What did you do in the Apiary today?

[Redcap]

Added a Wasp Out, caused some confusion at first, but they soon got the hang of where their new front door was...too many wasps around showing too much interest, not risking it.

 

[elainemary]

Well done. What’s next after your break? NDB? MB?

Thankyou. Need to get to grips with a microscope!

 

[manek]

Pulled four supers off yesterday, stuck them on my home-made warming cabinet, extracted this morning/afternoon.

 

[Newbeeneil]

Extracted 300lb this morning and was a bit worried the local hives had found a route into my extraction room so I sealed the door with gaffer tape when I left!
Jarred 100lb this evening and just as I was finishing I was visited by a Vespa Crabo.... beautiful thing. Trapped him in a jar to study him then released him into the darkness.

Edit. Just had to evict him again! Ten minutes after his first incursion.

Update! Just evicted him again from the upstairs bathroom!

 

[JamezF]

I was visited by a Vespa Crabo

Saw what I think must be my first ones of the year this evening too. I'm sure I've heard them flying about, particularly in the early evening, but they can be quite hard to spot when you only hear them fly past.

James

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

we have quite a few around here now - never saw one until a few years ago now it's a daily occurrence

 

[The Poot]

I haven’t seen one at all this year. Usually see them daily through the Summer, but there are loads of wasps.

 

[TomH]

Saw my first hornet a couple of weeks ago. I was out running and felt something in my hair - brushed it out with my hand, and a beautiful hornet was deposited onto a nearby bush. Don't know which of us was more surprised!

 

[Wilco]

This sums it up.

View attachment 20220803_145804.mp4

 

[Swarm]

This sums it up.

View attachment 33272

Keeping Wasps now?

 

[blackcloud]

From the other week, non HSE approved removal of hive from tree in my garden. Could have gone better...

View attachment 33197

Classic
I was waiting for Beadle to appear

I can't ever match that but I kicked the smoker over this morning in long dry grass.I panicked and trying to rake up the embers in marigolds found I was kneeling on it.
It's now left handed which is pretty cool, save for the fact that I'm not.

 

[Wilco]

Keeping Wasps now?

Kinda tempted to see if I can TBH!

 

[BeeKeyPlayer]

I think it's quite a rare thing here to actually see what someone looks like, so your picture Emyr is a real treat, as is the chat about hats - an alien world to me . I've owned more pianos than hats, if that gives you an idea.

 

[BeeKeyPlayer]

Sorry to be so prosaic and return to boring talk about what I did in the apiary today. I found one colony out of about 20 which had queen cells. This was a swarm from a bait hive. They've built up well, have had double brood though there's little brood in the top box now, and
had plenty room. There were 14 qcs, all but one sealed. The queen is there, laying strongly - unlike some colonies which are having a brood break. So, supersedure, I guess, though I have to ask, isn't this an unusually large number of cells?

 

[blackcloud]

I knew I'd seen Wilcox's tree hive video before....

 

[Erichalfbee]

This sums it up.

View attachment 33272

I’m in Berlin for a week. Must get stan to have a proper look at each entrance

 

[Erichalfbee]

The queen is there, laying strongly - unlike some colonies which are having a brood break. So, supersedure, I guess, though I have to ask, isn't this an unusually large number of cells?

No
Swarm cells.

 

[BeeKeyPlayer]

No
Swarm cells.

Okay, thanks. You hear so much that the swarm will have left if you find sealed qcs, but I've found this not to be the case several times this season.

 

[Erichalfbee]

Okay, thanks. You hear so much that the swarm will have left if you find sealed qcs, but I've found this not to be the case several times this season.

Yes that’s fairly common. So common that it can be counted as normal. Swarms can be kept in by the weather. They can leave well before QCs are capped too. Most teaching is that queens stop laying in preparation for swarming. That’s not true either. Yes the queen is chased about and fed less to slim her down a little to fly but she keeps laying till the bees push her out of the hive.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

No
Swarm cells.