What did you do in the Apiary today?

[Newbeeneil]

Well you could treat the boxes as a cut out?

It looks to be such a mess in the boxes I would worry about killing the queen doing a cut out but I won't really know until I get a good look. The other option would be to milk all the flyers off over a period and then take the boxes to bits once I've got rid of them. It would certainly make it easier.
First on my list is to make a box for each hive for transportation.

 

[Erichalfbee]

I'm fascinated. Please let us know how you get on. Some pictures would be nice

 

[Antipodes]

Whilst out walking with SWMBO on Sunday I noticed a couple of extremely busy abandoned hives in a meadow the footpath crossed. Today I popped up to the house that backs onto the meadow and asked who owned them. The house owner said a beekeeper used to come from a local town but he's not been back for about 10 years and she assumes he's dead. She asked if I would remove them. I had a look and the are both commercials with a super and completely rotten. There is eveidence of woodpecker damage that has been sealed with propolis and one of the hives seems to have an ants nest coexisting with the bees.
Now I have to work out how to take the hives to a place where I can gradually extract the bees.( they are at present in a forest of bracken.
I'm thinking of making a box slightly larger than the hive and lifting it in then sealing a top on before removing to my isolation apiary where I can operate on it.
I think a may need a hand to take them away when they are sealed in their boxes!

Plenty of ventilation there! I've done a couple like this where the floor has essentially gone and the rotting sides of the boxes are more or less just sitting on the dirt. You'll find spectacular criss-crossing of comb in them

 

[holmbee]

While cleaning varroa boards in the workshop this morning I was very pleasantly surprised by the first house martin cruising in and the out again. I hope they nest this year - always good to hear the chattering when they have young. Seem to be less each year - twenty years ago we had ten nests around the house and outbuildings.

 

[Nannysbees]

Whilst out walking with SWMBO on Sunday I noticed a couple of extremely busy abandoned hives in a meadow the footpath crossed. Today I popped up to the house that backs onto the meadow and asked who owned them. The house owner said a beekeeper used to come from a local town but he's not been back for about 10 years and she assumes he's dead. She asked if I would remove them. I had a look and the are both commercials with a super and completely rotten. There is eveidence of woodpecker damage that has been sealed with propolis and one of the hives seems to have an ants nest coexisting with the bees.
Now I have to work out how to take the hives to a place where I can gradually extract the bees.( they are at present in a forest of bracken.
I'm thinking of making a box slightly larger than the hive and lifting it in then sealing a top on before removing to my isolation apiary where I can operate on it.
I think a may need a hand to take them away when they are sealed in their boxes!

Please keep us updated would be interested in how you get on

 

[JamezF]

Replaced a brood box of comb in one of my (double brood) hives with foundation. It wasn't being used yet and they'd made a complete pig's ear of it with half the frames having comb that started on one and then crossed onto the next so I'm glad it's out of the way.

I now have quite a few frames to recover wax from. I'd quite like to rebuild my solar extractor so I can just dump stuff in it and have it melt down in its own time, but I'd actually like to get rid of some of these frames fairly quickly to free up storage space so I'll probably use the steam extractor after the bees have gone to bed (obviously it's not sealed and they're attracted by the smell during the day).

James

 

[Wilco]

Well this is just getting silly... Started the season with 7 colonies and three nucs. Now onto 9 full colonies, 7 wooden nucs and four poly nucs, two of which are divided into two. Oh and the queens which are in mating hives...

Queen cell cages worked a treat so six queens from that frame, and nucs made up.



Then my rolling Demarree with a 2021 Buckfast queen was making preps. Fortunately I clipped her last last week so wasn't too worried but I've now Pagdened that hive into three... Great frames of sealed brood though:



Along with previous nucs and splits, I've only got a couple of deeps left and need to make more floors, stands and cover boards. Many more. So much for planning ahead...

Fortunately more deeps arrived today from spring sales and my wife has been asking me to get on with using up the lumber pile... Brownie points may be earned!!!

I also managed to inspect four nucs and was halfway through a hive before realising I'd forgotten to zip up my veil. Fortunately a curious bee decided to inform me by having a look inside my veil, no defensiveness at all. I've decided my bees are generally pretty good girls!

This is one of the queens hiding in her cell:
View attachment 20220505_113911.mp4

 

[Erichalfbee]

Great video. She's starving and has turned round to eat what remains of the royal jelly

 

[Wilco]

Great video. She's starving and has turned round to eat what remains of the royal jelly

Thanks, she was the only one so must have emerged earlier than the others. She's not any more, had a good dose of fondant and freshly introduced to a nuc.

 

[Erichalfbee]

Excellent......
You can see how difficult it is to keep to "just a few" colonies

 

[Wilco]

Excellent......
You can see how difficult it is to keep to "just a few" colonies

It was sort of the plan to expand. I've just overachieved on my target at this point. If the queens do well and the bees are gentle I'll hopefully sell a few!

 

[Erichalfbee]

It was sort of the plan to expand. I've just overachieved on my target at this point. If the queens do well and the bees are gentle I'll hopefully sell a few!

Yes, I'm trying to get organised this year with surplus colonies. I'll split them in the late summer, re queen and sell on in the spring. Huge scramble for overwintered nucs at my BKA.

 

[StephenT]

Was sitting in the office at work and someone posted on our street WhatsApp group that there’s a swarm of bees around and so “close all your windows”. Another helpful neighbour advised to leave out some sugar water and so they’ll get some energy to fly off . Anyway, didn’t think they were ours as did a thorough inspection Sunday but paranoia kicked and had to check on the big hive when I got back. Queen present and no QCs as expected.

 

[Somerford]

A busy few days…

I think since Saturday I’ve inspected 50 colonies, 2 complete splits (double broods make it so easy) 22 nucs, 2 swarms collected from the general public, 3 swarms captured in bait hives, 10 queenless nucs made up today ready for queens tomorrow and I also managed to finish making my own 40 frame longhive for Nuc production and queenmating, which has taken me two days of making from my own plans in my head using spare ply I had in stock, and some 2nds wbc brood chambers for the inners.
Total cost (exc time) about £25

 

[Newbeeneil]

I picked up two swarms from bait hives on mates land near a commercial guy last night. I went back today to put the bait hives back up and while I fixed them in position more scouts were already investigating.

 

[Moobee]

Secured an out apiary to manage my potential increase this season.... friendly local plumber who wants bees in his 4 acre garden right next to a nature reserve. Not bothered with how many hives and will be making me a stock fence to keep out deer and his nosy labradors. Water source close by and a big field of OSR as well. Just need some bees now and the deep hive roofs i've ordered.

 

[Newbeeneil]

Secured an out apiary to manage my potential increase this season.... friendly local plumber who wants bees in his 4 acre garden right next to a nature reserve. Not bothered with how many hives and will be making me a stock fence to keep out deer and his nosy labradors. Water source close by and a big field of OSR as well. Just need some bees now and the deep hive roofs i've ordered.

Just right for one of RP's ladies?

 

[Newbeeneil]

I picked up two swarms from bait hives on mates land near a commercial guy last night. I went back today to put the bait hives back up and while I fixed them in position more scouts were already investigating.

Guess what? Sure enough when I went back today there was a third swarm in one of the boxes!

 

[pargyle]

Just stood and watched ... girls having a busy day at the office ... The nettle crop is doing well as well - they will be joining the cumfrey and seaweed stew over the weekend.

 

[Erichalfbee]

The nettle crop is doing well as well - they will be joining the cumfrey and seaweed stew over the weekend.

We still have some from last year .....I have volunteered Stan to open the bucket first