What did you do in the Apiary today?

[Gilberdyke John]

Cut down an overgrown vibernum and did a lot of weeding and tidying up. Moved a hive three feet. Observed all goings on at the entrances.
Wore a bee suit but was not approached by a single bee. It would have been a different story had I not worn it....
Sorted through the dead outside one hive and found several drones barely alive - appeared to be in good condition but just able to wiggle their legs.
This is the second lot of dead from this hive in a week - didn't find any k wing though, so a bit of a mystery. Seems more than spring cleaning.

Would you recognise the early stages of CBPV? Might be worth reading up on.it.

 

[The Poot in Somerset]

Would you recognise the early stages of CBPV? Might be worth reading up on.it.

Morning,
Thanks for the prompt - I've looked again today and there's more dead. I'll gather them up and check for clues.
I'll also do the research - thanks again.

 

[Curly green finger's]

I'm vexed I've got a single brood mongrels colony which has 11 frames of solid brood two supers on, no swarm preps.
First super has a small amount of drone brood in the middle of three frames.
Second super is dripping with Nectar.
Queen present and very chunky looking in the brood box How has she got through the qx?
It's a wired bar with wooden edging qx.
Your thoughts pls.


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[beeno]

Would you recognise the early stages of CBPV? Might be worth reading up on.it.

Some of my colonies have rather overdosed on drone rearing and are not so keen now the drones are eating their stores. Some are thrown out.

 

[Tim.S]

Walked up to the breeder colonies after lunch to be confronted with the mother of all swarms settling in one of the trees close by. Horlicks I thought. Rounded them up into a box and went to see who had gone and had the very pleasant surprise of none! Somebodys lost a biggie, it must be the largest one that I have ever caught, nice some new genetics!

 

[Ian123]

Put some cells into nucs and did another batch of grafts, will look tomorrow to see the results.

 

[Erichalfbee]

Nothing.
Had a beer in the sunshine watching masses of orientation flights

 

[Codford]

Nothing.
Had a beer in the sunshine watching masses of orientation flights

...and that is what beekeeping should be all about!

 

[For want of a better word]

Collected 2 swarms of yellow stripey hybrids in same tree..... same tree as last week.
Checked over the Danescombe Vally colonies..(.all Amm) all queenright and packing in the second supers... so someone nearby must be loosing a lot of bees.

Will be useful in the queen rearing program... may think about doing some grafts now I have loads of surrogates to make up mating nucs !!

 

[The Poot in Somerset]

Nothing.
Had a beer in the sunshine watching masses of orientation flights

I wish.... With lock down have currently run out of beer....

 

[Ian123]

Jesus you’ve run out of beer!!!!! Start a gofundme I’ll chip in.

 

[Angry_Mob]

Checked the hives I moved to the Orchards last Wednesday; didnt get up during this week as weather was middling. Arrived to a cluster of bees underneath the nuc so got as many scooped onto a frame and spotted my 2019 queen, popped her into a nuc along with a frame of brood from her original hive and new foundation.

Supered the other hives, ended up having to go twice; Fiesta doesn't make the best bee vehicle.

 

[The Poot in Somerset]

Jesus you’ve run out of beer!!!!! Start a gofundme I’ll chip in.

It's what happens if you drink it all

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

I wish.... With lock down have currently run out of beer....

try gin then - or port

I'm trying to be careful as I'm down to my last dozen bottles of scotch and there's only three cases of wine left in the rack, then I'll start on my reserve gallon of sloe gin or raid SWMBO's gin collection

 

[manek]

Transferred 3 nucs into proper Nationals. In the rain. They didn't seem to mind...

 

[pargyle]

Not too bad down here today - cloudy but no wind and not that cold. Went through all my colonies .. first supers nicely filling - some frames capped. Added another super to one colony who had built comb everywhere. Loads of BIAS in all hives - fair amoount of capped drone brood - pretty much as I'd expect now, plenty of worker brood as well and good solid laying patterns. Removed some brood frames full of capped honey to store and replaced them with frames of drawn comb. Found a queen cell in one hive right in the middle of a super frame - I don't use queen excluders usually - left it where it is - I don't think it's a swarm cell - if it is, well, I'm working from home and they won't go too far - in the past it's been the lilac tree in the front garden which I look out on when I'm working. I really don't want to split them at present - probably a wrong decision but c'est la vie.

Bees all well behaved although there was a lot of them and a lot in the air and on the front of the hives by the time i'd done (made mental not to move them back out a bit from the wall next winter - there's not enough room behind the hives now I'm lifting supers about, I moved them closer last winter - mistake !). I also made the schoolboy error of leaving the lid off my hive scrapings bucket - whilst I went to get another super - absolutely full of bees when I got back cleaning up the bits with honey in them - I couldn't get them out - will have to leave it until it gets dark and retrieve it (Dimwit, I should know better !!).

Cleaned up some spare supers - going to need them by the looks of it and waxed a few super frames.

Made up some new blocks of insulation.

Good bee day all round.

 

[For want of a better word]

try gin then - or port

I'm trying to be careful as I'm down to my last dozen bottles of scotch and there's only three cases of wine left in the rack, then I'll start on my reserve gallon of sloe gin or raid SWMBO's gin collection

OxyGin NitroGin HydroGin.......

Me Old Crone's Gin going dishearteningly fast....

Someone explain why Tesco Tonic water goes misty with gin added but Waitrose tonic water stays clear?????

Saving the last bottle of Jura's best for the party we are going to have when the Chinese Pox and lockdown are defeated

Yeghes da

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Popped over to the castle apiary to make sure all had plenty of space as the hawthorn is a few days from opening, not a warm day so bees were a little agitated but not stroppy, just a nuisance on the frame lugs.
Notived quite a few ash trees under the castle crag just behind the apiary have succumbed to dieback so I'll have to keep an eye on them. Nice bimbling over there without having to squeeze past all the Sunday afternoon sight seers bimbling about with no idea how to move to one side on country lanes.

 

[ericbeaumont]

I'm vexed I've got a single brood mongrels colony which has...no swarm preps.
Your thoughts pls.

Sounds rammed, Mark; perhaps they shifted drone eggs upstairs. I'd split the brood vertically (sealed in the bottom box) give another BB and another super, and watch the drone brood appear in the usual places.

 

[E&MBees]

Too chilly and damp here today to open the hives. Painted the outside of an empty new nuc with my son instead.