What did you do in the Apiary today?

[LeaBees]

Performed first queen markings. Two "new" queens, 1 caught swarm and 1 from a split. Can tick that off the experience list.

 

[einsteinagogo]

Performed first queen markings. Two "new" queens, 1 caught swarm and 1 from a split. Can tick that off the experience list.

I always practice on drones! So there are so funny marked drones around here!

oh and never shake a queen marking pen indoors with the cap off! Er' indoors is still not impressed finding little blue dots all over the kitchen, walls, floor tiles.....

 

[user 819]

I leave newly mated /laying queens alone so they aren't rejected, once they are established then I may think about marking.

 

[madasafish]

I leave newly mated /laying queens alone so they aren't rejected, once they are established then I may think about marking.

It's another beekeeping myth.
I mark virgins when they emerge . In three years had zero lost in mating.

 

[Worker bee]

Nothing today but yesterday had to feed multiple strong hives In may

 

[thorn]

Assembling super frames and wondering if there's any point this year.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Where do I start........ went into our swarm no queen no eggs.
Inspected our split, must have missed a supercedure on the last inspection, wasn't expecting to see a capped queen, took it out and put it in the swarm hive. Not sure if this was the right course of action.

The swarm could have ben headed by a virgin. as for the Queen cell in the split being a supersedure, are you sure?

 

[Worker bee]

Assembling super frames and wondering if there's any point this year.

I think when the good weather hits we will have so much nectar our hives will get clogged so fast we have to split and only those with drawn frames will keep up

 

[madasafish]

I think when the good weather hits we will have so much nectar our hives will get clogged so fast we have to split and only those with drawn frames will keep up

I think you will be correct. Ground is wet, our local hawthorn is just out.. heat and damp = big nectar flows.
I have 28 supers - all empty comb - just waiting.

 

[Swn58]

I think you will be correct. Ground is wet, our local hawthorn is just out.. heat and damp = big nectar flows.
I have 28 supers - all empty comb - just waiting.

It's looking good just South of you. The Lime trees will be flowering in a few weeks. I have drawn frames but maybe not enough!

Thanks for the youtube 'No nonsense' video.
The irony was that I may have been one of two days early. I released the queen, who had laid over the whole area of the box. However, mostly I could see eggs, so I will go back on Friday I think.
The other strange thing was that my 'super-hive,' that I only inspected just over a week ago had three lovely Q C's in it. They were all moved out, on their frames, plus supplies and a couple of other frames into nuc boxes. A bit of a bonus!

 

[Newbeeneil]

Interesting day!
1pm swarm call - easy one out of a small apple tree. Taken to isolation apiary.
1.30pm call from client's gardener - "the hives look extra busy, do you think they could be swarming?"
2pm arrived to find all 3 hives making swarm preparations. One clipped queen missing and 2 other queens nuc'ed. Took the 2 nucs to one of my out apiaries only to find another nuc starving. Bees sprayed with sugar water so hope they recover.
5pm home for a cuppa!
6pm - call from another client - "Neil I've got a swarm in my quince tree." "Ok I'll be there in 15mins" ( it wasn't hers, her queens are clipped)
6.30 - swarm in box and on its way to isolation apiary.
8pm - making up more brood frames.
Soon- bed!
This is why we love beekeeping

 

[Nannysbees]

The swarm could have ben headed by a virgin. as for the Queen cell in the split being a supersedure, are you sure?

No not really sure!!!!!!

 

[Angry_Mob]

Nice evening so promoted a nuc to a hive, fed a few splits. Headed down to the Orchard and treated the heavy varroa splits and gave them a feed. Hives were humming along nicely.

 

[Earthboy]

On my run to my out yard, I stumbled into a fawn, cute as a button.



Hopeless vulnerability, combined with out-of-this-world dark eyelashes, can be such a strong defense!

 

[Worker bee]

I think you will be correct. Ground is wet, our local hawthorn is just out.. heat and damp = big nectar flows.
I have 28 supers - all empty comb - just waiting.

Yup every drawn frame counts now. Extractor ready and waiting. It's going to be hectic

 

[Brian Bush]

I did some hive splits a couple of weeks ago and last Thursday was greeted by 3 cast swarms in the apiary. I saw one emerge from a split. I boxed up the swarms, gave one to a friend and took one to another apiary.
On Monday the one I had moved was making a deal of fuss and I watched as the queen and a small retinue left for her maying flight. On Tuesday I was in the original apiary and the source NUC did the same thing. I have only witnessed this once before but it is a bit like London Buses!!!

 

[Brian Bush]

The grass was so high and wet in one apiary I decided on Tuesday to try and strim it.
It was waist high in some places and I was concerned the short lady who has a hive in the apiary may get lost!!!!
I managed the whole apiary in 90 mins, a record for me. I am sure there were some members of the Facarwe tribe living there!!!
For those of you unfamiliar with this tribe, they are Pygmies who live in an area of very tall elephant grasses. The wander around all day proclaiming to the the world
"We're the Facarwe!!!!!"

 

[Moobee]

Inspected yesterday afternoon. Bees very busy but lovely and calm. Her majesty had started laying in 5 of the half box frames and BIAS across 12 frames total. No QC just a couple of play cups. Plenty of stores (they’ve been chomping through the two I gave them from the freezer a few weeks ago) and super about half full but not yet capped. Beautiful sunny day today as well and fingers crossed many more to come!

 

[thorn]

I inspected a couple of my apiaries today. I lifted the crown board of the last hive, recently hived up from a nuc, so brood box only, and there was the queen running along the top of the bars. It made a nice change from finding her on the last frame, as with a colony I inspected on Monday.

 

[LeaBees]

Yup every drawn frame counts now. Extractor ready and waiting. It's going to be hectic

Maybe a silly question, but in a good flow how long would it take to fill a super ? A week? Two ?