What did you do in the Apiary today?

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Last Summer I recall some folks on here losing swarms when demareeing too late.

Usually because they'd listened to some idiot advice bandied around that you Demarree after finding queen cells

 

[Swarm]

It’s the deep super at the top that prevents me doing this. I struggled with shallow supers last season when four high. I suffer with a shoulder issue though (and as my son tells me, getting old and frail) - but if you’re a strapping wench you should be ok

Last Summer I recall some folks on here losing swarms when demareeing too late. Jenks is right that bees will swarm from double brood, they will swarm as that’s what bees want to do. As you‘re not a strapping wench, () I suggest you take Swarm and Elainemary’s advice and go double brood, maintaining space. I cant imagine the panic dropping a deep box full of bees and honey would make. Also do you have extraction equipment that can handle deep frames?

You can avoid that heavy super by allowing them to bring on a new queen at some point, you can unite them after you harvest.
Yes Poot, a few did find that bees swarmed from Demarrees this year and not all of them late, it's not usually the case but this year was a bit weird.
Nannysbees' main problem is lack of comb but also that she has a prolific type of queen that could easily require a third brood box during a rolling Demarree as her laying rate overtakes the emerging brood. One of our old contributors YorkshireBees used to regularly post photos of towers topped by two deeps.
I would give them a second brood box and pull two central brood combs up into that box, push the lower brood frames together and add foundation frames.
Even consider adding a third deep to get comb if your extractor takes them, comb is worth its weight in gold.

 

[The Poot]

Usually because they'd listened to some idiot advice bandied around that you Demarree after finding queen cells

Quite so - too late.

 

[elainemary]

Thank you, that's really interesting. With the new brood box these will not be drawn, is this OK? And is it simply putting this new box on top of the other? How early so you think these boxes will go on? How do you find inspecting supers and two deeps? Finally how tall did your hive get? And breathe

I’ve learnt to get a few frames of comb drawn the previous season which helps you at the start of each season. However if you don’t have any spare drawn comb, bring up a couple of combs of brood into your new brood box and add foundation either side. If you can have some ‘fat dummies’ made you can use
these to fill the spare space and gradually increase the number of combs - you don’t need to go to a full second box of combs in one step, just keep adding combs as the bees draw foundation out.
Ask yourself the question at every inspection “has the queen got room to lay” and increase the number of combs accordingly. If you can do this on the spring flow and as the weather warms when young bees are increasing, you can draw comb and give space whilst keeping the bees occupied and hopefully prevent swarming
To answer your question re height of hives, I’m not in an agricultural area so my hives don’t get super tall. Double brood and 3 supers max. I take off any full capped supers at the end of the spring flow.

 

[Nannysbees]

I’ve learnt to get a few frames of comb drawn the previous season which helps you at the start of each season. However if you don’t have any spare drawn comb, bring up a couple of combs of brood into your new brood box and add foundation either side. If you can have some ‘fat dummies’ made you can use
these to fill the spare space and gradually increase the number of combs - you don’t need to go to a full second box of combs in one step, just keep adding combs as the bees draw foundation out.
Ask yourself the question at every inspection “has the queen got room to lay” and increase the number of combs accordingly. If you can do this on the spring flow and as the weather warms when young bees are increasing, you can draw comb and give space whilst keeping the bees occupied and hopefully prevent swarming
To answer your question re height of hives, I’m not in an agricultural area so my hives don’t get super tall. Double brood and 3 supers max. I take off any full capped supers at the end of the spring flow.

Brilliant thank you

 

[Goran]

Bandido pistolero..
Varroa - what?
Leveling up..

 

[madasafish]

My tip for lifting supers from tall hives.

Use a three (or four) step aluminium (or steel) folding ladder. Cheap, light, easy to move, you can lift of supers up to six high. without working above waist height. Of course you have to make sure they are secure (wood chocks help) .
I also balance supers on my stomach on the way down to make it easier

I am 74 and just take my time and place the supers on a barrow to take away.


( In the winter I do 10 squats every day to retain my leg strength and spinal exercises to keep me supple .)

 

[Goran]

This winter in difference from last to my surprise.. hazels are abundant with catkins.. If weather behave.. will have landing boards painted in yellow with pollen..

 

[Newbeeneil]

The 19 hives that didn't get their winter trickle a couple of weeks ago are getting a course of vaping! Started today but that nice little suitcase genny that I had to return would have been much easier.

 

[TomH]

So mild down south today. Lots of bees flying and even bringing in pollen for an hour or two

View attachment trim.2C158567-454D-4042-A0C9-8DCA9EB7CDB2.MOV

 

[Nannysbees]

So mild down south today. Lots of bees flying and even bringing in pollen for an hour or two

View attachment 29594

Same here, out and about collecting water, quite a few dead bees on the floor outside one of the hives, hope they are just keeping house!!!!

 

[0bee-1]

Thank you, I think I'll have to gen up quite a bit on the demaree to feel confident enough to do it. Sounds really interesting though and something is like to try.
[/QUOTE]
BMHoney ... demaree

 

[0bee-1]

So mild down south today. Lots of bees flying and even bringing in pollen for an hour or two

Nice are they "black bees"??

 

[Do224]

So mild down south today. Lots of bees flying and even bringing in pollen for an hour or two

View attachment 29594

What’s the brood box made from?

 

[TomH]

The finest Cornish mongrels

 

[TomH]

What’s the brood box made from?

Cedar, with some cork insulation on the outside.

 

[understanding_bees]

What did I do in the apiary? Well, nothing today. It's Christmas day, and I wanted to see what the bees are doing. There is a lot of clover in the patch of grass I would like to call my lawn, and LOTS of clover flowers, and just a few bees visiting them.
I have been interested to see what has been happening with the rhubarb plants which I planted recently, from rhizomes given to me by a friend. I have never seen rhubarb flowering before, but I am happy that they are flowering because I look forward to collecting seed from them. I have heard that rhubarb is self-pollinating, but I have noticed some very tiny insects on the flowers. The flowers themselves are quite small - about 2mm in diameter, and seem to be dropping quite a lot of pollen. I wonder if the insects are some type of tiny bee - they are less than 1mm wide, with body length about 3mm, and total length about 4mm when we include their wings which extend beyond their body length.

 

[Nannysbees]

What did I do in the apiary? Well, nothing today. It's Christmas day, and I wanted to see what the bees are doing. There is a lot of clover in the patch of grass I would like to call my lawn, and LOTS of clover flowers, and just a few bees visiting them.
I have been interested to see what has been happening with the rhubarb plants which I planted recently, from rhizomes given to me by a friend. I have never seen rhubarb flowering before, but I am happy that they are flowering because I look forward to collecting seed from them. I have heard that rhubarb is self-pollinating, but I have noticed some very tiny insects on the flowers. The flowers themselves are quite small - about 2mm in diameter, and seem to be dropping quite a lot of pollen. I wonder if the insects are some type of tiny bee - they are less than 1mm wide, with body length about 3mm, and total length about 4mm when we include their wings which extend beyond their body length.

One plant I struggle with is rhubarb!!! I've moved it all around the garden and it doesn't like any place i choose for it. Next door has two huge rhubarb plants and he hardly bothers with it!!!!

 

[Erichalfbee]

One plant I struggle with is rhubarb!!! I've moved it all around the garden and it doesn't like any place i choose for it. Next door has two huge rhubarb plants and he hardly bothers with it!!!!

Ours just sits on a corner of the veg plot. It needs an open sunny well drained site. We force ours early then don’t bother with the later stems

 

[Erichalfbee]

The flowers themselves are quite small - about 2mm in diameter, and seem to be dropping quite a lot of pollen. I wonder if the insects are some type of tiny bee - they are less than 1mm wide, with body length about 3mm, and total length about 4mm when we include their wings which extend beyond their body length.

Merry Christmas, Wilfred.
You bee is a fly. look at its eyes