What did you do in the Apiary today?

[psafloyd]

Forgot to say that yesterday I tipped out what remained of a colony that used to have a DLQ and only laying workers now.

Wasn't more than a cup left and I needed the space. Had I been In more recently, I would have got shot before.

 

[drex]

Was surprised to find 3 ripe queen cells in one AS I had done.

Pulled one and let her loose in the hive ( no further queen cells). Caged the other two virgins. One was put into a Q- hive, and the other I used to make up a nuc, which with a chop and crop, I used to start off my KTBH.

First time I have pulled any queens, and the 2 caged virgins were quite happy in my top pocket for a couple of hours, until I had gone through my hives to assess the most needy.

All tips picked up from this forum

 

[REDWOOD]

Still no honey but colonies are expanding at last, temp 17c and lots of bees bringing in loads of yellow and orange pollen, the free seeds I planted 10 days ago are sprouting, hawthorn still not flowering but fields of buttercups

 

[DarynWebb]

moved a prime swarm to there new home at the apiary

 

[tonybloke]

mowed the lawn in front of the hives

 

[Jimmy]

Inspected three hives and two nucs.
Nucs were split off from parent hive in late April and a NZ carniolan Q in a Q cage given to each. One has a laying Q, other has empty Q cells with no bias. Guess the bought in Q wasn't accepted.
First hive - evil temper, pingy but not stinging. Multiple Q cells, so performed AS. Brood that is present good, very little drone brood and plenty of space for laying and for storing nectar.
Q found very easily so left on original site with 1 frame brood and foundation. Hive currently has 6 supers , so hoping that the upturn in the weather will see them fill and cap most of them. I guess currently half are full.

Second hive - again multiple QC all sealed, sealed brood only. Was going through aiming to knock down QC to one only when noticed one had already been opened. Opened one to see and out scampered a virgin Q. Continued to remove QC but reserved a couple for making up two mating nucs with a cupful of bees and a sealed QC each.

Third hive - 2009 q who has reached the end of the road over the winter and is now a DLQ. Dwindling, sorry looking hive with chalk brood and not much else.


All my hives (above + 2 others at another site) with 2011 Qs and plenty of space have either swarmed during the bad weather or are well on the road to swarm.
Strange year!

 

[Polyanwood]

Clipped and marked some queens. Put more Neopoll and syrup on the collected swarms. Put some of the Hivemaker thymol oasis on a couple of broodless colonies and tried the Lemon juice treatment on some others @Ihatevarroa.com

 

[Queens59]

My bees happy and busy - and called out to a play swarm...which had the BIGGEST drones I have ever seen! Might lead to another call as the home-owner has 3 v tall 500 year old chimneys full of bees and swarm each year Her 'usual' collector has said he has too many hives - so I may be in...until we move

 

[YorkshireBees]

Yesterday, after having no chance on Saturday to inspect due to the weather, I managed to check just over half of my hives. I would have probably managed the lot but it seems poly hives also act as bait hives (even when they are already populated!).

 

[Chris Luck]

Chris

 

[Pete D]

Busy weekend.......... done inspections on my 3 14x12 colonies at the seed farm who are currently working hedgerows and OSR when conditions allow. Small colony no issue except they have been on 4 frames of brood only for about a month now. She doesnt seem to be a productive queen and is earmarked for replacement when I have a spare.
Other 2 hives have 7 and 8 frames respectfully and I am amazed at how much of the frame has brood in it, talking full frame right up to the corners, bugger all room for anything else, just brood and more brood. Both also had couple of frames of pollen and then a bit of stores. Both also had a super 70% full and another, that I put on last week under existing one, about 30% full. They also both had queen cells, one which had maybe 8 - 10 charged with larvae present which I took to be swarm cells, the other just 3 all together on one frame in the middle which I took to be supercedeure, again charged and larvae present. I saw both queens.
AS them both. The one which maybe supercedeure I have left all 3 cells as I want them capped as she is by far the most prolific and her offspring the most friendliest, once capped I want to split these again.
Other hives at other locations checked and ok at present but showing signs of swarming readiness....... just waiting for the weather me thinks........
Mowed and strimmed all the grass at home apiary at 8.30 wearing bee suit, had to be done as recent holidays and rain meant it was very long indeed.
Set up my solar wax melter as sunshine is on the way....

 

[drstitson]

checked colonies - looking to have a couple of supers of acacia honey.

colony that i found 4 open QCs in fortnight ago (obviously swarmed a week previously and 10 days ago threw a cast) now has a nice rosette of open and sealed brood on a couple of frames. so survivor must have already been mated and laying when i looked through last weekend.

queens in mini-nucs all present and correct. no brood yet.

 

[Poly Hive]

I have no idea where this idea comes from but it is wrong.

Either a colony is in swarm mode or supercedure mode.

They cannot be in the two at the same time.

PH

 

[nosmoking]

Inspected swarm nuc. Looking good. Capped worker brood and lots of bees. Top bar hive not so good. Although there's loads of bees I had to shut them up before I got to any brood. They were too feisty. Cross comb and now some more broken comb. What a 'bloomin mess! I don't think they've got the hang of a tbh ! Got my first sting on my finger, thankfully through my glove so only painful for a minute or 2. Now considering a national hive!

 

[Chris Luck]

So you don't think they have got the hang of a TBH eh?

Chris

 

[Shabro]

inspected a nuc that I hived a while back and it has at last started to draw more comb out on foundation, lots of brood at various stages and bringing lots in, i'm very happy with this one at the moment, HM has pulled her socks up

 

[YorkshireBees]

Got round a few more hives, all doing well.

Demaree'd one more hive, the Queen was playing hide + seek with me, took me twice thru the frames to find her and she IS marked!

Anyway finished about 9pm by taking the swarm I got into a poly nuc yesterday to the other out apiary.

Remind me why I do all this again!!!???

Ah yes for this....

 

[Black Comb]

Up at 4.00 to move hive which is currently queenless ( almost certainly a virgin waiting to mated)
Not a good time to move but had no choice. A very large hive which has been reasonably docile for 2 years in the garden.
Started chasing wife, son neighbours etc.
Ultimatum was issued so I had to act.

 

[Polyanwood]

Hived two more cast swarms from the N7 feral colony. Must have been a monster originally. They were as big as footballs. Now has thrown off 1 prime and 3 casts.

 

[Poggle]

Was down at my hive at 7am. I had made a new landing stage etc for them so, put that on the new blocks, applogised most profusely to the girls as I moved the hive 18 inch to the left. Had a very quick look under the lid and they seem to be doing well. Didn't want to take it apart to look for brood etc at that time of the morning. The poor dears were still half asleep........