What did you do in the Apiary today?

[pandtpoultry]

Got up early and raised all hives 1 concrete block height and will do the same next week starting to get old and dont want to bend down so much on inspections.
(I lifted whole hive and stand - did not open them at 6am before i get told off)

 

[victor meldrew]

I've only ever witnessed a bee toying with a pollen pellet the once
Maybe not observant enough
VM

 

[victor meldrew]

Went round today to remove the exhausted fondant containers , also removed the ekes !
Every hive was absolutely bonkers ,I could hear them from 50 yards away ( I'm deaf by the way) .
I started to whip the roofs off, to remove said paraphernalia when the apiary went suddenly quiet !, all had retreated into their hives , I anticipated a heavy shower but it didn't materialise There was however a distinct change in the atmosphere!
VM

 

[Cazza]

Went round today to remove the exhausted fondant containers , also removed the ekes !
Every hive was absolutely bonkers ,I could hear them from 50 yards away ( I'm deaf by the way) .
I started to whip the roofs off, to remove said paraphernalia when the apiary went suddenly quiet !, all had retreated into their hives , I anticipated a heavy shower but it didn't materialise There was however a distinct change in the atmosphere!
VM

You must be enjoying better weather than here in Suffolk. Drizzled all day. Some bees flying to collect water.
Cazza

 

[Monsieur Abeille]

Put out a wasp trap

 

[madasafish]

First sunny day for a week. Checked in frame feeders. Made an additional one.
Topped up feeders. Removed fondant from Warre hive and replaced with top feeder.
Added one to 2012 sting count...

(Bees covered newly washed car with crap)

 

[Black Comb]

Checked my 2 home hives today.
Both have 3.5 frames of brood.
Removed remains of fondant and ekes.
Feeding fondant to these has been a wast of time and money, they both have lots of stores, despite feeling lighter in Jan. Must improve my hefting.
Removed some stores frames and gave them some drawn for space to lay.

Bees busy but no sign of pollen coming in. None stored either.

 

[Moggs]

Looked at garden hives today. Pollen going in well. Mousetraps off. Boiled up some washing soda and sterilised loads of frames and kit (2 smokers gleaming like new). Made up 40 14x12 frames. Painted my new polys. Prepared kit (and scorched up some boxes in prep for a couple of shook swarms for later).

Bring it on

 

[YorkshireBees]

Yesterday, visited 1 out apiary and checked hives (externally). All seems fine. Weighed them using my newly acquired / converted luggage weight scales. Spoke to farmer about 3rd possible out apiary for swarms etc.

He is very happy and loves the honey I gave him last year!

Today, planned to visit 2nd out apiary to check / weigh hives + home apiary!

 

[Poly Hive]

All plans on hold, lashing with rain.

PH

 

[huffmanbeekeeping]

Huffman beekeeping

I got all seven of my hives through winter with open screen hive bottoms. Last week two out of the seven were two deeps thick of bees the other five hives have about five frames of brood.

 

[Jamesw007]

I fed my bees with some 1:1 syrup solution as recently added some new wax foundation to one of my hives...

 

[drstitson]

knocked up a shallow eke to allow an abelo poly LS hive to be used warm way with 12 national frames (+dummy board). will supervise OH transferring her 6 frame poly nuc colony into it's new home tomorrow.

 

[Dilligaf]

I have been watching lots of bees in & out of the hive this morning while in the garage machining a couple of hives up ready for the season. Might well have assembled them if my parents were not due & the Grand prix was about to start.

 

[Teemore]

Discovered that my colony on poly, double-brood have made themselves a second entrance between the two boxes and to the rear of the hive. I don't plan to split the boxes just yet, I'll be waiting for slightly warmer and more settled weather before opening any of my hives. It will be interesting to see exactly where they have chewed through the poly. At this stage I think they have burrowed through the poly at the end of one of the hard plastic edges.

 

[psafloyd]

Opened up my three hives. Removed insulation and added the frames I took from one of them to reduce the size.
Two doing very well, one has few stores, four or five seams of bees and a whacking great queen cell with a big fat larva in it.

 

[madasafish]

Topped up all in frame feeders, inserted the newly made one and filled it, and then cut the grass .. including round the hives.

Sunny and 14C.

Bees rushing around with bright yellow pollen.. bit late for crocus.. maybe willow or box.. too early for Broccoli,Apple or Cabbage..

 

[Luminos]

13 degrees here and sunny. Watched my bees bringing in orangey-yellow pollen.
(Because I have bees now, 2 colonies - may have mentioned this before...)

 

[Monsieur Abeille]

Post deleted as discussion is elsewhere

 

[MJBee]

Confirmed that one of my 14 x 12s is queenless by sieving the bees through a QX, then when they had calmed down united with my other 14 x 12 (they had been slowly moved to side by side in anticipation.

Confirmed another colony has either a DLQ or DLWs - small erratic areas of brood all drone - began the move to along side a Q+ colony and will sieve then unite when I get there.

I suppose they both count as winter losses, the other 10 are going great guns