What did you do in the Apiary today?

[pargyle]

You can store several shallows in it for the rest of the year when they're not on the hives post extraction. That way it will only occupy marginally more space than you currently use.

yes .. I get that but ...I store my supers out of season in couple of Keter Maxi storage containers like this:

https://princegb.com/products/keter...V2G6HXRJ5okuUIlVI5y9kwoYegTT9GBwNQ-AhRWieRx-M

and there's not a lot of space around the two sacks of supers front to back -space side to side where I store my clearer boards and spare crownboards but it would be a bit tight for a box.

 

[Nannysbees]

Full inspection yesterday. All looking really good. One of the colonies on a double brood and two supers absolutely packed, I don't think we've had a colony so big. The hive which we left to their own devices after killing a bought queen which we put a test frame in and they raised quite a few cells were very calm, we spotted a beautiful blonde mated queen. As a result of us letting them get on with it we caught a swarm from that hive with a mattress queen. Probably not the best thing to do but it worked out well.
Just finished extracting and ended up with 170 jars so absolutely delighted as the supers were dry just a few weeks ago. The honey left in the hive I'll keep for the family

 

[Erichalfbee]

I tend to extract late (last week August) and last year the supers had to be left off the hives for a couple of days and it was a bit chilly when I spun them out. Do you think a warmer like this makes a difference? My honey was a bit slow flowing but the frames spun dry ... is there a benefit warming them prior to spinning ? I was thinking of making something like this as I'm not up to £580 but ... is it worth the time it would take to make one ?

I find warm frames spin better
I’ve just checked the top supers and there’s a heck of a lot of uncapped honey.
I’ll be taking the majority in a couple of weeks. Maybe the drying function may be of more use this year.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

tried to push through the fug of covid and do something constructive - five minutes of strimming around the hives (I could hardly see them in the last month's growth) had me totally wasted for the rest of the morning, had another crack this afternoon, checked a few nucs to confirm they'd mated, although eyesight so blurred, no way I could find and mark the queens. shook out a few failed matings and earmarked two others for when I next have energy. Tried seeing if half a bottle of decent port would put me on the route to recovery. Not sure if it's working, but like after last night's dose of Talisker - I no longer care.

 

[Vanterrier]

Have a virtual Ardbeg on me, see if that helps
K

 

[Moobee]

Full inspection yesterday. All looking really good. One of the colonies on a double brood and two supers absolutely packed, I don't think we've had a colony so big. The hive which we left to their own devices after killing a bought queen which we put a test frame in and they raised quite a few cells were very calm, we spotted a beautiful blonde mated queen. As a result of us letting them get on with it we caught a swarm from that hive with a mattress queen. Probably not the best thing to do but it worked out well.
Just finished extracting and ended up with 170 jars so absolutely delighted as the supers were dry just a few weeks ago. The honey left in the hive I'll keep for the family

I assume a ‘mattress queen’ is a random predictive text amendment??

 

[Erichalfbee]

Just finished extracting and ended up with 170 jars so absolutely delighted

That's great. no wonder you're pleased.
Don't label them unless you're sure you can sell them in a month

 

[Erichalfbee]

Tried seeing if half a bottle of decent port would put me on the route to recovery. Not sure if it's working,

Struth....Emyr!!!
Just got to bed with honey and lemon. Take vitamin D and zinc and sleeeeeeep
You'll have supers to take off in a couple of weeks

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Take vitamin D

never stop taking the stuff, and the proper industrial strength dose

 

[Nannysbees]

I assume a ‘mattress queen’ is a random predictive text amendment??

No glasses?!

 

[lindsay s]

Sorry I haven’t been on the forum for a few months but the season I have had in Orkney had left me absolutely “scunnered” with beekeeping for a while. ( it’s got more than one meaning)
On a positive note my bees have managed to get eight queens mated and laying this year. Something I had given up hope for just a month ago. Five were in nucs that I had made up and three were in full hives. The photo's are of two six frame nucs that I had moved to get mated at a site about 10 miles from home. Although the site is on the side of a small valley, it’s sheltered, there’s plenty of forage and there are other hives nearby.
Yesterday was the first time I had checked them since the queen’s hatched a few weeks ago. Both nucs had three and a half frames of open and sealed brood and were rammed with stores so will be moved home shortly. I am going to resist the temptation to move them into full hives, because they won’t have enough time to build up fully and I don’t want to dummy them down.
As for the season we have had here it’s been like riding a rollercoaster and I have never known anything like it in 40 years of beekeeping. I will leave that for another post!

 

[Curly green finger's]

Moved 8 colony’s early morning 6am to a heather stance on the black mountains

 

[Erichalfbee]

Moved 8 colony’s early morning 6am to a heather stance on the black mountains

What’s it looking like ?

 

[ericbeaumont]

the fug of covid and do something constructive

Same here: three hours constructive work and I'm back home flat out on the sofa with a b&w movie. After tea & b I can usually summon the energy to polish the cat and put the kettle on again. Here he is on a roof put out on the Land Rover to dry.

 

[alancooper]

Having messed around with fan heaters and dehumidifiers for a couple of years I bought one of these
https://www.abelo.co.uk/shop/warming-honey/supers-heater-trolley/

I have a small south facing conservatory which works a treat. For back-up a fan heater helps out on cooler days.

 

[Mint Bee]

Wasps are back in force. lost 2 mating nucs since Saturday when I checked earlier. Fed and shut entrances on the final few down and will put queens into poly nucs later in the week. Good production apiary, but seems to attract shed loads of wasps later in the season, so need to think if I continue with mating there

 

[Erichalfbee]

Check two colonies I was getting twitchy about as I hadn't looked in for two and a half weeks.
One a queen from Laurence that I overwintered in a nuc. No swarm preps and none still
The other made swarm preps last week in June so I tried Pete Littles method which seems to have worked....I'm pleased to say. Queen there and laying. 7 supers on top, most full. Have to get them off next week. I may well do this again if the bees decide to go late.

 

[Amari]

Check two colonies I was getting twitchy about as I hadn't looked in for two and a half weeks.
One a queen from Laurence that I overwintered in a nuc. No swarm preps and none still
The other made swarm preps last week in June so I tried Pete Littles method which seems to have worked....I'm pleased to say. Queen there and laying. 7 supers on top, most full. Have to get them off next week. I may well do this again if the bees decide to go late.

My max is five supers. I find it a pain to clear the bees so that I can take them off and extract. How do you manage to clear seven?

 

[Erichalfbee]

My max is five supers. I find it a pain to clear the bees so that I can take them off and extract. How do you manage to clear seven?

Not all together.
No real option. Nothing much was capped two weeks ago. I’ll take three maybe next week. I have six other colonies with supers on. One with six the others with four and five. If I clear three from each it will take me a while to extract then I can go back for the others.
I’m going to try to clear the really heavy supers off the hive, putting those on a clearer board on the hive stand.

 

[The Poot]

Not all together.
No real option. Nothing much was capped two weeks ago. I’ll take three maybe next week. I have six other colonies with supers on. One with six the others with four and five. If I clear three from each it will take me a while to extract then I can go back for the others.
I’m going to try to clear the really heavy supers off the hive, putting those on a clearer board on the hive stand.

I’ll be interested to know how clearing that way, works out.