What did you do in the Apiary today?

[Antipodes]

Checked the bees in my newest apiary and found another 2 that have gone queenless over the winter, that now makes 5 out of 12 that have done the same at that apiary, my other 2 sites losses are 0/10 and 1/20.
This is the first winter the bees have spent on this new site,in theory it looks like the perfect site but there's a BIG mobile phone mast just 30m from the bees, could this be the reason for the queen losses?

When did they last have a laying queen?

 

[Moobee]

I've checked all my hives in the last week. A few were a bit light (mostly nucs) but all are alive at the moment - except for the mini nuc colony that I had overlooked at the end of summer. It seemed very vigorous so I made a PIR cosy and topped up their fondant. Unfortunately, they've recently starved. Most of the bees had not decomposed at all so I might have been just a week or two too late with the fondant top up. However, I can't see a queen among the dead bees so perhaps she was already gone.

View attachment 42181

It looks like a lot of the bees have been chewed up?

 

[Parsonage Bees]

17degC sunny so I checked the stores in the top box of all 5. Meant to check just a couple with highest weight drop but once you get started . ..
One needed feeding, capped brood and eggs up under the crownboard.
One is rustling. Lost the queen? or maybe they're fanning what looks like nectar! No clue where they've found this. Weight of hive still dropping tho'. ?

 

[Newbeeneil]

17degC sunny so I checked the stores in the top box of all 5. Meant to check just a couple with highest weight drop but once you get started . ..
One needed feeding, capped brood and eggs up under the crownboard.
One is rustling. Lost the queen? or maybe they're fanning what looks like nectar! No clue where they've found this. Weight of hive still dropping tho'. ?

View attachment 42208

 

[Newbeeneil]

17degC sunny so I checked the stores in the top box of all 5. Meant to check just a couple with highest weight drop but once you get started . ..
One needed feeding, capped brood and eggs up under the crownboard.
One is rustling. Lost the queen? or maybe they're fanning what looks like nectar! No clue where they've found this. Weight of hive still dropping tho'. ?

View attachment 42208

I looked at some of mine during the week and was surprised that many had quite a bit of nectar in the combs.

 

[gregior]

When did they last have a laying queen?

they had good laying queens in early september last year, that was the last time I inspected them.

 

[Parsonage Bees]

I looked at some of mine during the week and was surprised that many had quite a bit of nectar in the combs.

Someone suggested that having eaten out the middle of that frame the queen hasn't moved up and laid in it suggesting they're queenless. Not doing a full inspection till April probably so time will tell. She's the old lady of the apiary, they tried to supercede her last autumn already.
Snowdrops are over and can't think where they're finding nectar but I'm in a village, they could be dropping into gardens about. Cherry plum flowering tho' as I think of it.

 

[Murox]

Balmy 14degrees this afternoon, had a surprise at the farm with a hive I suspected was dead apparently busy. Might well be robbery of course, I'll see when I inspect it in a few weeks time.
Pollen going in one hive headed by a last summers Northumberland black queen , others all making the most of the sun.

 

[Wilco]

Blackthorn starting to flower in places.