What did you do in the Apiary today?

[Peter Vanstone]

Which has been answered.

I am sorry l missed it could you repeat it for me,l am not good with computers.l am a beginner,l will go back through and see if l can find the answer.l thought it can’t be common or l would have seen it.the condition that is.

 

[Peter Vanstone]

I am sorry l missed it could you repeat it for me,l am not good with computers.l am a beginner,l will go back through and see if l can find the answer.l thought it can’t be common or l would have seen it.the condition that is.

Thanks for your help,

 

[Peter Vanstone]

Worker?

Yes.never used drone foundation in my life.

 

[Erichalfbee]

I wonder what happened to the honey pantechnicon?

Heaven's yes....there was masses about it at one time. It was a huge mobile extraction unit. Somebody must have it

 

[philipm]

Hive that I,d put ready to take to the apiary was humming with bees .Not mine took it away as I dont want a swarm near the house and dont really want more bees at the moment.
Still trying to build my strength up after having the all clear from Cancer.

 

[Erichalfbee]

Hive that I,d put ready to take to the apiary was humming with bees .Not mine took it away as I dont want a swarm near the house and dont really want more bees at the moment.
Still trying to build my strength up after having the all clear from Cancer.

Look after yourself. Recovery is a long road.

 

[Moobee]

Never noticed ants being an issue with bees - got quite a few hives where the ants use the crown boards as nursery areas to rear the pupae.

No ants eggs, just a shed load of ants and a very light super

 

[bpmurray]

Yesterday, rather than today. Visited an out apiary & took away the queen in a nuc from a hive planning to swarm: she was marked blue, my oldest queen. A friend actually has a queen that has gone through the entire cycle without swarming - she's marked red and still laying well. Then I did the same for a queen that was from supersedure in autumn, so the opposite end of the spectrum vis-a-vis longevity. I don't plan on keeping or her offspring her since she was mated badly & produced stripey bees, but still a good insurance in a nuc. And a bait box has been having visitors for the past week - I wish they'd just make up their collective mind!

 

[gregior]

Went to get a stack of stored supers from winter storage and the rats had got to 8 of them

 

[JamezF]

I was out working on Frankenstein's Greenhouse this morning when there was a sudden increase in volume from the apiary and I looked up to see bees emerging as if to swarm from the hive that is doing an emergency requeen and produced two small swarms earlier this week.

Rather than finding somewhere to bivouac however, they settled back down on the front of the hive and the landing board and have slowly been making their way back inside.

I don't clip queens and there's no reason to have done so in this instance anyhow. A further swarm seems unlikely too, especially given that there were probably more bees in this group than in the earlier ones. In addition it's cooler and very dull here today -- so much so that I can't even tell where the Sun is. Hardly good swarming weather.

The only explanation I can think of is that they emerged as part of a mating flight and that having got outdoors the queen either left with a group of bees that I didn't see or has decided that on the whole she'd rather leave it for another time.

James

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Went to get a stack of stored supers from winter storage and the rats had got to 8 of them View attachment 36059

that's the whole stack unfit for food production then - get the bonfire going, burn the frames and give the boxes a good scorching

 

[Newbeeneil]

I was out working on Frankenstein's Greenhouse this morning when there was a sudden increase in volume from the apiary and I looked up to see bees emerging as if to swarm from the hive that is doing an emergency requeen and produced two small swarms earlier this week.

Rather than finding somewhere to bivouac however, they settled back down on the front of the hive and the landing board and have slowly been making their way back inside.

I don't clip queens and there's no reason to have done so in this instance anyhow. A further swarm seems unlikely too, especially given that there were probably more bees in this group than in the earlier ones. In addition it's cooler and very dull here today -- so much so that I can't even tell where the Sun is. Hardly good swarming weather.

The only explanation I can think of is that they emerged as part of a mating flight and that having got outdoors the queen either left with a group of bees that I didn't see or has decided that on the whole she'd rather leave it for another time.

James

I had that happen while in a teaching apiary, I thought it was a swarm until I saw the frenzy settle and they all marched back in!

 

[Newbeeneil]

One of my hives was getting very brood heavy so I though a demaree would be a good idea. I didn't have a crown board with a reduced hole in it that I could use so I cut a section out of a piece of 18" DPC and laid it over a QX to do the job! Needs must when the devil drives

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

I was out working on Frankenstein's Greenhouse this morning when there was a sudden increase in volume from the apiary and I looked up to see bees emerging as if to swarm from the hive that is doing an emergency requeen and produced two small swarms earlier this week.

Rather than finding somewhere to bivouac however, they settled back down on the front of the hive and the landing board and have slowly been making their way back inside.

classic mating flight excitement, before now I've seen a colony do it more than once - with the bees not returning but settling on a bush or tree, I managed each time to get them into a nuc, they settled so I thought they had a queen - no such luck, each time I ended shaking out a small dud colony.

 

[JamezF]

classic mating flight excitement, before now I've seen a colony do it more than once - with the bees not returning but settling on a bush or tree, I managed each time to get them into a nuc, they settled so I thought they had a queen - no such luck, each time I ended shaking out a small dud colony.

Because of the timing I'm fairly sure the first two (that also settled in bushes) were genuinely swarms. I've not opened up the one that didn't abscond yet other than to look through the crown board as I don't want to disturb them before the queen has had a chance to mate, but I'll check them over in a couple of weeks just in case I misread the situation.

James

 

[pargyle]

Went to get a stack of stored supers from winter storage and the rats had got to 8 of them View attachment 36059

Oh dear, what a mess - blasted rats they are so very destructive. JBM is right - burn the lot and give the boxes a really good going over - I'd be inclined to give the boxes a good scrub with a proper disinfectant or a 1:10 solution of a good quality hypochlorite bleach as well before scorching the boxes. Rats carry some really nasty diseases not least of which is Weil's disease that can be present in rat urine. Make sure you wear some proper rubber gloves and don't, whatever you do, be tempted to power wash the boxes.

Lesson learned - an expensive one in all respects.

 

[Erichalfbee]

One of my hives was getting very brood heavy so I though a demaree would be a good idea. I didn't have a crown board with a reduced hole in it that I could use so I cut a section out of a piece of 18" DPC and laid it over a QX to do the job! Needs must when the devil drives
View attachment 36062

It works just as well with a simple QX

 

[Curly green finger's]

One of my hives was getting very brood heavy so I though a demaree would be a good idea. I didn't have a crown board with a reduced hole in it that I could use so I cut a section out of a piece of 18" DPC and laid it over a QX to do the job! Needs must when the devil drives
View attachment 36062

I do love a bit of improvisation

 

[Newbeeneil]

It works just as well with a simple QX

I’ve found that the smaller hole encourages cells to be produced in the top box which at the moment is what I want from my favourite hives as I’m making up lots of nucs at the moment.
In fact this was a second demaree on the same hive. The first one I did with two nuc boxes and they are on the top waiting for the virgins to mate.

 

[gwt_uk]

Split a double brood that had a QE inserted between the boxes a week ago. Added a purchased, mated queen to the split. Have kept it in the same apiary. Fingers crossed it takes!