What did you do in the Apiary today?

[Angry_Mob]

Fourth vape carried out, was just starting to rain as I finished. Will monitor drop again and see what the boards show.

Used a new batch of powder which seemed to work better, old batch is sitting nearby the dehumidifier to see if it dries out a bit.

 

[Murox]

Topped up syrup and checked development of two splits made back in July. All looking good, pleasing to see so many bees, not so many drones though now.. Getting ready for winter, but its sooo warm today ..............

 

[understanding_bees]

Why would an iPad change unripe to unrepentant???
Weird.

I think that the technology which has been built into smart-phones, and iPads, etc, is rather amazing. I am guessing that you were using the "predictive spelling" facility, and that you had great confidence in its ability to determine the word you intended.

This would seem to indicate that Mrs Malaprop still has her finger in the pie.

There is great value in proof-reading a piece of text before posting comments, or sending emails.

 

[understanding_bees]

3 removals today...
Tried something new today with a column removal, trap out cone through an elbow and into a spacer box under brood box...
View attachment 22087
No2 was a tree forced removal.
View attachment 22088
No 3 roof colony..... What a day....
View attachment 22089

Can you please keep us informed? . . . .
Perhaps I am really asking "Can you please keep ME informed? . . . " Please keep us informed on the results of your attempts to force the bees to occupy the boxes you have provided.

About nine months ago - here in Melbourne - I tried to do a trap out of a colony of bees (in a manner similar to that shown in your photos), but with a spectacular lack of success. I was successful in sealing off the entrance that the bees had been using to get into a wall, and had lots of activity out of, and back into, the capture box I had provided.

This would have been an ideal situation to do a cut-out, because it was a timber framed wall, and the cladding could have been easily removed. BUT it was high above the ground, above a quite sloping path adjacent to the house, and quite difficult to set up a safe platform from which to work.

At first, I enabled the bees to return all the way into their hive in the wall, but then changed to a one-way-only connection between the wall and the trap box so that they could freely leave the wall, and into the trap box, but not return from the trap box into the wall.
The colony did not vacate the wall and enter the trap box, but blocked up the connecting tube, and then died in the wall.

The people who own the house with the bees in the wall no longer had a problem with bees, but the dead bees were of no help to me.

 

[Gilberdyke John]

Last night, a first for me. Went to collect supers off four hives, thousands of little eyes peeping at me, could have sworn I heard a little voice "Yes?"
Could it be that Carys had told them what I was up to? I checked the other three and found the same!! Doesn't look like a single bee has left the supers.
All four boards are rhombus of some type, with eke fitted. Quite surprised, I'll have another look later.

Strange, I cleared pairs of supers with rhombus clearers last week but as there were so many bees involved I placed an empty (already extracted) drawn super below the clearer to give the displaced bees somewhere to go. Noon to noon and only ten or a dozen bees left in the supers. Bog standard rhombus boards.

 

[Newbeeneil]

Last night, a first for me. Went to collect supers off four hives, thousands of little eyes peeping at me, could have sworn I heard a little voice "Yes?"
Could it be that Carys had told them what I was up to? I checked the other three and found the same!! Doesn't look like a single bee has left the supers.
All four boards are rhombus of some type, with eke fitted. Quite surprised, I'll have another look later.

I think it has a lot to do with night time temperatures. I used a rhombus clearer last week with mediocre success (100 bees left) but the night time temperatures were quite high. When they are cooler I find I get better success

 

[Swarm]

To be honest, the temps were quite cold when they went on and yes, I expected to have a good result. Maybe a combination of miserable days with few flying had something to do with it. The last couple of days with glorious sunshine and manic activity and all cleared. I still have a super to remove but I'm adding a brood box dummied to seven frames for them to clear into, they can over Winter as double brood.

 

[E&MBees]

Visited a potential out apiary site this morning. Very hopeful that it will be fine. Nearby orchard, wildflower meadows and lots of lovely hedgerows.

 

[Erichalfbee]

Vaped my hives in the morning in a hurry
Forgot last night
Tried one from the top.
Much much better

 

[gmonag]

Vaped my hives in the morning in a hurry
Forgot last night
Tried one from the top.
Much much better

How better?
Were you able to watch the vapour cloud through a poly crown board?

 

[Erichalfbee]

How better?
Were you able to watch the vapour cloud through a poly crown board?

The vapour dropped down slowly. None came out of the entrance which remained open.

 

[The Poot in Somerset]

The vapour dropped down slowly. None came out of the entrance which remained open.

What vaporiser do you use? Not possible to top vape with a varrox - or is it?

 

[Michael ECB's]

The honest truth - Just one of those days
I decided to let nature have a go and truth be told, more than likely sort some of my mistakes out..

1.) Stopped past the forced tree trap out and could hear the "roar" inside the 5 frame nuc - The queen had decided to not yet grace us with her presence. Left it as is!
2.) Roof trap out.... The ball hanging under the awning was smaller, or so I had convinced myself, after all, the hive box entrance was busy - Good sign-left it as is!
3.) Wall trap out - No calls were received complaining so I choose to believe it's going great... or had they found another entrance? The gap you second guessed!
4.) New colonies moved to apiary yesterday,,,, lids still on and boxes had not been bumped over.. maize plant stems had blown away from entrances but ok I guess???
5.) Adding second brood boxes to a couple of colonies about to explode - whats one more day going to hurt? should be ok? Right?
6.) I cant even remember what else had to be done?
Just one of those days that needs to be logged as LOST!

Yep, today was one of those days...................................

 

[Speybee]

This afternoon I put the Nuc I made up at the end of last month in the wbc, and continued feeding it.
Other 4 hives inspected to get general idea of the size of the colony, stores, disease.
Treated with Apivar strips and fed Hive 1, using Ashforth feeder filled with 2:1 syrup.
Did not have time to feed the other 3, which will be done tomorrow.

 

[Antipodes]

Adding supers, one box at a time.

 

[Jules12]

Fed mine using the juice from rendering beeswax.... I'd originally harvested some frames that I was unable to put through an extractor. The brown mush that was left after squeezing the comb through a sieve was first fed back to them in their plastic feeders. After they'd eaten most of the honey on the mush, I removed what was left in the feeders, generally a paler yellowish crumb like substance, of mainly wax crumbs plus a bit of uneaten honey and pollen. the mush was then boiled up in a slow cook to extract the wax. The resulting liquid was then fed back.

 

[Erichalfbee]

What vaporiser do you use? Not possible to top vape with a varrox - or is it?

I have a sublimox. Get a GasVap. Lots if people swear by them.

 

[Erichalfbee]

Fed mine using the juice from rendering beeswax.... I'd originally harvested some frames that I was unable to put through an extractor. The brown mush that was left after squeezing the comb through a sieve was first fed back to them in their plastic feeders. After they'd eaten most of the honey on the mush, I removed what was left in the feeders, generally a paler yellowish crumb like substance, of mainly wax crumbs plus a bit of uneaten honey and pollen. the mush was then boiled up in a slow cook to extract the wax. The resulting liquid was then fed back.

Not a good idea to feed boiled honey back to bees. The HMF levels are too high

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Not a good idea to feed boiled honey back to bees. The HMF levels are too high

 

[Swarm]

Depressing isn't it?