What did you do in the Apiary today?

[Nannysbees]

Clip on the queen cage open, little fondant left for them to eat through. Knocked down all the queen cells they started to build, now in the lap of the gods, hope she's accepted

 

[jeff33]

Another frustrating day of cold weather and showers. I really need to get into 2 feisty hives to take all QCs down and introduce Qcs from my selected hive but unlikely to happen again today!!

 

[The Poot]

Just enjoying yet another thunder storm complete with hail .....

 

[madasafish]

Just enjoying yet another thunder storm complete with hail .....

None here
just rain..

 

[Repwoc]

Got soaked.

Decided to make up some mini mating nucs between "light showers" (BBC forecast). Queens emerged Saturday night so I was keen to get them sorted. Blue sky and sunshine when I started. Half way through thunder started followed by monsoon + hail 30 seconds later. Lots of frozen / drowned bees in the baby bath I had shaken them into. What a pain our weather is.

 

[Newbeeneil]

Inspected a demaree today, discovered a virgin queen in the top box and picked her up 3 times only for her to slip my fingers and fly off. Every time she returned and in the end I left her.
The demaree board is with a small opening like JBM's and a super between so I assume if she gets mated they will just run it like a 2 queen hive?

 

[user 20297]

‘Right lasses’?

.....I can't help calling mine "lads"....same with the hens.......no offence intended.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

The demaree board is with a small opening like JBM's and a super between so I assume if she gets mated they will just run it like a 2 queen hive?

Yep

 

[DaveG23]

Not a lot today, yesterday managed to get in to do a few things around 4, of course a dark storm cloud appeared just as I was going in to a hive... They let me know that I should shut them up, but tbf it was gentle persuasion, no stings, just a few buzzes and pings to tell me I should know better.

But needs must, have to head away this week for at least a fortnight, one hive are on to 9th frame of brood, and I had to do something for space, its still too early for supers here, weather is still below 15 and even if it warms up they dont really have much forage. So gave them another BB with some more stores, foundation and drawn frames. That will have to do them until I get back.

 

[Swn58]

Photos of my mystery 'swarm' from last week. They refused to go into the upside down nuc-box and stayed like that for a week. They behaved more swarm like when I moved them into another nuc! The mystery may have been solved as a friend, that keeps a hive on my apiary, messaged me to say that he had split his hive this week, as he thought that they 'may' be getting ready to swarm!

 

[GuyNir]

Had to go through a couple of demaree hives to remove Q cells. Twice started in sunshine and ended up with hives open and rain. Needless to say bees not happy…
Won’t remember this day as the most enjoyable beekeeping day.

 

[Swarm]

No sign of laying yet in the nucs I managed to check before the heavens opened.

 

[DaveG23]

In between showers I watched the ladies investigate the comfrey and also join the bumbles on the escallonia which they dont normally do.

 

[gregior]

Couldn't do anything again today- too cold and windy but checked the fronts of the hives for piles of dead bees or evicted drones and didn't see either so they're not at starvation point yet. Tons of hawthorn in flower here and the promise FINALLY of some drier and warmer weather starting Thursday so some hope at last.

 

[Nannysbees]

Giving nice weather tomorrow hoping to go into three hives. Have to leave our hive with the new queen for a few days to let her settle. Interested to go into the hive with the test frame to see what's going on. Rollercoaster spring, a swarm, a split,chalkbrood, queenless hive, what next!! Fascinating stuff though

 

[Curly green finger's]

Yesterday we’ve been promised sunshine, it was grey and cloudy. Today we were promised rain all day, it’s so far sunny. I find the weather forecasts these days all over the place.

To true they change hourly almost.

 

[The Poot]

The morning brought relief to the colonies, the air alive with bees at last. By lunchtime it had clouded over and they started to go home. I decided to plant some lavender in the apiary, along a path about 15 feet from the hives. Bees were flying past me to get inside and a brave few were flying out. I was kitted out in my suit as the bees had been crabby of late, but not a single bee troubled me. I think they’re more content as they’re slurping down the syrup and no longer on the point of starvation.
By 13:00 it was pouring with rain again.

 

[Curly green finger's]

Just enjoying yet another thunder storm complete with hail .....

No rain today but showers were forecasted.
Took a walk half a mile to check apiary 1+2 and bees are bringing in sycamore pollen and Crab Apple which is just starting to open locally harwthorne is almost open.. I have supers above some ready please weather gods let the flow start and let me have a late spring flow that's me praying. .

 

[Curly green finger's]

The morning brought relief to the colonies, the air alive with bees at last. By lunchtime it had clouded over and they started to go home. I decided to plant some lavender in the apiary, along a path about 15 feet from the hives. Bees were flying past me to get inside and a brave few were flying out. I was kitted out in my suit as the bees had been crabby of late, but not a single bee troubled me. I think they’re more content as they’re slurping down the syrup and no longer on the point of starvation.
By 13:00 it was pouring with rain again.

wild flower area planted with seed today, this is where my garden apiary was. The bumbles are in the plinth where the pots are.

 

[Horseradish]

Was a very busy day for me, the Bees had me on the back foot. I bought a queen to re-queen a reluctant colony, after repeated frames of eggs/brood that did not raise a queen. Turns out they re-queened themselves and I was impatient. The frames were full of BIAS and the queen was not needed. So then I had to make up an emergency nuc for the new queen, to give her somewhere to stay in the meantime. I guess they didn't raise a new Queen because they didn't need one. More fool me.

I looked into one box where the Queen has been smashing it this season. They have already had a Pagden split, but a mere 5 weeks later, she's already filled out the new brood box and I found a queen cup with a bit of royal jelly in it. Decided to Demaree - creating a giant stack. Let's hope that keeps them in check and focussed on gathering. It's so large it's verging on the Rose method to look at!