What did you do in the Apiary today?

[North End Bees]

I think there must be a nest in the woods behind me, hornets have been regular visitors to the garden for a few years, but this year there's been loads - mooching around the stored wet supers or the stack of nucs I have left with frames of stores in

I've also seen loads more EH this year than in previous years. Seems to be a surge year generally.

 

[Goran]

European hornets.. here at us also evident drop in their numbers this year ( same as wasps). But last year they were systematically destroying beside bees all of our grapes, apples, plums, etc..
I like to see them far away from me, or more to say far far far away..
Once before I started to prevent to menace the colonies, I can count 20-40 at same time hoovering around hives ( and having data that each one hornet kill some 70ish bees every day) they have real trouble hoovering any more in such numbers around my colonies.. I am not keeping bees to feed the hornet colonies..

 

[pargyle]

Put the clearer boards on Friday evening - they hadn't cleared by yesterday ... discovered a couple of frames of brood in one super and so put it under the clearer board (I don't use queen excluders - it's the first time I've had brood in a super this late in the season). Mostly cleared by this afternoon but still a load of bees in one super on another hive - found another small patch of brood I had missed ! Cleared what was left by hand - bees very well mannered considering the thundery, overcast, weather and I've stacked all the supers in the workshop/honey room ready to process tomorrow and Tuesday. Put feeders on all of the hives as not as heavy as I would like and I've now got two 14 x 12 boxes going into winter as brood + a super. Not a situation I've had before so we'll see how that goes.

Honey crop ? Less than average this year for me - better than I thought it was going to be a couple of weeks ago, they have capped a lot more off and filled a few more frames - enough for me but not the greatest year. It's beekeeping - isn't it ?

All colonies looking very healthy and hives absolutely stuffed with bees. I was going to do some sugar rolls after taking the supers off to check the mite levels but the weather was closing in and I was running out of time and called it a day whilst I was still ahead..

Now, I'm a non-treater ... never have treated - although I like to know my colonies are low in mite numbers at this stage - but, I don't really want to disturb them any more with sugar rolls now going into a key period ready for winter. The last sugar rolls I did were in July and they were low counts but I would normally do another when I take the supers off around August Bank Holiday - but, I'm late, very late, this year taking the supers off because of the weather.

So am I going to be forgiven for doing an OA Vape to force the mite drop and see what comes out ? Does it meet my non-treatment principles ? Is it treatment or it checking for varroa ? I will have couple of sleepless nights pondering on this.

 

[Erichalfbee]

So am I going to be forgiven for doing an OA Vape to force the mite drop and see what comes out ? Does it meet my non-treatment principles ? Is it treatment or it checking for varroa ? I will have couple of sleepless nights pondering on this.

Stop pondering
It's an accelerated drop. As a treatment a one off would be useless anyway so it's an oxalic roll

 

[pargyle]

Stop pondering
It's an accelerated drop. As a treatment a one off would be useless anyway so it's an oxalic roll

Yes ... but it's the thin edge of the wedge ...I'm still wrestling with it !

 

[Erichalfbee]

Yes ... but it's the thin edge of the wedge ...I'm still wrestling with it !

OK
In all the years you have been doing sugar rolls have any of them caused you to treat? No
So throw another log on the fire and do one in spring.
How are your adopted colonies, by the way?

 

[Moobee]

Yesterday went round most hives, some vaped and apivar into nucs which all had a feed. Feeding honey back to some colonies to clear out part filled shallows, heather much less successful than I'd hoped but clearers on so might have a box or two overall. Might split a couple of the less friendly colonies between the nucs to boost number's before winter. Trialling one colony on double brood this winter, will be interested to see how they get on.

How are you planning to over winter the double brood? I've got one hive on DB and don't know if I should just leave them to it?

 

[Wilco]

How are you planning to over winter the double brood? I've got one hive on DB and don't know if I should just leave them to it?

I'm not sure whether to dummy down or not TBH. They have been backfilling well so far. On a solid floor. I'm a complete beginner at the double brood approach so haven't really got further than that. I use top insulation on pretty much everything though.

 

[Swarm]

They will do fine in double brood, probably won't need feeding.

 

[Moobee]

I'm not sure whether to dummy down or not TBH. They have been backfilling well so far. On a solid floor. I'm a complete beginner at the double brood approach so haven't really got further than that. I use top insulation on pretty much everything though.

Likewise, mine are heavy although i've pretty much left them alone since the end of August when I checked all ok (Q+ & 11 frames of brood - 8 in the top box and plenty of stores, including a super!). These are my last hive on an OMF (plan to move them to UFE in Spring) so I guess they will all just move up to the top box eventually as it gets colder although temperatures here don't drop as much as inland.

 

[Wilco]

Likewise, mine are heavy although i've pretty much left them alone since the end of August when I checked all ok (Q+ & 11 frames of brood - 8 in the top box and plenty of stores, including a super!). These are my last hive on an OMF (plan to move them to UFE in Spring) so I guess they will all just move up to the top box eventually as it gets colder although temperatures here don't drop as much as inland.

I'm using clear cover boards on most hives and these are no exception. Are you going to use solid UFEs then?

Especially if it's a mild winter I'd want to be very careful about varroa levels recovering in a big colony.

 

[pargyle]

OK
In all the years you have been doing sugar rolls have any of them caused you to treat? No
So throw another log on the fire and do one in spring.
How are your adopted colonies, by the way?

One still going but it's not done much this season in honey terms, never had high varroa levels but they have only produced a few frames of honey although it's a decent sized colony and healthy. The other one was one of the colonies that dwindled after winter and disappeared ... leaving loads of stores in the hive and not a single bee, dead or alive - a Marie Celeste. I assumed queen failure and what was left joined another colony.

 

[Nannysbees]

How are you planning to over winter the double brood? I've got one hive on DB and don't know if I should just leave them to it?

We are going to leave 2 colonies on double brood this year and three on single, each will be covered in recticil and a square with a removable piece for the fondant in the lid

 

[Nannysbees]

Hives were picking up with weight but after the deluge of rain over the past week and looks like more to come they have lost weight. Just put feeders on all five hives. Comparing to last year's notes they were much heavier than this year

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

continue the treatment round - Gelli and Ty Uchaf today, glorious in the sunshine this afternoon, bees piling in the ivy pollen

 

[Moobee]

I'm using clear cover boards on most hives and these are no exception. Are you going to use solid UFEs then?

Especially if it's a mild winter I'd want to be very careful about varroa levels recovering in a big colony.

I’m debating whether to use solid UFEs or mesh ones (all my others are mesh) - particularly with the threat of AHs….
I like clear cover boards as I can peek & see how they’re doing without letting all the heat out.
Just on the second round of Apiguard in the colonies & will OA vape in late December.

 

[elainemary]

A moment of ‘Zen’ in my other out apiary after the sept flow of balsam. This apiary has v little varroa, v calm bees, loads of stores, with young queens doing well, capped brood, ready for winter

 

[elainemary]

continue the treatment round - Gelli and Ty Uchaf today, glorious in the sunshine this afternoon, bees piling in the ivy pollen

Ivy nowhere near out ‘up north’. Piling in the balsam pollen instead, in the sunshine (last week)

 

[Erichalfbee]

@elainemary
Now that's a frame any black bee would be proud of....lovely

 

[Nannysbees]

Four rounds of oxalic vaping may do a fifth?