What did you do in the Apiary today?
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nikca
House Bee
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Performed my first AS.
With a hidey hidey queen, and a busy hive full of bees (few flying due to much cooler today) was interesting to say the least. In the end had to close up and go for a think - which resulted in me deciding to get a spare brood box and sort the frames one at a time. Just when I thought shaking them might be the only answer, I found her - running round the bottom of the frame every time I turned it over
Tomorrow, we will mostly be learning queen cell grafting and nurse bees in a cup!
Year 2 learning curve is a bit sharper than year 1 isn't it...
Fingers crossed for my 2 (that's right - count em - I'm going to change my profile details) colonies!
With a hidey hidey queen, and a busy hive full of bees (few flying due to much cooler today) was interesting to say the least. In the end had to close up and go for a think - which resulted in me deciding to get a spare brood box and sort the frames one at a time. Just when I thought shaking them might be the only answer, I found her - running round the bottom of the frame every time I turned it over
Tomorrow, we will mostly be learning queen cell grafting and nurse bees in a cup!
Year 2 learning curve is a bit sharper than year 1 isn't it...
Fingers crossed for my 2 (that's right - count em - I'm going to change my profile details) colonies!
borderer
House Bee
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raining here as well so tidied up bee shed and garden. Drove swmbo to distraction rendering wax in the kitchen.
Good thing I tidied the bee shed, might be sleeping there tonight.
Good thing I tidied the bee shed, might be sleeping there tonight.
Silly Bee
Drone Bee
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raining here as well so tidied up bee shed and garden. Drove swmbo to distraction rendering wax in the kitchen.
Good thing I tidied the bee shed, might be sleeping there tonight.
- Joined
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(Yesterday) watched the rain and cursed the fact that I'd not had time to inspect on Sunday when the weather was half decent.
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Made up a couple of boxes worth of frames for AS maybe at some point.
5˚ this morning.
Looked at a few dead bees yesterday(two chucked out drone larvae). One woke up so fed it and took it back to the hive this morn.
Weather forecast absolute rubbish for the next month. Bees are going to miss Blackthorn/Hawthorn/Cherry/Sycamore/Chestnut and Dandelions then another two weeks into the June gap.
Putting on a little fondant today as I'm away till next week and hubby is in charge.
5˚ this morning.
Looked at a few dead bees yesterday(two chucked out drone larvae). One woke up so fed it and took it back to the hive this morn.
Weather forecast absolute rubbish for the next month. Bees are going to miss Blackthorn/Hawthorn/Cherry/Sycamore/Chestnut and Dandelions then another two weeks into the June gap.
Putting on a little fondant today as I'm away till next week and hubby is in charge.
- Joined
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Had a busy weekend, moved 5 hives to out apiary, sold 2 14 x 12 nuc's and had a right good sort out.
Had expected to be busy now, inspecting and swarm controlling but the weather here is poor for inspecting and hopefully the latter.
Added drawn supers and QE's to 4 hives that needed the space and are now positioned 150 yds from fields of OSR just coming into flower.
Added 3 x 14 x 12 broods containing 2 frames of stores and 2 frames of empty drawn comb, 7 foundation and a dummy board on top of my Nationals I want to convert. I put the stores on either outside edge and the drawn frames in the middle. Stuck a feeder on top and filled with syrup. I decided that if they were staying in for a few days they may as well be busy.
Pete D
Had expected to be busy now, inspecting and swarm controlling but the weather here is poor for inspecting and hopefully the latter.
Added drawn supers and QE's to 4 hives that needed the space and are now positioned 150 yds from fields of OSR just coming into flower.
Added 3 x 14 x 12 broods containing 2 frames of stores and 2 frames of empty drawn comb, 7 foundation and a dummy board on top of my Nationals I want to convert. I put the stores on either outside edge and the drawn frames in the middle. Stuck a feeder on top and filled with syrup. I decided that if they were staying in for a few days they may as well be busy.
Pete D
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Quick inspection. Hive that had four frames of brood last time now only has two. Rehomed them in a nuc. Going to think about requeening.
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- Joined
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I took advantage of a long weekend and moved three strong colonies to OSR (another new learning experience!) and within ten minutes of opening them up they were bringing in pollen despite the fact that the weather couldn't make its mind up about what it was doing! Moved a couple of other colonies between apiaries as I am trying to flood an area with 'selected' drones with a view to doing some planned queen rearing.
witchcraft
House Bee
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Just went and inspected my two between the showers. Both very busy dragging in loads of OSR pollen (and nectar I hope) low and slow. My second hive had both a supersedure cell and a single "swarm" cell too on a separate frame both with nice fat larvae in. I cut down the swarm cell and left the super cell (the colony is from a collected swarm from last year and I have no idea how old the queen is, she is laying well though). Lets see what next week brings - I guess I'll be waxing brood frames this weekend.
Last edited:
- Joined
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Sat and looked at the sun from my office window itching to get out there. Ah well, one more week to go then I'll not be just a weekend inspector.
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T managed to get up to 14˚ in the sunshine so got into the one colony that really needed a look into.
Just finished and had to run for home.
Just finished and had to run for home.
OP
tonybloke
Queen Bee
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the first inspection of the year ( for me)
1 colony, brood on 6 frames, super added, queen seen
2 colony, brood on 5 frames, queen not seen, but LOADS of eggs, and unsealed brood
3 colony, brood on 4 frames, queen seen
a good start to the year
1 colony, brood on 6 frames, super added, queen seen
2 colony, brood on 5 frames, queen not seen, but LOADS of eggs, and unsealed brood
3 colony, brood on 4 frames, queen seen
a good start to the year
FreeFall
House Bee
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Ditto. Although we had a shower or two and some hail, it was a cracking day here too, up to 13° and no wind. The workers were out at 9 this morning, in 5°, gathering dew from the grass and trying to force open the sleepy dandelions!
- Joined
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- None of my own
Got home early and had a quick peek through the perspex and poly covers. Loads of activity both outside the hive and in the supers which I take as encouraging.
YorkshireBees
Drone Bee
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Called by my home apiary and the hive was pretty busy at 11:30 in temp of 10-11 degs C. Was sunny but now overcast!
MuswellMetro
Queen Bee
well inspected my Baileys, 10 days after doing them ( clipped Queens) to check if the queen had moved up
says it all
The first bailey
This 10 days ago was a strong 2011 Greek buckfast on 9 frames of brood was now on 18 frames of brood over two boxes with queen still in bottom box, perfect text book brood almost a foot in diameter on the frames ,eggs larva, just one polished frame.left in bottom box..................
and 25 capped Queen cells, six charged over two 14x12 boxes...
so AS split it and moved brood ,might do more tomorrow to a weak association hive
The rest....did not get that much better.........even though a mix of various 2011 queens and nowhere near OSR.
Now I am running out of roofs and brood boxes even though i treated some to demarees to conserve roofs and floors.....and is only the second week in April (I hold 60% hive bits more than colonies), already been to the garden centre to get some plastic potting trays as emergency roofs
Then going to look at an overwintering Nuc that i had put into a fiull hive at an out apiary , i found the 14x12 Nuc of foundation that i left inadvertently open on Saturday ...had hundreds of black feral scout honeybees around it.
..and to think i took up beekeeping as a relaxing pastime when the Doctor said do something tranquil and lower your blood pressure, you are too stressed at work
says it allThe first bailey
This 10 days ago was a strong 2011 Greek buckfast on 9 frames of brood was now on 18 frames of brood over two boxes with queen still in bottom box, perfect text book brood almost a foot in diameter on the frames ,eggs larva, just one polished frame.left in bottom box..................
and 25 capped Queen cells, six charged over two 14x12 boxes...
so AS split it and moved brood ,might do more tomorrow to a weak association hive
The rest....did not get that much better.........even though a mix of various 2011 queens and nowhere near OSR.
Now I am running out of roofs and brood boxes even though i treated some to demarees to conserve roofs and floors.....and is only the second week in April (I hold 60% hive bits more than colonies), already been to the garden centre to get some plastic potting trays as emergency roofs
Then going to look at an overwintering Nuc that i had put into a fiull hive at an out apiary , i found the 14x12 Nuc of foundation that i left inadvertently open on Saturday ...had hundreds of black feral scout honeybees around it.
..and to think i took up beekeeping as a relaxing pastime when the Doctor said do something tranquil and lower your blood pressure, you are too stressed at work
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YorkshireBees
Drone Bee
- Joined
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- South Yorkshire
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- 10-20 (mix of poly / wood)
After a very heavy rain shower the temp had dropped too low to do anything else so I weighed my home hive just to see if they are collecting nectar from the OSR. It has increased by just over a kilogram in 6 days. Quite pleased considering the weather. Will have to wait till the weekend to check the rest.
