What did you do in the Apiary today?

[Erichalfbee]

Checked all the supers. Bitter disappointment. Weather has been pants for so long only a miracle will get some honey in. Poor year. Yet again.

 

[Sutty]

Strange ‘drone’ queen cells in a badly drawn drone foundation super frame. The hive is making a queen, v calm and quiet but found these cells in a super above the q/e. Can only assume a worker had laid. No evidence of laying workers in the main colony but I put a test frame in to double check. I squished the cells and noticed just how many Varroa each drone queen cell had attracted. Anyone else seen queen cells made from drone brood in supers above a queen excluder?

It would be interesting to cage one of these to see what the emerged bee looks like - anyone know?

 

[The Poot]

Checked all the supers. Bitter disappointment. Weather has been pants for so long only a miracle will get some honey in. Poor year. Yet again.

Here the stores have been reducing too. I’m still hoping for a decent crop as brambles are, in the main, still to open. It’s looking like the weather will improve from Monday. I’m disappointed for you

 

[MrGoat]

Checked all the supers. Bitter disappointment. Weather has been pants for so long only a miracle will get some honey in. Poor year. Yet again.

Similar here in the South West of Ireland.

I left them whatever they made in Spring however today they are fairly thread bare and I'm in two minds about removing the supers for a few days and feeding. However the weather is to improve during the week so I live in hope.

I just purchased a honey spinner so I'll be very disappointed if I don't get to use it.

On a positive note I have some virgin queens in Mating NUCs

Felt so good seeing them hatch and run about.

 

[Erichalfbee]

On a positive note I have some virgin queens in Mating NUCs

Felt so good seeing them hatch and run about.

Yes no matter how dire there’s always something in beekeeping to drag you out of the slough of despond

 

[Hedgerow Honey]

Wasn't Bricktop played by Alan Ford?

One of the best movies ever IMO

 

[JamezF]

One of the best movies ever IMO

That and "Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels". Excellent films

James

 

[Gilberdyke John]

That and "Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels". Excellent films

James

Vinnie with his gun bearing the legend Desert Eagle(•‿•)(•‿•)

 

[Ian123]

Checked all the supers. Bitter disappointment. Weather has been pants for so long only a miracle will get some honey in. Poor year. Yet again.

Down south it’s not been to bad the hot weather a couple of weeks ago saw a good flow and whilst it’s been showery the past couple of weeks temperatures have been ok. We’ve got Chesnut well out atm and the improving temperature next week should see a really good flow on.

 

[Erichalfbee]

Down south it’s not been to bad the hot weather a couple of weeks ago saw a good flow and whilst it’s been showery the past couple of weeks temperatures have been ok. We’ve got Chesnut well out atm and the improving temperature next week should see a really good flow on.

I might be on your doorstep for a bucket of honey, Ian.

 

[RJC]

SBI visit earlier this week (sentinel apiary); clean bill of health, aside from a couple of sac brood. Learned a lot, as ever from the visit and good to get an external perspective on my bees. Annoyingly though, knowing that I would be going through the hives I didn't bother to inspect the previous week. Guess what! The sole colony that hadn't made swarm preps had decided to, so virgins popping out when we inspected...So of my 10 colonies in total 8 are now headed by 2022 queens, and these were all 2021 Qs. Plenty of honey though, on top of the c 50lb per hive already taken off in May. Rain yesterday will help, as Lime and Bramble now in full pelt.

 

[Gilberdyke John]

Yes no matter how dire there’s always something in beekeeping to drag you out of the slough of despond

Sometimes the bees were the ones to put you in there

 

[madasafish]

I extract in June (twice) - nearly 20% up on same period last year. (And that was a poor year)
I requeened most of my colonies last Autumn and two have produced spectacularly well (by my standards) with 4 and 5 supers each. The rest have been average.

It is raining as I write and 14C at 11am so talk of a heatwave are somewhat premature. The lime should be flowering soon: conditions are right.. I live in hope.
Queen rearing in May was a waste of time as mating weather was awful. June has been much better.

 

[thorn]

I stood by the open boot of my car in the allotments where I have four hives selling honey to the allotmenteers.

 

[Wilco]

Second super on the garden swarm from May. Sadly going to have to move them soon as my wife's starting to notice a few on the lawn below the hive. Hoping to string it out for another week or two as the sweet chestnut is on and I'm still hoping for a bit from the limes. Single brood but an empty Rose box below for the Smartcam to sit in. Based on activity levels I'm pretty sure there's a flow on.

 

[StephenT]

Stuck the last super on hive 1. All three hives are on 4 supers but only a couple of weeks of decent flow left if past years are to go by. Quite a bit of what looks like bald brood on a couple of frames from hive 3 (the ’playcup‘ was empty). What do people think? Other than the odd cell, I haven’t seen this in the hives before.

 

[Erichalfbee]

Found 10 swarm cells, two capped and queen still at home. She is a real problem and has been nuc’d twice so squashed her and took down all the queen cells. Will requeen in a week.

 

[Do224]

Found 10 swarm cells, two capped and queen still at home. She is a real problem and has been nuc’d twice so squashed her and took down all the queen cells. Will requeen in a week.

nuc’d twice already this season…or in previous years?

 

[Dutchman]

Checked all my hives, hardly a scrap of surplus, they eat what they collect, the only ones that were ok were the ones that were loaded a month ago, glad I took 80 kg of honey from them then or I would have nothing this year. Bramble and lime fully out and rosebay willowherb just beginning but the weather just isnt good enough, I keep hoping. And another split, they seem to want to swarm because there is nothing else to do.

 

[Wilco]

Stuck the last super on hive 1. All three hives are on 4 supers but only a couple of weeks of decent flow left if past years are to go by. Quite a bit of what looks like bald brood on a couple of frames from hive 3 (the ’playcup‘ was empty). What do people think? Other than the odd cell, I haven’t seen this in the hives before.

Quick scan- possibly some chalkbrood but the first thing I do if I see frames looking patchy like that is consider varroa.