR and get going properly

What kind of temperature did you have when splitting?

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[Anduril]

What kind of temperature did you have when splitting?

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I've had to do a few splits, in temperatures of 15°C

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Yesterday, arrived at the association apiary to find that the scum of Swansea had been doing what they do best....luckily, nothing stolen.
The rest of the day and this morning. Supering and moving bees.

 

[birdsandbees]

What kind of temperature did you have when splitting?

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nowhere near as high as I'd like, was probably only 11-12 degrees, just had to work fairly quickly.
all seemed fine afterwards and continued to fly as they were before going in.

 

[birdsandbees]

Yesterday, arrived at the association apiary to find that the scum of Swansea had been doing what they do best....luckily, nothing stolen.
The rest of the day and this morning. Supering and moving bees.

that's not a nice thing to turn up to

glad they didn't do more damage or pinch anything.

 

[Noddy]

Yesterday, arrived at the association apiary to find that the scum of Swansea had been doing what they do best....luckily, nothing stolen.
The rest of the day and this morning. Supering and moving bees.

I hope the pluckers got well and truly stung.