What did you do in the Apiary today?

[gregior]

Removed and extracted the honey that was ready from the farm apiary (3 1/2 supers from 6 hives) lots of honey not quite ready for taking off yet but spring flow is definately slowing drastically now and weather looks pretty poor next week so i suspect not much more will be added for a good while yet.

 

[Moobee]

OSR smells a bit cabbagy ... very bland taste. Not everyone likes it ... I'm not that keen on it personally. TBH yours does not look like OSR honey to me ....

Think it might be. Jarred and sold some but the jars I have left are definitely getting thicker in consistency and some I have left in the settling tank won’t pour before long. Thinking I should pop that in a bucket before it gets too thick and warm up when needed?

 

[Wilco]

Think it might be. Jarred and sold some but the jars I have left are definitely getting thicker in consistency and some I have left in the settling tank won’t pour before long. Thinking I should pop that in a bucket before it gets too thick and warm up when needed?

Yes, have it somewhere you can warm it. I also recommend creaming it as once it sets it sets really hard. Use this technique if you go for it:

https://beekeepingforum.co.uk/threads/creaming-machine.51150/post-782187

 

[pargyle]

Yes, have it somewhere you can warm it. I also recommend creaming it as once it sets it sets really hard. Use this technique if you go for it:

https://beekeepingforum.co.uk/threads/creaming-machine.51150/post-782187

There is a chrome plated paddle on sale in ToolStation this week ... £12.05 after the discount taken off.

https://www.toolstation.com/draper-m14-thread-mixing-paddle/p47270

 

[pargyle]

Went through all mine yesterday .. didn;'t start until 5pm so the boxes were prettty full of bees. Put more supers on ... Only one queen cell .. found it in one of the colonies headed up by one of Ceri's queens from the year before last ... classic supercedure cell... right in the middle of a frame, lovely long cell and sealed up. Checked all the frames thoroughly and definitely only the one cell - she was laying like a train last time I looked and almost wall to wall brood but the brood was very patchy today, some day or two old larvae and a few eggs. Couldn't find the queen but I must admit the hive was stuffed full of bees and I figured, as there was only the one cell, I'd best let them get on with it and closed them up.

Knowing my luck they will swarm when I'm at work tomorrow ... but without a lot of searching it was worth the risk - I needed to get through the rest of the colonies and this was the first hive inspected. Probably a mistake !

Plenty of nectar going into to all the colonies and a lot of capped frames.

 

[Swarm]

Went through all mine yesterday .. didn;'t start until 5pm so the boxes were prettty full of bees. Put more supers on ... Only one queen cell .. found it in one of the colonies headed up by one of Ceri's queens from the year before last ... classic supercedure cell... right in the middle of a frame, lovely long cell and sealed up. Checked all the frames thoroughly and definitely only the one cell - she was laying like a train last time I looked and almost wall to wall brood but the brood was very patchy today, some day or two old larvae and a few eggs. Couldn't find the queen but I must admit the hive was stuffed full of bees and I figured, as there was only the one cell, I'd best let them get on with it and closed them up.

Knowing my luck they will swarm when I'm at work tomorrow ... but without a lot of searching it was worth the risk - I needed to get through the rest of the colonies and this was the first hive inspected. Probably a mistake !

Plenty of nectar going into to all the colonies and a lot of capped frames.

Found one like that last week only the cell was on the point of capping, nothing else but a few cups and no eggs in any of these. It was thick with bees and even though I know she is marked blue, didn't see her so I made the same decision and left them to it, they made no swarm attempt last year. We have a green queen who was superseded a little while ago, I'm due to check on those in June. Same scenario, one big cell nearly capped but the queen was present.

 

[JamezF]

All seems quiet in the apiary today so it looks as though my stroppy bees may have sorted themselves out. There are one or two (literally) still flying around the site of their hive (I've taken it away), but I can't even know they're from the same colony. There's not a whole lot of activity anywhere though. It's very overcast with heavy rain forecast for this afternoon so quite a few of the bees might just have decided to take a duvet day.

James

 

[Erichalfbee]

Only one queen cell .. found it in one of the colonies headed up by one of Ceri's queens from the year before last ... classic supercedure cell... right in the middle of a frame, lovely long cell and sealed up. Checked all the frames thoroughly and definitely only the one cell - she was laying like a train last time I looked and almost wall to wall brood but the brood was very patchy today, some day or two old larvae and a few eggs. Couldn't find the queen

Similar here last week.
left the cell.
A week later cell torn down and queen ambling around the frames quite happily.

 

[StephenT]

Merged the nuc back in with the main hive yesterday, 2 weeks after nuc-ing the queen. This is the Peter Little method to keep the production hive going and avoid increase. Had to knock off 14 emergency cells from the frame we put in last week. Am a bit concerned as we are putting eggs and small larvae back in now, not just the queen as per the original method. Will check in a week and fingers crossed there's a laying queen and no swarm cells. Hive 1 with the BMH queen we introduced a few weeks ago needs more room as she's laying really well. Will expand to double brood - 8 over 8 this week.

 

[Sutty]

Couple of clearer boards on and at home finally this!!!

View attachment 31940

View attachment 31941

I'd be interested to hear what you saw scout bees doing in there before the swarm arrived - just crawling around, or flying too?

 

[Wilco]

I'd be interested to hear what you saw scout bees doing in there before the swarm arrived - just crawling around, or flying too?

How long before. Days and hours or minutes?

Days crawling around, occasionally flying jumps to a different spot. Numbers increased after a week, regularly getting tens of them. Shortly before, numbers dropped to basically zero before they arrived.

 

[Sutty]

How long before. Days and hours or minutes?

Days crawling around, occasionally flying jumps to a different spot. Numbers increased after a week, regularly getting tens of them. Shortly before, numbers dropped to basically zero before they arrived.

Thanks. That covers what I was wondering. Seeley's description was of only crawling behaviour. I now have a camera in a bait hive and I'm seeing som flying too - mainly short hops. While my hives were in swarming preparation it was getting scouted a fair bit, but then stopped after I (hopefully) dealt with it. Scouts again today. This might be because having transferred 2 queens to nucs and reduced to 1 QC, I didn't go back a week later to take down extra cells.

 

[Do224]

How long before. Days and hours or minutes?

Days crawling around, occasionally flying jumps to a different spot. Numbers increased after a week, regularly getting tens of them. Shortly before, numbers dropped to basically zero before they arrived.

How do the number of scouts outside compare to inside? For instance if there’s 20 scouts flying around the box is there a lot more taking a look inside?

 

[TomH]

This was the inside of my bait hive before the swarm arrived. Posted a video of the outside in the other thread. I actually thought they’d moved in with all the activity, so had a quick peek in, but shut it up quick when I realised they were still deciding.

Can see a few doing the little diagonal hops others have described.

View attachment IMG_3380.MOV

Edit: Other video with bees at the entrance, here: Any scouts at your swarm trap?

 

[Wilco]

How do the number of scouts outside compare to inside? For instance if there’s 20 scouts flying around the box is there a lot more taking a look inside?

Only had a camera inside I'm afraid.

 

[Erichalfbee]

This was the inside of my bait hive before the swarm arrived. Posted a video of the outside in the other thread. I actually thought they’d moved in with all the activity, so had a quick peek in, but shut it up quick when I realised they were still deciding.

Can see a few doing the little diagonal hops others have described.

View attachment 32060

Edit: Other video with bees at the entrance, here: Any scouts at your swarm trap?

That’s why not filling the box with foundation is suggested. So that the bees can measure the space.

 

[Erichalfbee]

Took some of these off



looking back on this thread it’s heartening to see so many who were on the first page still here
@madasafish take a bow.

 

[Monbees]

This was the inside of my bait hive before the swarm arrived. Posted a video of the outside in the other thread. I actually thought they’d moved in with all the activity, so had a quick peek in, but shut it up quick when I realised they were still deciding.

Can see a few doing the little diagonal hops others have described.

View attachment 32060

Edit: Other video with bees at the entrance, here: Any scouts at your swarm trap?

I had just this amount of activity in my bait hive three days ago and thought a swarm had arrived, however that evening they had all disappeared so I thought they were robbers (manky old frame with some pollen and lots of mould). Same thing next day - disappeared late evening. However, yesterday, the swarm arrived! So excited, I've never had success with a bait hive before.

 

[pargyle]

Found one like that last week only the cell was on the point of capping, nothing else but a few cups and no eggs in any of these. It was thick with bees and even though I know she is marked blue, didn't see her so I made the same decision and left them to it, they made no swarm attempt last year. We have a green queen who was superseded a little while ago, I'm due to check on those in June. Same scenario, one big cell nearly capped but the queen was present.

Similar here last week.
left the cell.
A week later cell torn down and queen ambling around the frames quite happily.

I've got everything crossed .... marked the top of the frame with the only thing I had available in my pocket a ink Posca Pen (lack of planning as usual - there are drawing pins normalluy in my kit but I borrowed them for something else - can't remember what !).

I'll know next week ... or probably 10 days .... or a fortnight ...or ... who knows, I've had virgins take weeks to get going in the past ! Or ... as Dani says, they may well change their mind !

Don't you just love the uncertainty of keeping bees ?

 

[Newbeeneil]

There is a chrome plated paddle on sale in ToolStation this week ... £12.05 after the discount taken off.

https://www.toolstation.com/draper-m14-thread-mixing-paddle/p47270

I don't think chrome comply with hygiene regulations. Needs to be stainless steel.