What did you do in the Apiary today?

[thurrock bees]

moved some aquired beekeeping equipment to the shed for sorting and had a look at a weak colony that has past away. Cause DL Queen. So blocked it up and noticed the odd bee was flying at 5 C !

 

[Cedar]

Just had quite look round every thing covered in frost, themomiter showed it went down to -9 c last night

 

[MuswellMetro]

had a sample of bees in the fridge for four days as freezer was full, tested 50 of the bees for nosema this morning and put about ten i did not cut up in the kitchen comopost bin

now ten bees flying around the kitchen when the wife opened up the compost bin at lunchtime.....in the dog house now

 

[drstitson]

just a thought - does fridge temp need checking?

 

[Monsieur Abeille]

had a sample of bees in the fridge for four days as freezer was full, tested 50 of the bees for nosema this morning and put about ten i did not cut up in the kitchen comopost bin

now ten bees flying around the kitchen when the wife opened up the compost bin at lunchtime.....in the dog house now

 

[Poggle]

had a sample of bees in the fridge for four days as freezer was full, tested 50 of the bees for nosema this morning and put about ten i did not cut up in the kitchen comopost bin

now ten bees flying around the kitchen when the wife opened up the compost bin at lunchtime.....in the dog house now

Sorry for this but...............HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA Draws breath....HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAAH Thats a good un!!!!

 

[Queens59]

Checked all 4 varroa board - 1 almost empty, 1 low, 1 medium & 1 Oh hell what do I do now??

 

[MJBee]

Weighed all my hives.

After being more or less static for six weeks they are all down by about 2kg over the past 14 days - Queen coming back/ increasing laying - time to keep an eye on stores levels.

 

[Dusty Rhodes]

Had a very satisfying day.

Branded my 2 new hives with my post-code.
Coated my second with linseed/beeswax infused with alkanet root.

Good job 'er indoors like the smell of linseed, as it dries gently in the scullery.

Any thoughts how long before I can add a second coat?

Dusty.

 

[victor meldrew]

just a thought - does fridge temp need checking?

Suspended animation?
Fridge is usually +5C maybe not cool enough to do lasting damage of not left too many days ?
VM

 

[MuswellMetro]

just a thought - does fridge temp need checking?

test plastic strip say +2 at back and +3 at side the fridge

must just be hardy blackish local bees, i found them under a ferral nest high up in an oak tree that had been attacked by woodpeckers...too high to collect, now too late

 

[Liam C Ryan]

Made the first of four bait hives , it can take 8 national deep frames. I would like to know if it would be ok to put heavy clear plastic between the frames and the top cover . It might prevent the bees sticking the frames to the cover and might be handy to have a look into the hive if they ever decide to make their home in one or do bees dislike plastic?
Regards
Liam C

 

[MuswellMetro]

Made the first of four bait hives , it can take 8 national deep frames. I would like to know if it would be ok to put heavy clear plastic between the frames and the top cover . It might prevent the bees sticking the frames to the cover and might be handy to have a look into the hive if they ever decide to make their home in one or do bees dislike plastic?
Regards
Liam C

never done it but should be ok, as long as the inner hive is dark, it would be just like a glass quilt...i just have a hole to look in, covered with a bit of ply

 

[Beeline]

Any thoughts how long before I can add a second coat?

Dusty.

Whenever I apply the first coat of raw linseed it usually soaks in within a matter of minutes, so a 2nd coat is generally applied once I get back to the first piece of timber painted. That said I see you add beewax to the mixture so not sure if that slows down the drying process somewhat.

 

[The Cumbrian]

That said I see you add beewax to the mixture so not sure if that slows down the drying process somewhat.

In my somewhat limited experience yes it slows down drying a lot - into days (partly dependent on ambient temperatures of course.)

 

[Skyhook]

Made the first of four bait hives , it can take 8 national deep frames. I would like to know if it would be ok to put heavy clear plastic between the frames and the top cover . It might prevent the bees sticking the frames to the cover and might be handy to have a look into the hive if they ever decide to make their home in one or do bees dislike plastic?
Regards
Liam C

Standard in poly hives- should be fine.

 

[bee ginnner]

Made the first of four bait hives , it can take 8 national deep frames.

i am sure they would still work but aren,t they a bit small for the optimum sized bait hive?

 

[madasafish]

In my somewhat limited experience yes it slows down drying a lot - into days (partly dependent on ambient temperatures of course.)

I paint some of my hives with a linseed oil/wax mix.. hot. It takes literally months to dry... I just leave the hive outside and use it even when damp.. the bees don't care.

But I would not attempt to use it just now.. unless you have a heated room. With ambient temps around here -2C the mix would congeal and not sink in..

At present I'm using fence paint mixed with linseed oil.. takes 48 hours to dry - single coat. I just recoat when damp anyway.

With wax and linseed oil mix, one coat is enough - I apply thickly..

 

[Liam C Ryan]

Made the first of four bait hives , it can take 8 national deep frames.

i am sure they would still work but aren,t they a bit small for the optimum sized bait hive?

Ye, the size recommended I think is 15"x15"x15," something like 40lts in volume.
I wanted to be able to put in brood frames which made it 18" wide and had 12"x12" pieces of wood left over after some work so made up the the bait hive from these pieces . I have seen nucs pick up swarms so I hope these work.

 

[iand]

Having an older bee smelly frame or two will help to attract scout bees.