What did you do in the Apiary today?

[Erichalfbee]

Sell at £20 each at the Yorkshire show

Wow! No chance here.

 

[elainemary]

Wow! No chance here.

Oh, should have said, that’s for heather sections

 

[Delgirl]

Ok. Will sort.

The offending article. It was right way up!

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

well it ain't a rhombus escape

 

[Delgirl]

Perhaps you left them too long
My boards have them in threes and work very rapidly
Once the one way traffic has ceased they do begin to filter back in.
I only leave them on overnight
Also was there enough space under the board for them to gather and express their confusion

Nope. Definitely right way up. Maybe an eke will help?

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Definitely right way up. Maybe an eke will help?

definitely

 

[The Poot]

Far too easy for them to get back in

 

[Delgirl]

well it ain't a rhombus escape

My bad. Sorry for confusion. It is rubbish anyway… I may try a rhombus. Sound great

 

[Erichalfbee]

The offending article. It was right way up!

The gaps are too big and should be offset anyway. I’m not surprised it failed
This is a Rhombus

 

[Erichalfbee]

My bad. Sorry for confusion. It is rubbish anyway… I may try a rhombus. Sound great

No problem. I have an escape board made in similar fashion. It was made before the plastic escapes were freely available. It is similar. I’ll get a picture. It’s in use at the moment

 

[Delgirl]

No problem. I have an escape board made in similar fashion. It was made before the plastic escapes were freely available. It is similar. I’ll get a picture. It’s in use at the moment

Thank you. Just ordered the real McCoy. I actually have two of the wooden multi use top boxes they can be put in. Hopefully will have a smoother experience this week.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

The gaps are too big and should be offset anyway. I’m not surprised it failed
This is a Rhombus
View attachment 33624

or this

Or this

 

[Delgirl]

or this
View attachment 33625
Or this
View attachment 33626

Thank you. The other thing can help with the winter fuel wood store.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Lovely hot day today so I thought I'd pop over to the castle apiary before lunch, when the sun sweeps around to hit the hives full on (and the grockles arrive in earnest). Usually the bees don't go overboard on the heather here even though it's not too far away, giving me a scant super of honey to each hive. This year they have two or even three supers jam packed and no sign of them stopping.
you could tell straight away they were on the heather as the bearding was extreme, even though they had plenty of room

 

[JamezF]

The offending article. It was right way up!

I suspect that's a poor design to be honest, because bees can walk in a straight line from the outside to the central hole. I've seen a similar design that's more of a "maze" to get back in, I think possibly down to Roger Patterson.

The two forms of the rhombus escape that JBM posted photos of above certainly seem to work fine for me, but as has already been said, make sure there's space underneath for the bees to move into.

James

 

[JamezF]

Well well, that triangular escpae is apparently a thing. Also called a Double Quebec escape, so it is claimed on Dave Cushman's site:

Double Quebec Bee Escape

The one I was thinking of is this one:

Vortex Bee Escape Board

The Rhombus is just so much easier though.

James

 

[Erichalfbee]

Well well, that triangular escpae is apparently a thing. Also called a Double Quebec escape, so it is claimed on Dave Cushman's site:

Double Quebec Bee Escape

The one I was thinking of is this one:

Vortex Bee Escape Board

The Rhombus is just so much easier though.

James

The Vortex is the one I have. Stan made it years ago.

 

[pargyle]

Well well, that triangular escpae is apparently a thing. Also called a Double Quebec escape, so it is claimed on Dave Cushman's site:

Double Quebec Bee Escape

The one I was thinking of is this one:

Vortex Bee Escape Board

The Rhombus is just so much easier though.

James

Yes, often called a Canadian clearer .... I made one years ago ... didn't work.. the gaps are too large and with the two triangles in line the bees just walk in and out - I modified the one I made by narrowing the gap to one bee space and I made a smaller triangle to fit inside the bigger one and rotated it so that the the gaps in the triangles didn't line up. I still have it somewhere but once I started using rhombus clearers I never bothered with it .. I was going to dismantle in and put a rhombus in there but ... there's only 24 hours in a day !

@ Delgirl - might want to keep the board and replace the stuff in the middle with a rhombus rather than reduce it to firewood. The rhombus clearers usually come up in the sales for a couple of quid and you would have a spare one to play with ...

 

[holmbee]

I had quite a few bees left after using my rhombus overnight when I went this morning. My error was not leaving sufficient space underneath. 50mm just not enough when the hive is full of bees. Ok elsewhere. Lesson learned.

 

[Goran]

I open one hive without smoke, few bees circling around and rest don't mind on me. Bees on a frame, without bearding and not frenzy.
I opened other hive like I dropped tear gas in it, all went in charge like kamikaze..
Still have some qrearing in process and spare qs. This kamikaze Q will hit sudden retirement..
On the other hand talking about honey, all are pressing that we should drop prices ( so the middlemen can earn more).. I maybe look as mentally lacking, but I am not. Horns are growing at my forehead when such wise guy try to persuade me to give my profit to him so he can buy new mercedes sooner.. I should film all these and place on you tube cause it is better to laugh than cry on such retard reality I live on..
I already managed to sell some honey for decent price, so I am not in a hurry..
This year we have some multi floral with honeydew which while analyzing it said that it has awesome taste and smell.
Robinia honey is in norm also..
So, I won't rush it..
Good side of this " jobless period", I work more physically and I have now extra stamina.. I don't have pain in my back, legs or hands , working longer and faster and feel light..