What did you do in the Apiary today?

[Beefriendly]

While the experienced may - may - be aware, too many newer beekeepers (are they the UK majority?) prefer to follow the book or a Youtube video shot in Austin, Texas, rather than read their local weather patterns. Flexible experience is not easy to acquire for those accustomed to the easy, convenient and predictable.

You are not wrong there Eric. Most see beekeeping through a book without reading their own localities need into it. You don't even have to travel far to find different microclimates that should and will affect your beekeeping practises.
For example we are quite high up and have a wide variety of forage well into September.....our ivy flowers late Nov/Dec, so too late to be of any use up here. Mate of mine on the wolds 20 or so miles away has no forage after July....so in essence he has to keep a close eye on their stores after that time of year.

 

[pargyle]

No puzzle - I have never said there was plenty of forage.....plenty of pollen, but there is currently no nectar coming in, in my region..

Well ... that's rather odd .. Did you not say here:

https://beekeepingforum.co.uk/showthread.php?p=702966#post702966

"too busy extracting our spring honey, need to keep up...no time for napping.. Remarkable strains of Buckfast bees Br. Adam produced. "

So .. where did all this sping honey that needed extracting come from ?

Just curious ...

Surely you were not intending to confuse some of our more gullible beekeepers that there is a spring flow up in your region that requires supers to be extracted ?

 

[drex]

My bees went into winter on double brood, chocked with their own stores, most of which has now gone, but they are bringing in a good amount now, but then I am in East Anglia.

Did my first main inspection of the year of production colonies. 7 out of 8 queens now unmarked, hence supercedure. Managed to find and Mark 4. 3 colonies are low on bees but are OK. They got a boost from the thriving colonies. Reversed some brood boxes, and added a couple of supers. All colonies healthy and queens laying.

Decided to give up on the nucs, all of which have lost their queens and just shook them all into a box ( over QX and newspaper) on the weakest colony.

 

[Ian123]

If your using those Pocasa pens for marking a lot wears off I often find queens with the very smallest fleck still on come spring.

 

[Swarm]

Intended to mark a few queens today but the wind made frame lifting a bad idea so I'll leave that until mid week.
Changed them all over onto the new UHE floors I made, all colonies doing great, well stocked with bees and pollen is piling in.

 

[Bee Bumble]

First full inspection of colonies at two out apiaries - all fine. Brought stacks of supers for future use and gave a super to all colonies as required. Also took extra water drinkers and spare nucs. Set up bait hives, cut back any brambles and other vegetation where too close to the hives.

 

[XYZ]

So today I carried out an inspection on three colonies. Added a super to one that is building up rapidly and took the entrance reducer off. Another is ticking over really, haven't noticed anything different to last week. 3 frames of brood.
Spotted the 2018 queen in the nuc, I didn't spot her last week so I'm glad she's still going. There was a cup on one of the outer non-brood frames. Nothing in it. 3 frames of brood in there too.

When I say frames of brood, the most I saw on one side is 50% cells with some stage of brood in, so nothing impressive. Hopefully the queens will get going like the first hive has.

 

[Walrus]

My bees went into winter on double brood, chocked with their own stores, most of which has now gone, but they are bringing in a good amount now, but then I am in East Anglia.

Did my first main inspection of the year of production colonies. 7 out of 8 queens now unmarked, hence supercedure. Managed to find and Mark 4. 3 colonies are low on bees but are OK. They got a boost from the thriving colonies. Reversed some brood boxes, and added a couple of supers. All colonies healthy and queens laying.

Decided to give up on the nucs, all of which have lost their queens and just shook them all into a box ( over QX and newspaper) on the weakest colony.

Shame about the nucs. I lost 5 out of 15 nucs this winter but the survivors are doing OK. I put a second super on one hive today, but most of mine are nowhere near that. They are mostly 3-4 frames of brood and about 6 - 8 frames of bees (Langs).

My queens were marked with a Flysea acrylic painter which also gets worn off over time. I might have to try glue + numbered discs, but knowing me I'll glue her wings together!

 

[Beefriendly]

, but knowing me I'll glue her wings together!

A novel form of swarm control....

 

[Swarm]

Shame about the nucs. I lost 5 out of 15 nucs this winter but the survivors are doing OK. I put a second super on one hive today, but most of mine are nowhere near that. They are mostly 3-4 frames of brood and about 6 - 8 frames of bees (Langs).

My queens were marked with a Flysea acrylic painter which also gets worn off over time. I might have to try glue + numbered discs, but knowing me I'll glue her wings together!

My friend has used the discs and admits it is a bit of a faff but they really do stand out.

 

[Ian123]

Checked 8 hives and a nuc in the school apiary today, nucs a bit small. All completed with no gloves or veil a real joy to be among them. All hives busting with bees and a few drones present.

 

[beeno]

My friend has used the discs and admits it is a bit of a faff but they really do stand out.

Yes, but do they stay on!

 

[Swarm]

Yes, they do!

 

[gregior]

Transfered an overwintered 6 frame poly nuc to a full size hive, just in time too, wall to wall brood but thankfully no cells yet.

 

[Courty]

First inspection of the year today on a breezy but warm Yorkshire midday.
All three hives were busy bringing in yellow pollen, not much blossom on the trees and hedgerows around here.
I took supers to the apiary but only put one on the double brood box hive, it was way ahead of the other two with brood and eggs. Queen was in the top box, eggs and brood in all stages in the middle frames of both boxes, a very clear demonstration of the “chimney effect.”
Her daughter isn’t as prolific, plenty of capped brood and later larvae, I didn’t see any eggs though, or the queen as she is not marked yet. The pattern is slightly spotty, not sure if she hadn’t mated well or is yet to get in her swing, she was the the swarm cell successor in July last year.
Some drone brood and a few drones in all the hives so they must be getting ready for more fun and games.

I suppose once all the blossoms are out the two smaller colonies will expand off their four or five busy frames. I’m learning that my part of the world is probably less fruitful in forage and has a shorter window for forage time than others, being around 200m altitude and mainly pastures visited by wind off the Pennines.
The bees seem to find plenty though.

Courty

 

[Erichalfbee]

This thread is called “What did you do in the apiary today” though at times a stranger might be forgiven for thinking that it was a litany if insulting comments.
Please stick to what you did and if you didn’t do anything then shut up!

 

[The Poot in Somerset]

Inspected three colonies.
One overwintered on double brood, poly and ceder mix, reduced down to one as only four frames of brood plus food.
Next overwintered on ceder brood and a half - seven brood frames plus brood in the half brood and drone brood. Solid brood pattern from a very prolific queen.
Third one overwintered on double brood poly and ceder mix - top brood (poly) stuffed with brood, stores and pollen, a couple of play cups mid frame and a couple - empty on the frame base. Bottom brood just drawn comb with areas of pollen. This colony was small throughout the Winter and looks like it was an Autumn supercedure.
Bees well behaved on one and three - the prolific colony proved to be a little feisty and may need requeening - a shame if so as she's really going for it.
Colony four is mounted on a wheeled platform and is on a journey down the garden to the main apiary a couple of feet every day. Didn't disturb them today.

 

[Helen]

First full inspection today. All bar 1 have the queens they had going into winter. One had no queen, the colony was roaring and fiesty and were trying to draw queen cups. So I did an airwick combine with a nuc with laying queen with that hive, to sort them out.



Most hives on 8+ (14x12) brood frames, with drones and lots of pollen, nectar and brood. Popped a super on each - apart from the combined hive/nuc. Several queens had their markings worn off so remarked a couple. And managed to catch a queen which was unmarked from last year. Now marked.



4 nucs taken into winter ... all happily came though nicely. Now down to 3 with the combine.



Twas lovely being in the sun, with the bees humming and flying.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Yes, they do!

especially if you staple them in place

 

[Swarm]

Text from my landlord ..
Just seen the first Swallow over the farm buildings
Great news, three weeks earlier this year