What did you do in the Apiary today?

[blackcloud]

"Who knows where the time goes?" This beautiful, beekeeping song came to mind.

Sandy Denny- tragic loss.
So many cover versions of this.
My uncle was into the 60s/70s electric/folk revival as well as beekeeping.That track and one of his old hives that I wheel out occasionally still remind.

 

[blackcloud]

Released the clip on the queen cage

No peeking now.....

 

[B33K33P3R]

Apiary 0.

Checked colony 0.
A very weak colony in February but now covering 6 frames plus stores and slowly beginning to seal frames in a super.

Supervised the apprentice (SWMBOIYKWIGFY!) checking colony 3.
A split from a very strong hive on the allotment apiary that has been Demareed twice. Original queen rehomed in this apiary and left in the (very good) hands of the apprentice (it keeps her out of my way...) and now transfered from the nuc to a National brood box. Laying heavily and packing stores. She will need a super within a week.

Checked colony 1.
A very strong colony (14x12) that is on week 2 of Demareeing and getting over the need to swarm. Although I think they are so strong they might need a brood box on top of the 14x12 or a second Demaree. They are capping 2 supers and the original brood box at about 70%.

There was a little drama during the visit...
I had to blow my nose and so I went 50m to the car for the tissues. I was aware of several bees on my suit but they were just hanging around. I pulled back my veil and blew my trumpet!. Replacing the veil, I returned to the inspection. It was quite warm in the sun and I felt a bead of sweat trickle slowly down my neck. As the sweat began to climb back up my neck I realised this was not sweat and of course it was a bee! It was just at this exact moment the colony became very unsettled and several dozen bees began circling my head and banging into me. I then caught sight of the bee inside my veil with a backdrop of the apprentice holding herself while howling with laughter as I removed myself from the apiary, arms flapping and muffled panic building. After regaining calm and completing the inspection, the apprentice had a similar 50 or so bees hounding her. I asked if she had the key for the bee shed and as soon as the bees heard my dulcet tones they screamed the 20 metres from her directly to me! We both had to walk well away from the apiary before they settled. They are not like this normally. I must have upset them. I will have to apologise next visit.

B33K33P3R.

 

[Wilco]

Dragged myself round the apiaries today. Went down with something nasty at the weekend and not quite recovered but needs must (Could be worse though as one of the dads from school had exactly the same symptoms as me around the same time but went down the ambulance and getting hospitalised route).

Weather was against me with slightly cool conditions and breeze and the bees had the hump today too, least pleasant inspections thus far this year. Hopefully they'll get over the OSR withdrawal and weather will improve for next week.

Pleased with myself as managed to wire up the electric bit for a mains honey warming cabinet but have now started wondering about a 12V car battery and solar panel operated setup... Maybe in the Winter. Also bolted a bit onto my table saw which will hopefully improve consistency and speed of my cutting.

 

[Newbeeneil]

Got a call from one of my clients to say a swarm had taken up residence in a bait hive I have in all my apiaries to forewarn me if any colonies are getting itchy feet. I had been through the colonies the previous day so knew it wasn't one of our girls. Said I'd pick it up in the evening.
Noticed lots of bees around the bait hive on my shed roof so quickly rifled through my garden hive.... no preps going on in there so not my bees but the scouts look VERY keen.
Did inspections on my main apiary and while I was all kitted up I got a call from my isolation apiary landlord- "swarm in an apple tree" so went and collected it. Again checked all the swarm and they were all still there so not one of those that had absconded.
At dusk I went to pick up the bait hive and had to wait for the bloody stop outs to come home before popping it in the van. While waiting I got a text from a mate to say there was a swarm on a post about 2 miles away and could I pick it up? So at 8.45 last night I diverted and had a nice chat with the owner of the land where the enormous swarm had landed about his neighbour who we both reckon is a bit of a nut. (He paid me to take two colonies out of his roof two years ago and decided he wanted to keep one in a flowhive on the roof!) As the guy knows FA about beekeeping I'm sure the swarm was from him.
I left the box for the bees to go into as I wasn't going to wait in the dark. I'm off to pick up the box now!

 

[Erichalfbee]

Dragged myself round the apiaries today. Went down with something nasty at the weekend and not quite recovered

I stocked up with free LFs when they were available. Not that it matters any more but I like to know so that I can prevent infecting others. I made an uneventful recovery, Stan is coughing and on antibiotics three weeks later

 

[Wilco]

I stocked up with free LFs when they were available. Not that it matters any more but I like to know so that I can prevent infecting others. I made an uneventful recovery, Stan is coughing and on antibiotics three weeks later

Yes, we have a stockpile as work bought in loads and I made sure to regularly collect, although there was a rush on them when they stopped being free. My wife 'tidied the kitchen' and I had to rescue over half a box from the bin because 'there wasn't space for them'. I pointed out she'd basically tried to throw away £12!

It wasn't covid- negative on LF and symptoms different to when I had it. Hope Stan recovere.

 

[Boston Bees]

Went into a hive 7 days after last inspection. A week ago there were cups, but I pulled down all the ones I saw and there were no eggs in anyway.

Today, found multiple capped queen cells along the bottom of frames, where I am always diligent to check. Swore loudly, but hive very busy, so separated all the boxes to bleed the flyers off, and started looking for the queen. Found her - hurray! Put her in a nuc box on her own, but left the entrance open ....

3 minutes later, as I am dividing up the hive into nucs, I hear a roar, and realise that despite the hive being split into 5 parts and scattered across the apiary floor it has decided to swarm anyway, right now. The air is full of bees. Clearly they were minutes from doing so when I opened the hive.

I go back to the nuc with the queen in and guess what - she's gone

Aaargh

The good news is that they swarmed straight into a bait hive in my apiary - no bivouac, nothing. Let's hope they stay .....

6 day inspections from now on

 

[Nannysbees]

One of our colonies has not gone up into the super only a few stragglers. Saw something somewhere that said it could be varroa!!!! Just out of interest I put a board underneath and in 24 hours there was 50. Should I vaporise?

 

[Swarm]

Went into a hive 7 days after last inspection. A week ago there were cups, but I pulled down all the ones I saw and there were no eggs in anyway.

Today, found multiple capped queen cells along the bottom of frames, where I am always diligent to check. Swore loudly, but hive very busy, so separated all the boxes to bleed the flyers off, and started looking for the queen. Found her - hurray! Put her in a nuc box on her own, but left the entrance open ....

3 minutes later, as I am dividing up the hive into nucs, I hear a roar, and realise that despite the hive being split into 5 parts and scattered across the apiary floor it has decided to swarm anyway, right now. The air is full of bees. Clearly they were minutes from doing so when I opened the hive.

I go back to the nuc with the queen in and guess what - she's gone

Aaargh

The good news is that they swarmed straight into a bait hive in my apiary - no bivouac, nothing. Let's hope they stay .....

6 day inspections from now on

Sounds like you experienced almost every emotion possible but what a great outcome.

 

[pargyle]

One of our colonies has not gone up into the super only a few stragglers. Saw something somewhere that said it could be varroa!!!! Just out of interest I put a board underneath and in 24 hours there was 50. Should I vaporise?

The inspection board is notoriously unreliable so I would not panic. I'd do a sugar roll on a cupful of bees to be certain before treating them. You can sublimate OA at any time so it's not desperate that you rush into it.

There will be those along shortly who say yes ,, get on and treat them now ... but, I'm just a bit more cautious ... if they genuinely are heavily infested then OK, get on an do it but you may find that they are not as mite heavy as the board suggests.

 

[Nannysbees]

The inspection board is notoriously unreliable so I would not panic. I'd do a sugar roll on a cupful of bees to be certain before treating them. You can sublimate OA at any time so it's not desperate that you rush into it.

There will be those along shortly who say yes ,, get on and treat them now ... but, I'm just a bit more cautious ... if they genuinely are heavily infested then OK, get on an do it but you may find that they are not as mite heavy as the board suggests.

Thank you. We treated last Aug with apiguard and around Christmas with oxalic

 

[Boston Bees]

Sounds like you experienced almost every emotion possible but what a great outcome.

Thanks. I was mightily relieved. Even more so when I just endoscoped them and found them all tucked up in the bait hive.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

One of our colonies has not gone up into the super only a few stragglers. Saw something somewhere that said it could be varroa

That's a new one on me
Where do these ideas get dreamt up?

 

[Swarm]

They basically moved house

Thanks. I was mightily relieved. Even more so when I just endoscoped them and found them all tucked up in the bait hive.

 

[Erichalfbee]

There will be those along shortly who say yes ,, get on and treat them now ... but, I'm just a bit more cautious ... if they genuinely are heavily infested then OK, get on an do it but you may find that they are not as mite heavy as the board suggests.

Yes me. I’d vape them
But what’s the situation in the brood box? Perhaps they don’t need the super?

 

[Swarm]

One of our colonies has not gone up into the super only a few stragglers. Saw something somewhere that said it could be varroa!!!! Just out of interest I put a board underneath and in 24 hours there was 50. Should I vaporise?

Agree with JBM, not heard this before. What is the colony like Nannysbees? Are they booming in the brood box like the others or just ticking along?
Not causing alarm but Nosema C displays symptoms like this. they never seem to DO anything.

 

[madasafish]

The aftermath of last years's poor mating conditions (rain, rain and more rain) meant I have to move three full colonies into nucs whilst they requeen themselves.
Balanced by two nucs promoted to full hives.
And two mini nucs overwintered now nucs.

After all that work , not much has changed.
Pedalling hard and marking new queens just to stand still and May has had poor weather - 17C tops and lots of rain (like June /July 2021 then).


Never mind I am still alive and used to carrying heavy weights.

PS: do not buy a Briggs and Stratton engined lawnmower with a plastic carburettor. They love to clog jets = easy to clear but never had that issue in 40 years of petrol engined mowing.

 

[Nannysbees]

Agree with JBM, not heard this before. What is the colony like Nannysbees? Are they booming in the brood box like the others or just ticking along?
Not causing alarm but Nosema C displays symptoms like this. they never seem to DO anything.

Just ticking along not booming.Brood looks healthy, did see varroa on one of the drone larvae but probably that's not that uncommon and saw a varroa in an empty cell. So should I vape or not?

 

[Erichalfbee]

I’ve said earlier I would vape.
No harm in doing Randy Oliver’s Quick Squash for nosema at the same time.