What did you do in the Apiary today?

[Newbeeneil]

Interesting day. I picked up a new queen from a guy who supplied me with a lovely queen last year. Went home to set her up in a 3 frame nuc.
Before I could do that I got a phone call from the secretary of the county BKA to say he'd had a call from a couple from my village who had been bought a Queen with attendants by their sons for the husbands 60th. Unfortunately they don't have any other bees!!!!
I popped round to see them and they were very genuine people who have been trying to get on a bee keeping course all year and their sons had jumped the gun by buying them a hive and queen not realising they needed a workforce!!!
I took their queen and made up one nuc for me and one for them which they can have when it's filled the nuc and hopefully they have got on a course.


Edit, just noticed I've become a Queen Bee.

 

[GuyNir]

Inspected a hive we put on double brood and a third super about 10 days ago. New Queen emerged about the end of April after they swarmed and we managed to spot and mark her amongst a packed hive. A couple of charged queen cups on one frame that we’ll need to check again shortly. Very runny bees though, spilling out over the top of the brood box and generally dashing around all over the place, unlike the other hives. Is this generally a reason for requeening?

In the latest blog on ‘The Walrus and the Honeybee’, Steve is interviewing Murray McGregor. Super interesting.
Murray talks about having steady bees on the comb is one of their breeding criteria.

https://thewalrusandthehoneybee.com/honey-murray-mcgregor/

 

[pargyle]

Interesting day. I picked up a new queen from a guy who supplied me with a lovely queen last year. Went home to set her up in a 3 frame nuc.
Before I could do that I got a phone call from the secretary of the county BKA to say he'd had a call from a couple from my village who had been bought a Queen with attendants by their sons for the husbands 60th. Unfortunately they don't have any other bees!!!!
I popped round to see them and they were very genuine people who have been trying to get on a bee keeping course all year and their sons had jumped the gun by buying them a hive and queen not realising they needed a workforce!!!
I took their queen and made up one nuc for me and one for them which they can have when it's filled the nuc and hopefully they have got on a course.


Edit, just noticed I've become a Queen Bee.

One step nearer heaven for you then ... well done. In both respects ....

 

[Swn58]

Inspection day

Hive that swarmed -new queen laying(bluebell)

What was left from the swarm- new queen laying (blossom)

Hive we split then consequently replaced old queen with a bought queen as they tried to get rid of her last year - queen laying (Rosie)

Replaced chalkbrood queen with bought queen which disappeared and replaced by breeder unclipped today -Daisy
Things looking up, just afraid to say as this could change by the next inspection . Boiling in the beesuit but a pleasure in this gorgeous weather.

 

[Mabee]

Well… went to inspect a hive that had requeened itself and queen emerged 4 weeks ago, no sign of laying at 3 weeks, but think they superseded her as soon as she did. Spotted a queen on my rose bush which flew off, then saw a queen balled on the ground in front of the hives (may or may not have been same queen). Popped her in a queen cage but she later died from her injuries. Not before I removed an old queen from a small nuc I was keeping her in (keep her just in case), I then reintroduced her in the evening as the new queen had died, lesson learned about keeping an eye on a balled queen for 24 hrs before doing anything with her).
The second hive was given a new queen which is why the old queen was in a small nuc, but they balled her and pretty sure killed her on emergence from the cage, that was yesterday so i’m wondering if they made a new queen while she was in the cage!
So now cannot inspect either hive as they may have virgin queens and don’t want to disturb but feeling like I would like to know what’s going on!
Quite a day… or two!

Edited to add: Today, after drawing diagrams and listing things I absolutely know, I think I have a much clearer picture of things, it was just a lot all at once!

 

[The Poot]

Yesterday added clearer to the first “cooked” super, removed and extracted it today and fitted back onto the hive.
Only 14c here today and very dull overcast conditions with very few bees flying.
First super off this year and had 10 frames fully capped out of 11.
Frames varied between 16.5 and 17.5 on the refractometer.
The one unsealed frame was 19.0, so given back to the bees.

 

[Swarm]

Did a quick check on the remaining mating nucs for signs of laying. Result Set up a couple more for the last of the virgin queens before preparing a new stand. Plenty of activity despite the miserable day, at least the supers are starting to feel heavy again.

 

[E&MBees]

Took further swarm prevention steps after the AS that I did on Thursday didn’t resolve the situation. Found more queen cells in with the queen today. Must have left some house bees in with her accidentally. She is now in a nuc with the flyers, some drawn but empty frames and foundation. Everything else has been reunited with the rest of the split. Hopefully everything will start to settle down. Plenty of bramble flowers out, but now my main colony is split I doubt I will see honey this year.

 

[Erichalfbee]

Took further swarm prevention steps after the AS that I did on Thursday didn’t resolve the situation. Found more queen cells in with the queen today. Must have left some house bees in with her accidentally. She is now in a nuc with the flyers, some drawn but empty frames and foundation. Everything else has been reunited with the rest of the split. Hopefully everything will start to settle down. Plenty of bramble flowers out, but now my main colony is split I doubt I will see honey this year.

You are not alone
I nuc'd a queen stupidly....as she was failing anyway ( and left the bees one of her queen cells) I should have just pinched her. Looked in the nuc today......no sign of her. I should have just put the bees back but gave them a frame of brood and a queen cell from my Demaree. I've got nucs all over the place.

 

[Newbeeneil]

I've got nucs all over the place.

You are not alone

 

[GuyNir]

Added supers to all strongest colonies, as the main flow is in sight. Some colonies are on super #4 and the main flow is yet to come. Considering my location, not bad this…

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

The plan was... to go up the range as usual on a Sunday but I'd just got as far as our field on the mountain road when it started drizzling, another half a mile along, it was drizzling harder - so went home.
Spent the afternoon preparing a proposal for another small beekeeping project out in Southern Tanzania.

 

[Dutchman]

Took off 3 capped supers , 30 Kg of honey and hopefully that's just the beginning!

 

[Murox]

Set the Glencraig hives up ready for the imminent blackberry flow - "he said hopefully"

 

[Swn58]

Lots of 'Royal Politics' going on here. Surprise queens where not expected, at least one succession and unexpected failures when all was looking good. That's bee-husbandry for yer!
I have been extremely busy hence the reason I have not been 'wittering' away on here.
My farm apiary is still in voluntary quarantine, due to Beebase telling me of an EFB problem near the apiary. I have checked fully, twice more and found nothing. I don't think it's the time of year to be doing such in depth inspections though. My bees get very upset!
I was sent yet another message about EFB only last week. I am preparing for a major honey crop within the next month and cannot wait for the bee-inspector lady to visit, as she said she would. To be honest, I reckon I must be low on her list, bearing in mind they must be so stretched!

 

[GuyNir]

Made up nucs and installed 2 x J. Getty’s Q’s. Flow is on here, frames are dripping nectar. Beautiful day, all colonies out in force.

 

[Swarm]

Took down cells (hopefully that's the last for this year) in a recent split from one of my friend's colonies. Had intended to do more but my head simply wasn't in the right place all day. Had a bad start.
That and the weather went off, with a cold wind, decided to come back in the morning. I did inspect my first 2021 queen and very happy with what I saw. Some solid slabs of sealed worker brood, she has laid up nine frames. The colony is teeming with black bees and I spotted her, like a piece of anthracite, nipping around the frame.
Ten mating nucs at this apiary, all except two that I'm due to check in a week have laying queens.
Had a phone call from the local beekeeper to let me know about the virgins I gave him. He was very excited and enthusiastic after seeing a lot of activity around the nuc yesterday, they had been quiet with not much flying as they were mainly nurse bees. He is feeling very confident about that one and hoping the other two are a success. I have to laugh, he is nearly eighty and using Dadant boxes, he says it's starting to get a bit hard now.

 

[TomH]

Swarm call this afternoon... Huge! Filled a nuc no problem...

 

[holmbee]

Found and marked a queen. Checked a hive that seemed queenless - so put a test frame in five days ago to find there were eggs and small larvae but failed to see the queen. Finally started the extraction process to clear production hive before lime trees blossom in around ten days time. Nothing like optimism to keep you going!

 

[StephenT]

Added a third super to one hive and did an inspection on ‘runny bee hive’. The queen emerged about 7 weeks ago and we marked her last week but I think I went a bit OTT with the white pen. Oops. Doubt she’ll be flying anytime soon.
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