What did you do in the Apiary today?

[Tonyatcwfarm]

Jarred up another 50 1lb jars for the local pharmacy
They're using it as a footfall item and selling it at my cost price,no mark up
They've sold 165 jars in 7 days
Seeing u live in a village of 600/700 people there's at least 1 jar in every household
Good job it's my best ever year
Makes by decision to change to poly nationals a good one

 

[foghornleghorn]

Strange the way things work out....it was all gloom and doom in March.

Its only getting gloomier here! Ivy buds only being formed but drought is hitting everything very hard so reduced flowering is looking likely..

 

[colinc]

Our lawn is the crispiest I have seen since the 1980’s and we live on top of a hill so free draining and quite sandy but the bees have found a big flow from somewhere and we didn’t get OSR or Field beans close by this year. The bees seem to be thriving.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

 

[nantmoel]

Moved two Nucs made up yesterday (added more bees today) away from the apiary, about 5 miles away, these are ready for two Island mated queens, one from Keld Brandstup and the other from Dr. Peter Stöfen. Introduced 3 F1 queens to main hives from mating nucs. Also moved a nuc into a full size hive.

 

[B+.]

Moved two Nucs made up yesterday (added more bees today) away from the apiary, about 5 miles away, these are ready for two Island mated queens, one from Keld Brandstup and the other from Dr. Peter Stöfen. Introduced 3 F1 queens to main hives from mating nucs. Also moved a nuc into a full size hive.

I thought Peter was based in Freidrichskoog?...which is a peninsula (not an island). I've had queens from him a long time ago

 

[nantmoel]

I thought Peter was based in Freidrichskoog?...which is a peninsula (not an island). I've had queens from him a long time ago

Yes he is based there, its Keld queen is Island mated, couldn't be bothered to say one was from a Peninsula!! Too sweaty after what I've been doing today.

 

[B+.]

Yes he is based there, its Keld queen is Island mated, couldn't be bothered to say one was from a Peninsula!! Too sweaty after what I've been doing today.

I absolutely understand that. It's a hot one!

 

[Beecat]

Not having an apiary, (my allergy status is quite iffy) today I wandered around the block looking for bees. I found a number of small gardens with things like Scotch Broom and Baby's Breath. There's no shortage of promising looking flowers.

Total bee count in half an hour: zero.

 

[Jafer2]

Currently on holiday. Been away for nearly two weeks. Will get to do an inspection on Sunday to see what mess I'm in if any.

 

[JWF]

Rain, we just need a day or two of rain here in barren East Kent. There's some nectar coming in but I can only imagine how busy I'd be if the ground had some moisture in it!

 

[Beefriendly]

Rain, we just need a day or two of rain here in barren East Kent.

Gareth Southgate would organise helicopter drops of water as an interim measure and pay for cloud seeding with dry ice to help Kentish beekeepers out.

 

[Jafer2]

Any news in the west mid region? I know it's been sunny but how it been going for the honey bees especially for city or large towns considering people water the gardens I would assume that the flowers should be plenty for the bees to forage for nectar and pollen?

 

[Beecat]

The most interesting thing around here lately is what people are NOT doing in the apiary. We have a lot of blueberry growers around here, and they are facing a beekeeper's revolt. The beekeepers are refusing to put their bees on the fields because the loss rate is so high. They say the monoculture leads to bad nutrition, and the farmers spray indiscriminately, resulting in badly weakened colonies that have almost no chance of overwintering.

The farmers claim it's just the weather.

The upshot is, over the last few years the trend has been away from blueberry pollination and this year the farmers are short on bees by about 20%, which will lead to loss of production worth millions. It looks like next year hives will be even more scarce. Hive rentals for the crop have gone up from $100 to $120 Cdn, if they can be had at all.

 

[B+.]

The most interesting thing around here lately is what people are NOT doing in the apiary. We have a lot of blueberry growers around here, and they are facing a beekeeper's revolt. The beekeepers are refusing to put their bees on the fields because the loss rate is so high. They say the monoculture leads to bad nutrition, and the farmers spray indiscriminately, resulting in badly weakened colonies that have almost no chance of overwintering.

The farmers claim it's just the weather.

The upshot is, over the last few years the trend has been away from blueberry pollination and this year the farmers are short on bees by about 20%, which will lead to loss of production worth millions. It looks like next year hives will be even more scarce. Hive rentals for the crop have gone up from $100 to $120 Cdn, if they can be had at all.

Interesting. If it is just one sides claim against another, have they had the bees tested for poisoning? If it is proven, is there a compensation scheme or are the beekeepers expected to stand the loss?

 

[Beecat]

Interesting. If it is just one sides claim against another, have they had the bees tested for poisoning? If it is proven, is there a compensation scheme or are the beekeepers expected to stand the loss?

The only compensation you could get would be written into the rental contract. I would not fancy anyone's chances of collecting on that if hives were lost. The blueberry growers are a notoriously dodgy lot, who are regularly in violation of waterway regulations, zoning regulations, wildlife regulations and so on.

I haven't heard of any testing being done. The beekeepers are not a single well-organized entity. You'd think one of the universities might be interested in researching this, but nothing yet. AFAIK no government agency has intervened in any way.

 

[colinc]

Any news in the west mid region? I know it's been sunny but how it been going for the honey bees especially for city or large towns considering people water the gardens I would assume that the flowers should be plenty for the bees to forage for nectar and pollen?

Im just south of redditch 2 new hives this June are drawing comb like crazy with the flow and the 2 older colonies have packed down 1 full super on a single brood and the double brood colony has filled 3 supers in the last 10-14 days. The grass is truly crispy but something must have deep roots.

No idea what they are foraging but certainly not having a laying break.

clearer boards went in this morning and I will have a look this evening to see if they are clear.

 

[B+.]

The only compensation you could get would be written into the rental contract. I would not fancy anyone's chances of collecting on that if hives were lost. The blueberry growers are a notoriously dodgy lot, who are regularly in violation of waterway regulations, zoning regulations, wildlife regulations and so on.

I haven't heard of any testing being done. The beekeepers are not a single well-organized entity. You'd think one of the universities might be interested in researching this, but nothing yet. AFAIK no government agency has intervened in any way.

It sounds like a "dog eat dog" situation so the beekeepers are probably doing the right thing in withholding their services. The farmers lose if they can't produce a crop

 

[Tonyatcwfarm]

Another 50lb dropped off to the pharmacy and another 50lb extracted
I always wanted to keep bees in a good year to see how I'd cope
Found out this year

 

[The Poot in Somerset]

Extracted my first batch for this year in a newly bought Octimel radial.Will put the extracted frames back on at the weekend when I can.

 

[colinc]

removed 2 suppers after shuffling frames, 46lb honey extracted into buckets, BBQ done and boxes back on the hives for cleaning.
Not inspected today will do at the weekend but the hives all seem rammed and I suspect they are bringing in honeydew. got another 2-3 supers nearly finished as well.