What did you do in the Apiary today?

[denise washington]

done mine today loads of bees all looks well and loads of honey in in supers think we have some more cold weather to come yet so going to leave it on for a while but hope im wrong

 

[Poly Hive]

CGF?

Play cups are totally normal. I have some on combs for years now and never used yet.

An egg in a cup is a heads up that there is possibly some thinking of swarming going on but it's not a definite.

A larvae in a queen cup is a statement of intent.

PH

 

[Beefriendly]

.
I've never had a triple brood before they should perhaps be in bigger boxes .

Br Adam kept his Buckfasyton modified Dadants...these are big hives....tells you something.
Mate of mine runs all his Buckfast on Dadants....
I would follow suit but have too much invested in National equipment to change.

 

[Brigsy]

Got my first two queen hive! Lets see who survives. Was surprised to see the second queen that's for sure. Thought she had been bumped off.

 

[Curly green fingers]

Br Adam kept his Buckfasyton modified Dadants...these are big hives....tells you something.
Mate of mine runs all his Buckfast on Dadants....
I would follow suit but have too much invested in National equipment to change.

I'm in the same situation as you all my kit is national maybe when I've got surplus honey to sell I'll buy different equipment. Cheers happy Easter ..

CGF?

Play cups are totally normal. I have some on combs for years now and never used yet.

An egg in a cup is a heads up that there is possibly some thinking of swarming going on but it's not a definite.

A larvae in a queen cup is a statement of intent.

PH

Thanks for the heads up pH .

 

[Millet]

Br Adam kept his Buckfasyton modified Dadants...these are big hives....tells you something.
Mate of mine runs all his Buckfast on Dadants....
I would follow suit but have too much invested in National equipment to change.

I still have two F2 Queens from them Romanian Buckfasts...one is manageable the other has exploded beyond belief..it is on brood plus half and both super and brood box are around 2/3rds full of brood..I have give them space but they in swarm mode..I will Pagden them in a few days...when they settle down I will buy in some new Queens and splat the old Queens and make nics from this hive as they are pure evil..shame as they are piling the nectar and pollen in..

 

[SaraR]

Added another super on each hive. The ladies are drinking a lot of water at the moment too, haven't seen that before.

 

[Millet]

Went through two colonies today..the first one had no eggs or brood..it should have had a marked and clipped Queen but she was no where to be seen.
After three sweeps I found a tiny Queen unmarked with both wings still intact (splat was the only option).late supersedure from last year and not mated..
Went through the second colony and all seemed ok..the Queen is slow to lay for now but they are gentle so that will do for now..I United the now Queenless bees to the neighbouring colony over news paper and the stuck a drawn super on top..I will check them in a few days but all should hopefully be good.

 

[manek]

Scraped goodness knows how much propolis and brace comb off two BBs worth of frames, ready for a new set of bees from a fellow beek who's scaling down. Looking forward to getting the new girls settled in tomorrow.

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[manek]

Also dismantled the hive that failed over winter. Looks like starvation - this was my fault, and very depressing.

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[Stedic]

First decent beekeeping day of the season for me. End of family holiday so only managed half the hives. The two colonies I combined 10 days ago are doing well, brood expanding but not yet in the super.

Tried to finish off a Bailey change in the other hive, but couldn’t find the queen. Decided to move all the brood in to one box, add a QE and thus have more of an idea where to find her next time. However, ended up with only one spare frame of brood, so instead shook the bees into the new box. Didn’t feel right, and ridk of queen damage, but hopefully it will work out.

Quick check in super of another hive, 90% full so have them more. Full brood inspections of my biggest colonies tomorrow.

Then time to get making more super frames - I can’t believe how much they are bringing in!!

 

[manek]

Installed a new colony from a local beek who's down-sizing. Need to transfer the frames to my BB / supers and slap on a super or two...

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[simonforeman]

Checked hives after a few days away.... 14x12 hive has filled 2 supers and now on 3rd. Carniolan hive just started on its first super.
Combined the other 2 with air freshener. First time I've done this method. Looks to of worked ok. How long do you leave them before you can go through them?

 

[madasafish]

Checked hives after a few days away.... 14x12 hive has filled 2 supers and now on 3rd. Carniolan hive just started on its first super.
Combined the other 2 with air freshener. First time I've done this method. Looks to of worked ok. How long do you leave them before you can go through them?

I usually leave a week. Or longer if weather is pants.

 

[Hachi]

Knocked a QC down yesterday in one of my apiaries so went back today with a NUC to do a split. The hive was jammers with bee's, this Q will take some holding onto the rate she's laying. Went thro the BB twice looking for her. Did the 3 pairs of frames trick in the end. She is now marked in a NUC enjoying herself.

 

[manek]

Knocked a QC down yesterday in one of my apiaries so went back today with a NUC to do a split. The hive was jammers with bee's, this Q will take some holding onto the rate she's laying. Went thro the BB twice looking for her. Did the 3 pairs of frames trick in the end. She is now marked in a NUC enjoying herself.

What's the three pairs of frames trick, please ?

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[Anduril]

What's the three pairs of frames trick, please ?

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If you cannot find the queen then place the frames in pairs and after a cup of tea the queen should be between one of the pairs

 

[manek]

If you cannot find the queen then place the frames in pairs and after a cup of tea the queen should be between one of the pairs

Marvellous, thanks, I'll try it.

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[drex]

AS'd one hive. Several others bursting with bees, but I swapped over the brood boxes on these ( I run double brood) and some were given a couple of supers each. Only one colony slow to get going but is picking up.
I was given a TBH. I already have one I made myself and a Warre given by a friend. This new TBH was given by the family of a beekeeper who died about three years ago. Apparently still had bees in it until last year. On opening it up it was a mass of wax moth cocoons and no comb at all. Scraped it all out and scorched it. Lots of tunnels in the wood, but it is basically sound. Have set it up as a bait hive for the mo.

 

[oGri]

rightly or wrongly, I only added supers this weekend as the temperature had been soo cold the last few weeks.

hives are brimming with bees, so have put two supers on each (1 drawn & 1 foundation)

I imagine they will all need some level of manipulation this next week