What did you do in the Apiary today?

[BeeKeyPlayer]

I have never heard of anyone putting QE's between nadired shallows and brood boxes, Where on earth did you pick that nugget up? If you had any drones left in there the dead would have been carpetting the excluders

I'd better not say now

But there wasn't a single drone, so either they were all gone by the time I'd put the QEs in or the bees quartered them for removal.

 

[drex]

I let the bees tell me. They naturally put stores above the brood. So if I want to give them stores etc, I put it above the brood. In your situation if you had put it on top and queen laid in it, all you would have to do is ensure queen is in BB, then put QE between BB and super and just let the brood in the super" hatch".
If I have a part full super of stores I wishe to feed the bees, I put on a crown board, with holes only just open, put super on top of that, and let them Rob the super out and pack the stores around the brood nest, where I would want it. Never have a QE in the hive over winter.

 

[Erichalfbee]

Vaped all the hives in record time.
New toy is a great bit of kit.
I think I might need a full mask though.

 

[Superlativesoul]

Vaped all the hives in record time.
New toy is a great bit of kit.
I think I might need a full mask though.

I aim to do my 2 hives on Dec 21 ,would a single vape be sufficient, I bought my gas vape at honey show .As you have done yours now is that a single one ,or the first of 4/5 .
John.

 

[Erichalfbee]

I aim to do my 2 hives on Dec 21 ,would a single vape be sufficient, I bought my gas vape at honey show .As you have done yours now is that a single one ,or the first of 4/5 .
John.

Looking at inspection board I think there is little or no brood in the colonies so it will be just the one.
I think by End December mine will be brooding.

 

[The Poot]

Looking at inspection board I think there is little or no brood in the colonies so it will be just the one.
I think by End December mine will be brooding.

Why do you think that Dani? Is it related to the mild weather?
I have the impression mine are getting through stores quicker than in yer average November….

 

[Curly green finger's]

I vaped 12 colony’s today no brood capings for 9 days . end of this week and next I’ll be vaping all which takes me 4/5 days.
The weather was 8c today ideal temp

 

[Curly green finger's]

.

 

[Erichalfbee]

Why do you think that Dani? Is it related to the mild weather?
I have the impression mine are getting through stores quicker than in yer average November….

I don't think it's as simple as mild weather. Rain has kept the bees in largely for a good few weeks. Ivy is well over and there is nothing to forage on. No point in raising brood. By the end of December they will be thinking of spring as the days start to lengthen...imperceptibly for us but who knows about bees?

 

[The Poot]

I don't think it's as simple as mild weather. Rain has kept the bees in largely for a good few weeks. Ivy is well over and there is nothing to forage on. No point in raising brood. By the end of December they will be thinking of spring as the days start to lengthen...imperceptibly for us but who knows about bees?

Cor blimey guv! It doesn’t seem real that we’re only a month away from the solstice!
I see your point. I understood that brooding normally gets under way through January, in small amounts, as the days lengthen, so perhaps it’ll be a little earlier this time around.

 

[Murox]

I've been vapping mine today and yesterday, as already been said they have been stuck in the hives with poor weather and there was no evidence of brood looking at the inspection trays of those that have them.

 

[BeeKeyPlayer]

I let the bees tell me. They naturally put stores above the brood. So if I want to give them stores etc, I put it above the brood. In your situation if you had put it on top and queen laid in it, all you would have to do is ensure queen is in BB, then put QE between BB and super and just let the brood in the super" hatch".
If I have a part full super of stores I wishe to feed the bees, I put on a crown board, with holes only just open, put super on top of that, and let them Rob the super out and pack the stores around the brood nest, where I would want it. Never have a QE in the hive over winter.

Thanks. I've heard of putting a part filled super above the crown board with a very small entry point. I'll try it next season. Thanks for the reminder.

 

[Erichalfbee]

Thanks. I've heard of putting a part filled super above the crown board with a very small entry point. I'll try it next season. Thanks for the reminder.

A decent spacer helps too. I put an empty super between the crown board and the stores to take down. Works most of the time.....but not always. I have one colony with a nadired shallow this winter

 

[rolande]

Cor blimey guv! It doesn’t seem real that we’re only a month away from the solstice!
I see your point. I understood that brooding normally gets under way through January, in small amounts, as the days lengthen, so perhaps it’ll be a little earlier this time around.

@The Poot, this may be of interest to you as we're geographically close. Some time back I chose a handful of colonies at random in the autumn and opened them when opportunity allowed through the winter. This for a few years. Not the best practice but surprisingly the guaranteed disaster never befell the bees or myself. During that time the only consistent period I found colonies broodless was early January for a couple of weeks, sometimes this would be extended but always as the result of eggs which *had* been laid being eaten.

 

[The Poot]

@The Poot, this may be of interest to you as we're geographically close. Some time back I chose a handful of colonies at random in the autumn and opened them when opportunity allowed through the winter. This for a few years. Not the best practice but surprisingly the guaranteed disaster never befell the bees or myself. During that time the only consistent period I found colonies broodless was early January for a couple of weeks, sometimes this would be extended but always as the result of eggs which *had* been laid being eaten.

That’s interesting and reassuring @rolande. I normally carry out the Winter vape between Christmas and the New Year, or the first week of January, on a day that is relatively mild, assuming the bees would be less tight clustered.
(Will I see you at the D&W Asian Hornet meeting next week?)

 

[drex]

Have a look at The Apiarist 's blog this week.
https://theapiarist.org/is-it-time-for-oxalic-acid/#more-15627All to do with OA vape.
He believes ( in Scotland) his colonies are broodless about now.
I am in Devon and based on my evidence am doing mine today

 

[rolande]

That’s interesting and reassuring @rolande. I normally carry out the Winter vape between Christmas and the New Year, or the first week of January, on a day that is relatively mild, assuming the bees would be less tight clustered.
(Will I see you at the D&W Asian Hornet meeting next week?)

Yes, I do plan to be there.

 

[Moobee]

Checked on the out apiary hives this morning as weather was dry and bright and not windy for a change.
Three hives had a good strong cluster of bees and had mostly munched through two takeaway trays of fondant so added three more each.
Two hives had dwindled to a small handful of bees and were under the fondant which was hardly touched.
All were in similar positions last month - lots of bees, all left a super of honey, brood boxes with plenty of stores, Apiguard treatments done early September and a couple of blocks of fondant for insurance.
Can only put it down to possible queen failure maybe?

 

[Newbeeneil]

Had to try and extract some honey that had been off the hive for about 2 months and was just starting to thicken in the comb.
I tried the first super but due to the viscosity it was not very successful so decided to warm the supers in my non patented (Argyle industries take note) super warmer!
After about 20 mins in the warmer the honey came out of the frames much easier.


There is a 400 watt fan heater in the bottom section with a computer fan which blows warm air into the empty supers on the right hand side. The air then circulates down through the full supers on the left hand side to then be recirculated up the right hand side.
There is a temperature sensor in the supers on the right hand side which I set at approx. 35C .
When I originally used this a couple of years ago I had full supers both sides but the heater was too powerful and melted the frames on the right side. By having the right side empty the powerful blast from the heater is not directly hitting the frames.

 

[BeeKeyPlayer]

Had to try and extract some honey that had been off the hive for about 2 months and was just starting to thicken in the comb.
I tried the first super but due to the viscosity it was not very successful so decided to warm the supers in my non patented (Argyle industries take note) super warmer!
After about 20 mins in the warmer the honey came out of the frames much easier.

View attachment 38203
There is a 400 watt fan heater in the bottom section with a computer fan which blows warm air into the empty supers on the right hand side. The air then circulates down through the full supers on the left hand side to then be recirculated up the right hand side.
There is a temperature sensor in the supers on the right hand side which I set at approx. 35C .
When I originally used this a couple of years ago I had full supers both sides but the heater was too powerful and melted the frames on the right side. By having the right side empty the powerful blast from the heater is not directly hitting the frames.

Looks good. I don't quite get the different functions of the two fans.