What did you do in the Apiary today?

[Beefriendly]

Prepared another few hives for the Heather, take them up on Thursday, the moors are starting to look nice and pink, and unlike Scotland we seem to be on our normal time course.
Flow has really stopped now, it's gone from a super per hive per week to a frame a week. Just hope the balsam kicks in, cos when that's gone that's it. Unless we get that rarest of beasts an ivy flow....usually out Nov/Dec round here so never had any.
So fingers crossed for the Ling and the balsam.
At least I get a chance to clean out the extractor now

 

[Murox]

Prepared another few hives for the Heather, take them up on Thursday, the moors are starting to look nice and pink, and unlike Scotland we seem to be on our normal time course.
Flow has really stopped now, it's gone from a super per hive per week to a frame a week. Just hope the balsam kicks in, cos when that's gone that's it. Unless we get that rarest of beasts an ivy flow....usually out Nov/Dec round here so never had any.
So fingers crossed for the Ling and the balsam.
At least I get a chance to clean out the extractor now

I do a bit of gardening , try planting some of these nearby if you can or persuade local to do so. .
Food sources Autumn and Winter
Verbena (Verbena bonariensis) Penstemon (Penstemon) Honeysuckle (Lonicera) Ice Plant (Sedum spectabile) Larkspur (Delphinium) Cone flower (Echinacea purpurea) Michaelmas Daisy (Aster novi-belgii) Colletes hederae at Ivy flowers Golden rod (Solidago) Perennial Sun- flower (Helianthus) Red Valerian (Centranthus ruber) Ivy (Hedera helix) Winter flowering honeysuckle (Lonicera purpusii) Winter flowering heathers (Erica) Winter flowering Clematis (Clematis cirrhosa) Mahonia (Mahonia) .

 

[The Poot in Somerset]

Only if there are flowers to bloom still

Some brambles are still trying to bloom and back-end garden flowers might have a chance now the ground's damp. I was at a loss during the really hot weather as to what they were finding. They are the experts and hopefully they'll continue to confound me.

 

[Beefriendly]

I do a bit of gardening , try planting some of these nearby if you can or persuade local to do so. .
Food sources Autumn and Winter
Verbena (Verbena bonariensis) Penstemon (Penstemon) Honeysuckle (Lonicera) Ice Plant (Sedum spectabile) Larkspur (Delphinium) Cone flower (Echinacea purpurea) Michaelmas Daisy (Aster novi-belgii) Colletes hederae at Ivy flowers Golden rod (Solidago) Perennial Sun- flower (Helianthus) Red Valerian (Centranthus ruber) Ivy (Hedera helix) Winter flowering honeysuckle (Lonicera purpusii) Winter flowering heathers (Erica) Winter flowering Clematis (Clematis cirrhosa) Mahonia (Mahonia) .

Thanks Murox..about 80% of them in garden......not enough to generate a flow.

 

[The Poot in Somerset]

Became alarmed at the number of wasps buzzing the hives at 8:00pm so fitted entrance blocks to reduce the area to defend. Will monitor at the weekend. I haven't put traps out to avoid attracting them - I clearly didn't need to - so traps will go out at the weekend! I just don't want to trap European hornets - I've only seen one this Summer...

 

[gregior]

Took 6 capped supers off for extracting in a few weeks as the hives were getting a bit tall and want to concentrate the bees into empty starter supers for comb from the balsam.Had a decent amount of rain here recently and the balsam has responded but the ground is still hard and I would like some more rain ideally.

There is a decent flow on at the moment from balsam and willowherb but not that great.Bees were the worst tempered they have been all year.

 

[Popparand]

Spent 5 minutes watching the girls rough up a few wasps. Maybe put an entrance reducer in tomorrow.

 

[Popparand]

Popped a recently spun super onto a colony in desperate need for some extra space.

Found out how far honey will splash when I dropped a jar on the floor whilst jarring up - four feet vertically and six feet horizontally

Good to see you kept your sense of humour. Did you manage to scrape it off the floor and pop it back into the strainer?

 

[Newbeeneil]

Spent possibly the worst day in my 3 year beeking career!
Inspected the 20 + hives and nucs and most hives ok but 6 of them were little b*******s giving my right hand 9 stings and my left 2. Normally I'm unlucky if I get 1 sting and it's generally my fault for trapping a wing or something similar?
Almost tempted to start wearing gloves.
Lack of flow I should think......

 

[JWF]

Good to see you kept your sense of humour. Did you manage to scrape it off the floor and pop it back into the strainer?

Losing a jar isn't too bad, but when you leave the honey gate on your extractor open and end up with a puddle on the floor, that's a bad!

 

[Newbeeneil]

Losing a jar isn't too bad, but when you leave the honey gate on your extractor open and end up with a puddle on the floor, that's a bad!

Been there!
And no splashing to warn you

 

[Dadnlad]

I know an old retired and notoriously tight beek who unfortunately left his settling tank on a paste table in his garage overnight
The next morning half the neighbourhoods bees were foraging the honey running down his gravel drive !

 

[Millet]

Rapid feeders/ fondant/ekes made/ and ordered just incase.. farm foods is my next stop to get funny looks next trip buying a trolley load of sugar.

 

[Angry_Mob]

Went to release two queens at about 18:30. Weather wasn't great approx 17 degrees and overcast.

First was an AMM queen I put into a national nuc of buckfast bees. The bees had chewed through the back of the comb, next frame I pulled out the queen was running about.

Then went to release the Buckfast Queen which I had put into a 14x12 nuc of AMM. The difference in the welcome I got was evident as a few instantly pinged at the veil and a couple tried to sting my pocket.

 

[simonforeman]

Too hot to do anything... back to 27 degrees here watched the bees bringing in loads of pollen and nectar... they are flying off in all directions. Going to leave them for another couple of weeks then take the supers off and see if theres anything going in then, if not should I feed?

 

[masterBK]

Busy session with the bees. Killed a few of last years queens and requeened by uniting nuclei headed up by this years queens. Shook bees of the combs in the remaining 13 supers and will extract these tomorrow. Hope to get the Apivar into the hives next week. Bees quite calm considering there is not alot of forage about (also made sure all colonies had sufficient stores to last until I start to feed in a couple of weeks).

 

[Gilberdyke John]

Attended a wild colony living in a tree in the grounds of a primary school in Selby to help Selby Beekers with relocation. Before I arrived preparations had been completed and we were faced with a vertical trunk about 75mm diameter with a lollipop of comb and bees on top at about chest height.
Available materials included a hive stand, floor, two empty brood boxes with frames, a crownboard and roof.
I suggested rather than peeling off combs and banding them into frames it would be easier, quicker and far less stressful for the bees if we could simply cut the top of the trunk and place everything inside an empty double brood box hive. Strap it together, leave until evening for fliers to come home, seal the entrance and transport gently later in the evening.
That's just what we did and tonight the colony will go to their new site.
Chriss of Selby Beekeepers took photos and videos of the performance. No doubt they will appear on the Selby Beekeepers Facebook page in due course.

 

[Beefriendly]

Move the last of my hives onto the North Yorks Moors this crack of Dawn. It's looking really good at the moment. Bell well out and Ling coming out in profusion, can see lots of bees working both the bell and the ling so promising.
Bees at home and out apiary are busy busy.....again...on HBalsam.
At least another 6-8 weeks before we even start thinking about closing everything down for the autumn varroa treatments and winter feeding.

 

[Murox]

Too hot to do anything... back to 27 degrees here watched the bees bringing in loads of pollen and nectar... they are flying off in all directions. Going to leave them for another couple of weeks then take the supers off and see if theres anything going in then, if not should I feed?

Leave them enough honey for the winter.

 

[For want of a better word]

Just killed a giant wasp nest that had moved into an old Commercial hive left by previous beekeeper at a flower growers site..... and was blown over in last lot of storms......

Grower thought that he had bees!!!

Warning... if you pour petrol on a wasp nest to eliminate it... do not strike a match near it!!!