What did you do in the Apiary today?

[psafloyd]

Wouldn't fancy conti board for a stand if there was a damp summer and five or six supers on...

Look good, though. I love the green.

 

[Monsieur Abeille]

I understand that OSR needs 16°C to flow and 20°C to really get going.

Chris

Thanks Chris, saved me a lug!

 

[Chris Luck]

Doh, it's crap here as well, my apiaries are surrounded by vast fields of it and lucky if they work it a couple of hours a day. 0°C the last few nights and a hard cold wind.

Chris

 

[madasafish]

10C in the sun, feels more like 5c.

Quick dash into hives - at ends furthest from brood nest to check stores(TBHs). Fed two hives. Smoker used but bees unwilling to fly much .


After two weeks of rain every day except when it hailed , or snowed, bees are not going anywhere.

Pollen being brought in when the sun shines.

Found a queen wasp half dead on a bedroom windowsill inside the house _ come in on someone's clothes?_ carefully placed her outside in sun..


three nights in a row with frosts.. at least we have no drought..

 

[Pete D]

Wouldn't fancy conti board for a stand if there was a damp summer and five or six supers on...

Dont worry thats not a stand......... its just an old fish tank unit that I have in the garage to stick things on. On this occasion despite the sunshine we had a hailstorm half hour earlier and I stood them on this to get them off the wet grass..........daft really as they will be out in all weathers.
The metal stands will only hold 2 hives under normal use, the middle gap is for roof etc during inspections............although may house a nuc at some stage..........turned round 180 degrees though.
Cheers I like the green too
Pete D

 

[psafloyd]

Yesterday my new ones were going mad for the forage immediately around them. Never seen any of my other colonies doing this in the same way.

See number 19 at http://bit.ly/capitalbee

 

[Jim Lavie]

I had what I thought were play cups on Friday, but on looking closer there were eggs in the bottom of some. As the weather is forecasted to get colder and it was warm and sunny today I thought I would check again to see if I now had larvae in royal jelly and queen cells. Most cups remain but all now seem empty, Ill be watching!

 

[Monsieur Abeille]

Went out early to check the poly/wood combos were strapped down properly, luckily they were.

 

[Silly Bee]

Watching my bees yesterday, they were all over my neighbours pear tree.

Not a single one on my trees.

 

[MJBee]

Only 10C yesterday but full sun and the woodland apiary was sheltered from the bitterly cold northerly wind so........

Artificially swarmed 2 colonies that had sealed queen cells removed on 13th Both queens were found, one gave up easily and walked onto my hand the other was more elusive but found eventually. Both foundation hives were given 2.5ltrs of weak syrup, the brood hives have plenty of stores and a 1/2 full super.

As an aside to another thread - Both queens were marked 2011 with the "pocsa" pen and both had worn most of it off, hope yellow lasts a bit longer, I will remark the white queens when they have settled down and the weather improves.

 

[victor meldrew]

is it a trick question as you only have 3!

Over my head I'm afraid
I have three colonies (now supered) but more hives
VM

 

[MuswellMetro]

Looked out of the window and watched the drought rise up and dry the clouds

so decided to make up a couple of Supers and some SN5 frames to fit...you never know we might have a proper spring sometime soon

 

[Tom Bick]

Not today but yesterday hope it still counts.

Inspected hives, performed a Demore on one hive, left another to supersede the queen (fingers crossed they don’t decide to swarm anyway) and then called to help a friend find the queen in his double brood hive so to AS.

 

[Monsieur Abeille]

Concerned over a) swarm preps and b) food levels so dived off work early as there was actually some sun without too much wind this afternoon. First inspection since April 1st due to weather.

Quick poke into all three, good news and bad news.

Good news: No sign of QCs, and while there was plenty of brood in each there was also plenty of space

Bad news: the space was largely where their stores had been, two out of the three nearly empty. Left them a frame of winter stores and some pollen patty to see them through the next few days, if no improvement by the weekend it will be supers off and feeders on.

Thanks again to this forum for alerting me of the danger, for while I knew their foraging would suffer in the cold I didn't know that OSR wouldn't give up its bounty in such temperatures.

 

[Snail368]

Saw bees taking dandelion and OSR pollen into hives. Didn't open them up today.

 

[tonybloke]

got my first sting of the season!

 

[nonstandard]

Tidied up the bee equipment in the shed; yes I know I should have done it through the winter.

 

[Shabro]

went to look see how the nuc I've just hived is getting on, a constant stream of pollen coming back in and lots of activity so pretty chuffed. checked the drop board to see if the apiguard is having an effect and there is very little mite drop so its not too bad.

 

[Poly Hive]

Took fondant to the bees but was pleased to see nectar in the frames so decided to take a risk and not feed. That was my last chance for 10 days so... and this morning it is raining heavily.

PH

 

[itma]

... checked the drop board to see if the apiguard is having an effect and there is very little mite drop so its not too bad.

Sadly, I fear it is too cold at the moment for Apiguard to have its proper effect.

Measure the success of any treatment not by mite drop during treatment, but by the rate of natural mite death after the treatment is finished.
Right now, a small mite drop rate will not tell you the difference between ineffective treatment and there not being a big problem.
Be sure to check the drop a few weeks after your treatment period ends.