What did you do in the Apiary today?

[Goran]

Today I was working in orchard, thinking to get some lighter work after bees.. I was so so so wrong.. damn.. seems there is no lighter work for me.. such horoscope.. I am tired but happy..

 

[Moobee]

Eventful day with one hive doing well with newly introduced queen, one with a lovely dark new queen that scuttled off before I could catch her, one which swarmed AGAIN into the neighbours garden (swarm now in a skep to be collected early tomorrow) and then watched their virgin queen emerging (very orange, might call her Mary Queen of Scots or Elizabeth 1st).
One nuc is bursting but have nowhere to put them so donated some frames of brood to other hives & swapped in foundation to give the nuc bees something to do.
I also treated and fed the swarm collected by my mentor on Sunday while I was away.
Phew.

 

[Moobee]

Skep collected early this morning and now uniting with original hive with newspaper method. It’s been a chilly night so they were quite dozy when I put them in their box. I assume they don’t all wake up and wonder why they’re all back where they started.

 

[Erichalfbee]

Skep collected early this morning and now uniting with original hive with newspaper method. It’s been a chilly night so they were quite dozy when I put them in their box. I assume they don’t all wake up and wonder why they’re all back where they started.

So you have a queen in the swarm and one in the original hive?

 

[Moobee]

So you have a queen in the swarm and one in the original hive?

Definitely one in the hive, can’t find one in the swarm (could be a small VQ), so have a QX on main box, then 2 supers and another QX with the newspaper (with some cuts in it to start them off). Is that the correct method?
Was hoping once they combine, I can find any potential queen in the top box and remove.

 

[StephenT]

Expanded two hives from single brood to 8 frames over 8 double brood. Both had about 8 frames of brood. Took 7 frames of honey off the other hive with 3 supers. They’re filling the centre 6 frames in each super but not much outside of that (10 frames per super). Got some spring honey to jar and to send off to the honey monitoring scheme. Rinsed the extractor out with vodka and can’t seem to resist it now.

 

[W0otz]

On inspection I found that all of my colonies have been using stores over the past week and I found 1 nuc close to starving, with just a few cells of capped stores remaining.
Small contact feeder is on, but I'm going to have to rethink the roofs for my homemade nucs.

Fits like a glove...

 

[Wilco]

All colonies inspected. Not particularly happy today which I think is the June Gap but if it keeps up like this I'll have a lot of requeening to do... Most nucs starting to have brood through and looks like matings this year haven't been as friendly as I'd thought although could be linked to lack of forage.

Did have some fun poking around a hive I've been unhappy with the brood pattern in... Few varroa in the handful of drone cells I checked so time to treat.

 

[Erichalfbee]

On inspection I found that all of my colonies have been using stores over the past week and I found 1 nuc close to starving, with just a few cells of capped stores remaining.
Small contact feeder is on, but I'm going to have to rethink the roofs for my homemade nucs.

View attachment 32228 Fits like a glove...

Empty super

 

[Erichalfbee]

One colony queenless on test frame so uniting with another tomorrow.
Just to illustrate that a negative test frame means nothing …. This was the second we put in. In the first two weeks ago the brood was was simply looked after

 

[TomH]

Rinsed the extractor out with vodka

Now this is a brilliant idea! Will be borrowing that one...

 

[TomH]

On the topic of drinks Dani @Erichalfbee was it you that tried the coffee infused honey? How did it turn out?

 

[Highlander01]

Because of rain, hailstones, high winds and freezing cold, (summers nearly here), I've left the hives, for nearly three weeks without any inspection. Those inspection before were just cursory to ensure nothing untoward was going on.
I inspected on Monday, and every hive is going backwards. I left all the honey in all the hives, they produced last year. I fed, extra fondant and sugar water, to get an early start, and now the cupboard is bare.
Tuesday Wednesday was good weather, bees are being returning covered in pollen going into the hives. The weather forecast is good for the next few days. So now things are on the up.
I thought this bee keeping malarky was supposed to be a peaceful pastime, I find myself fretting like an expectant father.
But I also find myself fascinated, just watching them.
Aye, I'm glad I took up bee keeping, it'll keep me fit and poor if nothing else. Always a place looking for any disposable income......!

 

[JamezF]

Inspections today for me, too.

Colonies seem to be doing ok, with one at an out apiary really going for it. Glad I took a load of empty supers with me. One particularly perverse colony had decided to completely ignore their top super and build comb that they were filling with honey in the void above the crown board. I hate it when they do that.

The colonies I united seem to be doing ok now too. I used newspaper and whilst they'd not really cleared much of it (probably only a hole about 4" diameter) there were only a few dozen bees left in the top brood box so I assumed they'd all integrated ok. I've removed the frames from the box, brushing off any remaining bees and putting them to one side to go in the freezer later, then took the empty brood box off and replaced it with a super.

James

 

[Erichalfbee]

One particularly perverse colony had decided to completely ignore their top super and build comb that they were filling with honey in the void above the crown board. I hate it when they do that.

What void? Do you have the feeder hole open?

 

[Erichalfbee]

On the topic of drinks Dani @Erichalfbee was it you that tried the coffee infused honey? How did it turn out?

I did. But I don’t have anybody to test it. I thought it wasn’t coffee..ey enough. Stan hates coffee and just told me it stank! I might try it on my dentist who thought it was a great idea when I told him about it.

 

[JamezF]

What void? Do you have the feeder hole open?

Effectively, yes. It's on the list to be replaced by a perspex one, but I've not made enough yet. Next time I go I shall take something to cover the hole.

James

 

[The Poot]

Inspections today. Confirmed we’re in a ”gap” with stores diminished again against last week‘s position. Loads of brood cooking though, so will have a good work force for bramble time. No swarm preps going on, which surprised me.....or I missed the cells!

 

[drex]

My wife bought me 2 BMH queens for my birthday. First time of buying in. I introduced them as per Lawrence instructions ( Q - for a week). Removed tabs a week ago. Both queens roaming happily and have eggs already. One of them is quite small ( Buckfast) but is laying OK . Is this a Buckfast trait as she is much smaller than my home breds?

 

[TomH]

I did. But I don’t have anybody to test it. I thought it wasn’t coffee..ey enough. Stan hates coffee and just told me it stank! I might try it on my dentist who thought it was a great idea when I told him about it.

How much coffee/honey did you go for? Will be extracting some spring honey next week, so might give it a go too.