What did you do in the Apiary today?

[pargyle]

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

After a year in the bucket even the Cumfrey stops stinking ... I've got a 40 ltr drum of last years brew so I've only just started this years off ... I could use a few more cumfrey leaves than I have at present but I know where there is a good clump of them on one of our dog walks and they won't miss a few ...

 

[The Poot]

Inspected and found even more brood in the super above the brood box. Had to check all super frames and brood frames for queen cells - none found, only a row of cups which were all empty and dry, along the base of a super frame.
Found the queen in the brood box, so added excluder. Top super was filled with nectar and starting to be sealed, so added another drawn super still wet from last year. They seemed eager to get into it!
A couple of followers had to dissuaded....

 

[Nannysbees]

After a year in the bucket even the Cumfrey stops stinking ... I've got a 40 ltr drum of last years brew so I've only just started this years off ... I could use a few more cumfrey leaves than I have at present but I know where there is a good clump of them on one of our dog walks and they won't miss a few ...

No sign of mine shooting, bought them online put them in a pot and kept damp!!!!

 

[pargyle]

No sign of mine shooting, bought them online put them in a pot and kept damp!!!!

Mine were relocated from my allotment are currently in three pots - all have good stems, leaves and are in bud but the wild ones where we walk the dog are really well into bloom with lots of leaves. I've harvested just a few leaves from mine so far. They are a bit of thug once they get going, give them time new roots of cumfrey are sometimes a bit slow getting going.

 

[gregior]

Bees super busy today with a very good flow on. The split I made 2 weeks ago has drawn a brood box of foundation and the queen has layed up 5 frames already! Managed to see my first virgin of the year return from her mating flight which was nice. Plenty of honey in the supers but none ready for extracting yet.

Made a complete balls up on 1 hive, inspected the brood box and loads of sealed brood but no eggs or larvae but no cells either, anyone guess what was going on? Well there was a pretty small queen in the super laying away very nicely but she wasn't clipped or marked so she must have been a supercedure Q from last Autumn. Anyway clipped and marked her and got some paint on her wings and tried to run her in through the entrance but she went under the floor so i scooped her out then they started to ball her. Pulled the bees off and ran her in again,hope she's ok.
View attachment 20220508_151709.mp4

 

[Boston Bees]

Found a queen on a landing board, clearly just having returned from a mating flight. She looked knackered, but was being tended by some of her new retinue. Went for my camera but she had gone into the hive (I hope!) before I got back.

On a less positive note, having had entirely placid hives, I now have at least one exhibiting very grumpy behaviour in a 30m radius around the hive. I suspect this is because they are queenless (I have 3 hives which have been split in response to queen cells).

 

[Nannysbees]

We did a panic demaree instead of a pre emptive demaree!!!!!! Must have been about 8 charged queen cells in one of the hives but not capped, so we did a demaree half expecting then to do a bunk anyway, but it was an experience. Lucky my husband is 5"11 I couldn't even see the top to smoke them!!!! In the lap of the gods. Other hives seem OK, one filling up the supers at lightening speed, another very slow going up into their super. Lovely day for an inspection

 

[The Poot]

Collected a nuc and installed into a standard brood box. Watched lots of orienting then it was full on foraging as if nothing had happened.
Such resilient creatures!

 

[Swarm]

We did a panic demaree instead of a pre emptive demaree!!!!!! Must have been about 8 charged queen cells in one of the hives but not capped, so we did a demaree half expecting then to do a bunk anyway, but it was an experience. Lucky my husband is 5"11 I couldn't even see the top to smoke them!!!! In the lap of the gods. Other hives seem OK, one filling up the supers at lightening speed, another very slow going up into their super. Lovely day for an inspection

I would go back tomorrow and remove the queen to a nuc, you are too late if they have charged cells.
What did you do about the cells you found?

 

[gwt_uk]

Checked on a new Nuc I made a week ago. All looking fine, queen laying well. She is a Buckfast queen I purchased last year so glad to keep her - she lays very nice brood patterns.Went back into the colony she came from and knocked down all the Queen cells that had been built - left 1.

Found two charged cells in a colony that had no signs of swarming last week. Knocked them down and will return mid week to Nuc the queen.
Strong flow on all hives have 1.5 supers.

 

[Erichalfbee]

We did a panic demaree instead of a pre emptive demaree!!!!!! Must have been about 8 charged queen cells in one of the hives but not capped, so we did a demaree half expecting then to do a bunk anyway, but it was an experience. Lucky my husband is 5"11 I couldn't even see the top to smoke them!!!! In the lap of the gods. Other hives seem OK, one filling up the supers at lightening speed, another very slow going up into their super. Lovely day for an inspection

Nuc the queen
Reduce all the QCs to One
Too late for a demaree
Do it this evening or tomorrow or they will be off

 

[StephenT]

The big local hybrid hive we Demareed two weeks ago had about 5 smallish but well charged QC’s in lower BB so nuc’d the queen and left two nice QC’s to check next weekend. Bit gutted as was really trying to keep this hive together. Left alone the hive we recently requeened and stuck a second super on hive 2. Conditions and forage looking good.

 

[Erichalfbee]

The big local hybrid hive we Demareed two weeks ago had about 5 smallish but well charged QC’s in lower BB so nuc’d the queen and left two nice QC’s to check next weekend. Bit gutted as was really trying to keep this hive together. Left alone the hive we recently requeened and stuck a second super on hive 2. Conditions and forage looking good.

I have a large and productive colony I want to keep together so I'm trying what Pete Little recommended. Will see

 

[StephenT]

I have a large and productive colony I want to keep together so I'm trying what Pete Little recommended. Will see

Point me in the direction of what he recommended. Bit late for us now I guess.

 

[Erichalfbee]

Point me in the direction of what he recommended. Bit late for us now I guess.

Not too late
When you have swarm cells
Nuc the queen (which is where you are)
Remove all the queen cells in the colony
Return in 7 days, remove every emergency queen cell and put in a frame of young brood and eggs from where your queen is .
Return in another 7 days, remove all the queen cells you find and unite your nuc back to the colony

 

[StephenT]

Not too late
When you have swarm cells
Nuc the queen (which is where you are)
Remove all the queen cells in the colony
Return in 7 days, remove every emergency queen cell and put in a frame of young brood and eggs from where your queen is .
Return in another 7 days, remove all the queen cells you find and unite your nuc back to the colony

Will definitely look into that as I’m up for giving things a go that aren’t potentially terminal for the hive.

 

[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 again! Today I went back to put the bait hive the 3rd swarm arrived in back on its hook only to find a FORTH swarm hanging under the other box!
I scraped the swarm into the roof and dropped it into the box. I'll pick it up when I get an evening free.

 

[The Poot]

Perha

Guess what again! Today I went back to put the bait hive the 3rd swarm arrived in back on its hook only to find a FORTH swarm hanging under the other box!
I scraped the swarm into the roof and dropped it into the box. I'll pick it up when I get an evening free.

Perhaps the commercial guy is ill and unable to do any swarm prevention. Do you know who he/she is?

 

[StephenT]

https://thewalrusandthehoneybee.com/the-voice-of-peter-little-exmoor-bees/
@Erichalfbee Is this essentially it with the option of a new queen or the old one?

 

[Erichalfbee]

That's it but I'm not interested in adding a new queen. I'm trying to keep my hive numbers static so the old one goes back in but not in an introduction cage...I'm planning on uniting the nuc back. They are much less likely to make swarm preps again if you put in a new queen, though. I must admit I've never tried it