What did you do in the Apiary today?

[E&MBees]

Could be that feisty hive needs splitting Emily sounds like they are choker donate some of the brood frames ? Could be the reason they are feisty .

Thanks Mark. I need to have another look, but will double up on nitrile gloves so I feel a little more confident. I’ll take some spare kit just in case. It’s very strange as they were pleasant to work with last year. I guess it could be a different queen, but Gina was present at the final inspection I did.

 

[Superlativesoul]

Went with my mentor to her Apiary to add 3 supers to her 3 hives .Amazing to see the bees bringing in pollen despite the windy conditions. Also saw the workers remove the dead drone bees from one of her hives .Loving the beekeeping journey .
John.

 

[Ian123]

Went with my mentor to her Apiary to add 3 supers to her 3 hives .Amazing to see the bees bringing in pollen despite the windy conditions. Also saw the workers remove the dead drone bees from one of her hives .Loving the beekeeping journey .
John.

Why the dead drones…….
Had she inspected recently often damaged drone brood then and a few removed after?
If not there may be other reasons stores unlikely if she’s adding supers or Varroa.

 

[Superlativesoul]

similar


just looked in the entrance and saw activity so let them be

similar


just looked in the entrance and saw activity so let them be

Then a bit of tiding up, cut a large overgrown buddleia back to make way for a new hive and stand Then cleared brambles for another two hive sites and set a couple of second-hand paving slabs in as bases , Then put up a caution bees at work sign


So all i need to do this afternoon is make up the two 14x12 brood boxes, treat two others from Tom Bick ,make ten supers ,then 60 EDN5 frames, 100 SN1, fit 200 spacers, scrap two floor and make two new floors from scratch,, oh forgot the roofs, find where i put those QE, make four dummy boards etc etc....but think i will just make instead a nice cup of TEA then walk the dog as quite depressed as i got the redundancy notice i expected this morning, it is still a shock when it comes 9

Then a bit of tiding up, cut a large overgrown buddleia back to make way for a new hive and stand Then cleared brambles for another two hive sites and set a couple of second-hand paving slabs in as bases , Then put up a caution bees at work sign


So all i need to do this afternoon is make up the two 14x12 brood boxes, treat two others from Tom Bick ,make ten supers ,then 60 EDN5 frames, 100 SN1, fit 200 spacers, scrap two floor and make two new floors from scratch,, oh forgot the roofs, find where i put those QE, make four dummy boards etc etc....but think i will just make instead a nice cup of TEA then walk the dog as quite depressed as i got the redundancy notice i expected this morning, it is still a shock when it comes though

Why the dead drones…….
Had she inspected recently often damaged drone brood then and a few removed after?
If not there may be other reasons stores unlikely if she’s adding supers or Varroa.

Did not inspect brood box as weather was on the change and lots of bees flying just saw one dead bee being removed ,I believed it to be a drone bee as it was bigger than the worker bee .Added the supers as lots of bees in the hives up to the crown board of the first super I assume this was a swarm preventive measure to give the bees more space .Forgive me if this is not correct total newbie

 

[Ian123]

Sure no problem the way I read it there could have been many. It’s good to add super space and I’m sure your mentor knows what they are doing. However for your own info a look in the brood at this time of year is a good idea, left over honey stores can prevent the expansion of the queens laying and brood nest. It’s simple to remove the odd frame or push empty frames up against the brood area. This is probably just as likely to help delay any swarming impulse.

 

[Superlativesoul]

Sure no problem the way I read it there could have been many. It’s good to add super space and I’m sure your mentor knows what they are doing. However for your own info a look in the brood at this time of year is a good idea, left over honey stores can prevent the expansion of the queens laying and brood nest. It’s simple to remove the odd frame or push empty frames up against the brood area. This is probably just as likely to help delay any swarming impulse.

Thanks for that Ian ,will put it in memory box so much info but good info hope you have a good season

 

[Goran]

Yesterday took frame in the hands for season opener.. After all blooming and snowing and frosting.. I don't understand much.. sometimes come one frost at minus 1C and harvest all, now in few turns successive minus temp ( even minus 3C) days and still a lot of flowers survived.. I really don't understand..
Though, not much stores in the hives, they burn it into brood.. I managed to do 5 hives due to other obligations.. They are from 11 to 7 brood frames, but stores on the edge even now there is some wild cherry crippled flow.. Tomorrow have some crucial operations in orchard and after that I am in beekeeping the most..

 

[beeker]

Got stung lots.... . Was way behind the curve last year, held off inspecting, and was too late. Determined to get in there before they got the urge this year, but like most hampered by the weather.
At work yesterday so once I had a bit of free time, did a quick inspection of those. Only had a jacket with me in the van, bought in Simons closing down sale, and way too baggy for me.
gusty winds, and grumpy bees due to the showers, cue flapping jacket bottom and the rest is history. Had to strip off as was still finding bees walking around inside my shirt, much to others amusement. Lesson learnt, jacket destined for alteration or sale. But all hives looking good, and far happier in my mind.

 

[Wilco]

Got stung lots.... . Was way behind the curve last year, held off inspecting, and was too late. Determined to get in there before they got the urge this year, but like most hampered by the weather.
At work yesterday so once I had a bit of free time, did a quick inspection of those. Only had a jacket with me in the van, bought in Simons closing down sale, and way too baggy for me.
gusty winds, and grumpy bees due to the showers, cue flapping jacket bottom and the rest is history. Had to strip off as was still finding bees walking around inside my shirt, much to others amusement. Lesson learnt, jacket destined for alteration or sale. But all hives looking good, and far happier in my mind.

I tend to tuck jackets into my trousers and tighten the belt due to fear of this. Don't write it off yet.

 

[Newbeeneil]

I much prefer jackets but there is always a danger of exposing a builders bum when lifting as I did recently!
Several stings taken in sensitive places

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

I much prefer jackets but there is always a danger of exposing a builders bum when lifting as I did recently!
Several stings taken in sensitive places

more proof that bees like to go for the bottom entrances?

 

[JamezF]

more proof that bees like to go for the bottom entrances?

Oh, very good sir!

James

 

[The Poot]

Strapped the hives down, added bricks to the top of bait hives and removed anything that would become airborne in the 58 mph winds forecast for today.
The Master Beekeeper who ran the introductory course I attended, stated bees don’t fly when the wind is above 20 something mph. Maybe they don’t as I observed several moving fast through the air without the use of wings today

 

[Garry R]

I much prefer jackets but there is always a danger of exposing a builders bum when lifting as I did recently!
Several stings taken in sensitive places

Stings in sensitive places - do you mean Mar a Lago? Believe there have been a few there.....

 

[Nannysbees]

Rain rain and more rain. Desperate to get into one of the hives to sort out the laying workers

 

[JamezF]

Rain rain and more rain. Desperate to get into one of the hives to sort out the laying workers

It's been a horrible day. Winds gusting up to 50mph here, at one point combined with hail. Except for taking the recycling out (which is probably spread over most of Somerset by now) and an emergency dash to stop the fruit cage that the chickens have been living in for the last five months or thereabouts from coming apart (they're allowed to go outdoors again next Tuesday! Woo!) I have stayed inside. The Met Office were suggesting a wind chill figure of five degrees and the rain was stinging where it hit my skin

And today marked the twentieth anniversary of my wife and I becoming parents. I wonder if it's an omen...

James

 

[Superlativesoul]

It's been a horrible day. Winds gusting up to 50mph here, at one point combined with hail. Except for taking the recycling out (which is probably spread over most of Somerset by now) and an emergency dash to stop the fruit cage that the chickens have been living in for the last five months or thereabouts from coming apart (they're allowed to go outdoors again next Tuesday! Woo!) I have stayed inside. The Met Office were suggesting a wind chill figure of five degrees and the rain was stinging where it hit my skin

And today marked the twentieth anniversary of my wife and I becoming parents. I wonder if it's an omen...

James

Congratulations on your anniversary

 

[judy12]

What I did was to check supers and wonder again whether it would be a good idea to alternate narrow and wide spacers when replacing supers of drawn comb - does it save the bees work as I thought, or does it make slicing off capping at extracting time much messier?
Can't remember now where I saw it advocated. Anyone done this?

 

[Erichalfbee]

I have my supers on 10 space castellations. I’m fed up with uneven comb so this year the castellations are out and I have 11 frames in each box. Thankfully all my super frames are Hoffman

 

[Dods bisyssla]

I can assure you it is NOT a myth that heather is an inferior winter food. Yes...most winters you will get away with it...but until you do a significant number of colonies over a decade of trying...which we have....you dont find the real pattern. Maybe one year in five or more it is a problem. Is it the weather pattern in the winter? Is it the conditions at heather time when they seal it? Dont know...but for SURE there are seasons when using high protein stores will catch you and your bees out big style. Most times you will get away with it, but in the year when you don't you will regret it.

There is plenty of science that goes against much of what you say. Well found clean stores devoid of waste matter is the BEST for winter food when all they need is the energy. Sugar in not low quality...and where you are coming from is perhaps encapsulated in those few words.

We would also NEVER ...EVER....feed nucs with honey.

Is this a trial with one hive in one winter? If your figures are accurate your bees have been bringing in something at a very strange time of year. May be ivy? If so it is (despite not being a nice honey to most) a relatively clean form of stores and may well have been consumed instead of the earlier heather. Will not happen most years, so do not generalise from a probable anomaly.

pls show me your well documented scientific reports that you refer to - we have searched and didnt find one field study that showed that heather would be causing dysentery. Also, Alfonsus concluded already in 1935 that it was the excess water that caused dysentery not minerals. And the fact that bees needs to make brood also in the winter is also the reason why sugar only containing empty calories is not sufficient as winter food. De Grooth studies from 1950's showed that even the older bees needed protein for increased lifa span but they needed only a much smaller amount, which btw is found in heather honey. Clearly I am aware that one hive is not nearly sufficient for any conclusion but on the other hand we used 9 hives in 2020/21 with 30-50 % heather. So, pls show me your own studies or results and then we can discuss, just to claim that 1 year out of 5 you get trouble is surely no proof. The very same thing can be said about sugar. If you want to read the studies I mentioned you find them on www.dodsbisyssla.com, you can download them as PDF.