What did you do in the Apiary today?

[Murox]

I have just moved 360 miles from Essex to Devon and brought 3 hives with me. I have managed to find a site for my bees in the new village. It was such a nice day yesterday I thought I would have a quick look in . 2 hives thriving, one slow to build. They are all eating through stores.
I was worried about forage having moved from an arable farming area to a mainly pasture area but one colony had a fair bit of fresh nectar. All bringing in pollen. Looking forward to this new chapter.

I wish you well with this new chapter. Devon is he only county to have a geological era named after it (the Devonian); so much to explore discover and enjoy.

 

[Goran]

What does the cocktail consist of?

1. beer+apple cider vinegar ( I just put ACV 1/3-1/4 of total liquid - to repel the bees)
2. sometimes I put apple juice+ ACV
3. once I had some blackberry wine which went sour - they filled the bottle ASAP
4. once I got high quality orange syrup ( of real fruit, not chemistry) diluted with water+ACV, beside the hornets and wasps moths also were drowning in, I didn't experiment more..

 

[The Poot]

Tons of pollen coming in the last three days
Looking like spring finally arrived
View attachment 35494

Looking good

 

[Ian123]

I have just moved 360 miles from Essex to Devon and brought 3 hives with me. I have managed to find a site for my bees in the new village. It was such a nice day yesterday I thought I would have a quick look in . 2 hives thriving, one slow to build. They are all eating through stores.
I was worried about forage having moved from an arable farming area to a mainly pasture area but one colony had a fair bit of fresh nectar. All bringing in pollen. Looking forward to this new chapter.

Oh dear god they won’t be local bees…….do you think they’ll cope with the local accent

 

[Jon.21]

Made up some frames for my swarm box. Using a 14x12 nuc same as last year but putting 2 boxes out this year and instead of being empty I’m filling them with wired frames and starter strips. This is my first one.

 

[pargyle]

Made up some frames for my swarm box. Using a 14x12 nuc same as last year but putting 2 boxes out this year and instead of being empty I’m filling them with wired frames and starter strips. This is my first one.
View attachment 35506

Nice work on your frame but you might be better off just putting a frame of old comb - or even part of an old comb in your bait box and save your frames for when you hive them. There is some evidence that the scout bees measure the volume of the bait box and filling it with frames may hinder their measurement. You will know when a swarm has moved in and you then need to get them into a proper hive - they will fill out your new frames very quickly but ... be warned, if they start to get creative with comb you might need to alternate your starter strip frames with some drawn frames to give them a guide to work with.

A nuc for a prime swarm will not be big enough for them for long - and for some swarms not at all.

 

[Anduril]

Nice work on your frame but you might be better off just putting a frame of old comb - or even part of an old comb in your bait box and save your frames for when you hive them. There is some evidence that the scout bees measure the volume of the bait box and filling it with frames may hinder their measurement. You will know when a swarm has moved in and you then need to get them into a proper hive - they will fill out your new frames very quickly but ... be warned, if they start to get creative with comb you might need to alternate your starter strip frames with some drawn frames to give them a guide to work with.

A nuc for a prime swarm will not be big enough for them for long - and for some swarms not at all.

It doesn't hinder their measurements at all. I've had swarms move into Nationals filled with frames as well as Paynes 14x12 nucs filled with frames. Some with old comb some with just frames of foundation.

 

[JamezF]

I suspect the bees are a lot more tolerant of "imperfections" in potential new nest sites than we allow for. Being too fussy might not be a good survival characteristic, so perhaps they'll accept "the best we can find" as adequate. If a beek is keen to catch swarms then making a bait hive that's nearer "perfect" (whatever that means) so that it has a good chance of being "the best we can find" may give better results in the long run than one that isn't, but there may well still be plenty of swarms that don't find anywhere better than the "less than perfect" site.

With the swarms I caught last year (either in national broods or double supers with old comb opposite the entrance and the rest filled with wired starter strip frames) I found that they occupied the old comb first and drew the frames out as they moved towards the entrance which meant they always had a "guide" on one side of each new frame to work to. The one thing I did do was make sure the hive was level so the new comb would be drawn vertically down the the frames.

Without something to act as a guide there may be a greater chance of them going a bit freestyle. Perhaps one day I'll try it and see what happens.

James

 

[pevanstone]

Enjoy your new life in Devon. It’s a beautiful place. I miss the beautiful hedgerows and tiny lanes.

Narrow lanes,l think they teach you to pray,a. tank commander rtd lives down just down the road,ln conversation I learnt he isn’t worried about narrow lanes but then he never got stuck,last year a enterprising man in front of me directed ten cars into a field.Devonian,s have lots of money or they did,it’s narrow lanes that make them drive old cars.

 

[Anduril]

Narrow lanes,l think they teach you to pray,a. tank commander rtd lives down just down the road,ln conversation I learnt he isn’t worried about narrow lanes but then he never got stuck,last year a enterprising man in front of me directed ten cars into a field.Devonian,s have lots of money or they did,it’s narrow lanes that make them drive old cars.

I remember a number of youngsters around 30 years ago driving through the narrow Devon lanes at night without any headlights on.

 

[Erichalfbee]

I remember a number of youngsters around 30 years ago driving through the narrow Devon lanes at night without any headlights on.

Yep …….but 55 years ago and in the Hertfordshire lanes. In the snow was even more exciting.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

I used to have pretty good night vision (I think working at sea helped to train it a lot) when I was back for a stint at my 'home station' in the old part time manning days I could safely and happily drive around Cardiff and Barry docks at night with no lights (handy for sneaking up on any skulduggery) one night we had a 'shout' to get to the other side of the docks ASAP! I didn't think to turn the headlights back on and just floored it but it was a false alarm and we were told to carry on with the patrol. My P.O. was in the car with me and said it was all rather 'exciting' but did I mind making a quick detour back to the office as he felt a change of trousers may be needed!!

 

[W0otz]

I've got 3 14x12 hives and 1 14x12 6-frame nuc in the garden, I put supers on them all today.
One hive and the nuc were absolutely bursting and desperately needed the space. I'll probably transfer the nuc to my out apiary and put it in a full hive either this weekend or next, depending on weather.

I didn't go through the hives as it's still a bit cold (12c), but I did take a look at some outer frames and there was a surprising amount of fresh nectar present. There's plenty in flower now, but the weather hasn't been particularly good.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

and how much brood did you guess there was?, I'd be surprised if any colony would need supering yet - especially not a 14x12

 

[W0otz]

and how much brood did you guess there was?, I'd be surprised if any colony would need supering yet - especially not a 14x12

The one that was rammed with bees had 2 outer frames of stores each side before I hit brood so 7 frames with brood on, though I didn't pull any brood frames to see how laid up they were.

The others probably didn't need supering quite yet.

 

[Goran]

Today was relative warm, around 16C. Bees all around, on the ground or on the plums which start to open flowers.. Still didn't start inspections, have few days of work in orchard before.. Our boots are covered with dead nettle pollen, like some rust.. Bees are working hard whole day, I think will have huge amount of pollen while I start to take the frames in hands..
Tomorrow is said to be 20C, will work in T-shirt as it seems.. Our cats enjoy and seeking attention by talk or trying to clime on us, or on the hazels which we were pruning.. Have to pay additional attention to not cut them..

 

[BeeMania]

I've got 3 14x12 hives and 1 14x12 6-frame nuc in the garden, I put supers on them all today.
One hive and the nuc were absolutely bursting and desperately needed the space. I'll probably transfer the nuc to my out apiary and put it in a full hive either this weekend or next, depending on weather.

I didn't go through the hives as it's still a bit cold (12c), but I did take a look at some outer frames and there was a surprising amount of fresh nectar present. There's plenty in flower now, but the weather hasn't been particularly good.

100% agree
Did inspections two days ago and had to add supers to half of my hives as some frames were filled with fresh nectar.
14x12 are usually bursting in early spring as they overwinter a lot better with a lot more bees than Standard national.

 

[pargyle]

100% agree
Did inspections two days ago and had to add supers to half of my hives as some frames were filled with fresh nectar.
14x12 are usually bursting in early spring as they overwinter a lot better with a lot more bees than Standard national.

Blimey ... Cheshire must be nearer the equator than I thought - down here on the Costa del Fareham we are miles away from needing supers ... even on my 14 x 12 poly hives, which are normally quite early to start, I rarely see enough brood to warrant a super going on much before mid April.

 

[pevanstone]

I remember a number of youngsters around 30 years ago driving through the narrow Devon lanes at night without any headlights on.

Today was relative warm, around 16C. Bees all around, on the ground or on the plums which start to open flowers.. Still didn't start inspections, have few days of work in orchard before.. Our boots are covered with dead nettle pollen, like some rust.. Bees are working hard whole day, I think will have huge amount of pollen while I start to take the frames in hands..
Tomorrow is said to be 20C, will work in T-shirt as it seems.. Our cats enjoy and seeking attention by talk or trying to clime on us, or on the hazels which we were pruning.. Have to pay additional attention to not cut them..

This sounds like paradise.

 

[JimBee463]

I have just moved 360 miles from Essex to Devon and brought 3 hives with me. I have managed to find a site for my bees in the new village. It was such a nice day yesterday I thought I would have a quick look in . 2 hives thriving, one slow to build. They are all eating through stores.
I was worried about forage having moved from an arable farming area to a mainly pasture area but one colony had a fair bit of fresh nectar. All bringing in pollen. Looking forward to this new chapter.

Where in Devon have you moved? I''m in East Devon. It's a beautiful place to live!