What did you do in the Apiary today?

[Curly green finger's]

I’m being nosey. Wanted to see their label.

I won’t put them on here

 

[Erichalfbee]

No I didn’t think you would which is why I wanted to buy a jar somewhere.

 

[Curly green finger's]

No I didn’t think you would which is why I wanted to buy a jar somewhere.

Aye ok as above really then the bridges will have all the range there hopefully this seasons spring honey to .

 

[gregior]

Weather not great and bees a bit grumpy but took the chance to grab 5 full supers for extraction,the plus side of the bad weather is all the honey is now ripe. One or 2 still thinking about swarming but no kit to make splits so cells destroyed and fingers crossed.

 

[drex]

Destroying cells does not prevent swarming in my experience. Can you not take some frames of brood out of the swarming colonies and swap with frames from weaker colonies. My problem is too much kit. Just built a new shelter for it as cannot get in garage

 

[gregior]

Destroying cells does not prevent swarming in my experience. Can you not take some frames of brood out of the swarming colonies and swap with frames from weaker colonies. My problem is too much kit. Just built a new shelter for it as cannot get in garage

I know it's not good practice but these colonies have room and with it being late in the swarm season I'm hoping they'll lose interest.

 

[Parsonage Bees]

New queen, laying for 2 weeks not looking very promising. Fighting my indecisiveness, thinking "Oh, she'll come around". Her days are numbered.

Found queens in 2 big colonies first time through. Must be my lucky day.
Duff queen looks like her mother. Killed. Newspaper unite with queen-right brood box.

 

[Redcap]

Responded to a request for a call to remove bees from a garden...turned out to be a small swarm/cast that had taken up residence in a compost bin. Nice easy removal (phew!). Now need to build them up...

 

[Nannysbees]

Decided to sort out the weak swarm which I should have done from the start. The queen started laying all over the place one egg in some cells, four in another!!!! Only just started laying this week. Caged her, put her into a hive with brood and food from our super hive with a shed load of bees. Shook out the bees from the nuc in front of the other hives. Lesson learned

 

[user 819]

Some VQ's recently mated act in the same manner , they can take a week or two to get into the swing of things. Maybe the Q arrived with the swarm was a VQ ?

 

[Kaz]

Finally got around to evicting my marauding thugs from the garden. Having put up with their poor temperament for too long I removed the queen last week with a plan to introduce a frame of eggs and larvae from my beautiful hive next door. Yesterday evening I removed all the emergency QCs and introduced the nice frame, after which they went mental! They held us hostage in the house, marauding around the garden looking for things to sting - the cats, sheep, us if we dared to open the front door and they came into the house... so this morning at the crack of dawn they were bundled off to my out apiary in the middle of nowhere to think about their actions and get on with raising a nice queen. Hopefully 2 birds with one stone - calm this colony down and some QCs to harvest to make some nice queens to introduce to my more grumpy hives

 

[Nannysbees]

Gave my new split a feed of syrup

 

[Swarm]

Added supers to some desperate hives.

 

[Macbear]

Wonderful day, yesterday. After inspection on Wednesday I put on clearing boards. 24 hours later we removed three super boxes [SB] from my two hives. Only 6 bees left in those SBs. I transferred each frame to an empty fresh SB to make sure that each frame is up to standard and without bees. Bees lovely and peaceful [even in my slightly more lively colony] both then and when I returned the wet frames at 1900. For hygiene reasons the frames are returned to the same hive as they came from. Loaded honey spinner will need two of us to lift to a level where we can align the tap over the sieves and thence to the settling tank - will do that later today so air bubbles and debris can be skimmed. My second year of honey harvesting - I didn't harvest except for the odd comb during my first 8 years as I simply enjoyed the bees and the benefit to my allotment. Now it's the best of both worlds.

 

[beeboybee]

hmm quick inspection as the sun is out....
couple of Nucs that went into hives filling out nicely.
one colony is in swarm prep - so did emergency swarm - Kicking myself for not doing a Demeree as I had a spare brood box & Queen excluder to hand. will see what the new queen is like BUT old one is going - seriously horrid bees,

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Kicking myself for not doing a Demeree

too late if they are already making swarm preparations. Demaree is a proactive manipulation not a reactive one.

 

[Goran]

Hey ho! Helping friend moving bees to sunflower.. Now returning back home few hundred km.. If I ever decide ( hardly) to go full monty migratory I would only go with container.. in 30 mins container of 40 colonies packed and on the road..

 

[Nannysbees]

Opened the clip on the queen cage, hour the girls ate going to play nice!!

 

[Moobee]

Whizzed round the out apiary yesterday between storms. One hive from a split at the end of May is going like a train and up to 11 frames of brood. Gave them another super.
Checked home nucs and found 4 out of 5 have requeened successfully. Marked 3 of the queens which have all laid up 2 frames of brood - all very different shapes, sizes & colours.
Couldn’t find the 4th as the nuc was absolutely bursting with bees and they had filled the roof with wild comb and honey! Need to sort them out later today when it stops raining.

 

[Newbeeneil]

Very strange day in my main apiary, did some quick inspections and rearrangements (hiving nucs and adding supers etc.) on 20 of the 26 colonies and every one seemed very up set and stinging me (I must of had 30 plus stings to my fingers and legs ( through jeans))! No obious reason as although it was a bit overcast it wasnt thundery and I had a brand new jacket on so unlikely to be any washing powder.
I treated them as usual with a warning puff of smoke to the entrance and another puff as I raised the super/crown board but the intial attack was fierce for about 30 seconds before they settled down.
As I said.... strange day.