What did you do in the Apiary today?

[MuswellMetro]

Inspected 3 hives all doing well fitted a 3rd super on one and if the blackberry and lime perform this year hope to get 100lbs of this hive, not bad for a single national in starving Greater London

going that way on one or two that i managed to keep in the box , but those that i AS early or swarmed are poor

looked at my requeening nucs and added emerging brood to bolster the nurse bees on one as they are not happy with her

on another requeening nuc i added a half super as not yet ready to combine as i have not found the stale queen, i will sieve them on a warmer day

AND checked the swarm 14x12 nucs...a large one had absconded, it was a B&&*stard to get in the nuc as i took it too early...you win some and loose others ( i wonder were it has settled)

 

[Salamagundy]

well done

Yes well done Salamagundy perhaps now a regular event at your holiday cottage.

Many thanks for your kind comments!

 

[george]

Saturday morning a very nice couple who use this forum came and collected a 5 frame nuc for their garden . No money changed hands , just did a swap for frames and foundation.
This morning i am loading up 120lbs of honey in buckets for a different member to collect as he is honeyless at the moment .

Threw a super on everything else on saturday to give them some space , they all seem to be catching up now after the lousy start to the season . 3 supers on most 4 on a few but only 2 are full they need the extra room to process it all .
12 deg here and blowing so no real bekeeping today .
G

 

[scuttlefish]

Had a quick check of the BBs for queen cells - all clear thankfully, bar a couple of empty play cups in my older hive. Added super to one and went tsk tsk at the number of broken lugs on the brood frames in a hived swarm I bought recently (but then the guy I got it from did make clear that it was originally a bait hive with a couple of very old frames in it!).

Next visit is probably going to be more about gardening than beekeeping, it's getting a bit overgrown in there! A week of forecast rain means I'm probably not going to have to add any supers next time either

 

[Swarm]

What are supers?

 

[Dilligaf]

Took my first 6 frames from my WBC as I only have 2 supers at the moment and one was nearly full. Just extracted my first 10lb of real honey.
There is a fresh loaf in the breadmaker now and as that comes out, the coffee machine goes on ready for a spot of indulgence.

 

[dpearce4]

Put clearer boards on 5 hives, clearing 6 full supers, made up 6 supers of foundation to add to the stack waiting to go on at the weekend if weather improves. not sure i still have enough supers with 37 for 20 colonies have a feeling i will be doing more extracting at the end of june.

 

[scuttlefish]

What are supers?

Taking that at face value - the shallow boxes which go on top of the brood chamber for honey storage.

 

[Drew]

Taking that at face value - the shallow boxes which go on top of the brood chamber for honey storage.

Woosh...........



















A long way












Scuttlefish's head....


That is a picture of irony passing a long way over your head!

Sorry ;-) couldn't resist.

 

[Luminos]

Woosh...........



















A long way












Scuttlefish's head....


That is a picture of irony passing a long way over your head!

Sorry ;-) couldn't resist.

Well of course it would be a long way. He's in Tipperary

 

[scuttlefish]

Woosh...........


Scuttlefish's head....


That is a picture of irony passing a long way over your head!

Sorry ;-) couldn't resist.

No. Really?

 

[Drew]

Well of course it would be a long way. He's in Tipperary

Boom Tish!!!

 

[Jimmy]

Transferred a 5 frame nuc to a full size hive
DLQ in a 2nd nuc
Left an evil colony for a warmer better flying day
Looked in vain for eggs in a hive that swarmed around May 6/7th
Found eggs in a swarm hived on 21st May
No eggs in q- half of an AS carried out on 20th May though early days yet.

All hives have plenty of stores with a fair amount in the supers but precious little capped and ready to extract.

 

[susbees]

Taking that at face value - the shallow boxes which go on top of the brood chamber for honey storage.

Often written soupers and suppers on here. But supers it is

 

[FreeFall]

.
Put in the porter escapes yesterday, in readiness to take off my very first full super of capped honey today. Lashing down with rain so far though, hoping it will clear up this evening (and that the porter escapes work!).


-

 

[abi-e]

transfered a nuc box into a brood box as they were expanding nicely and clearly have a laying queen as there are eggs and larvae. Checked the little swarm hived on Friday and they have a laying queen - evidence of eggs so very pleased with that. Then inspected the hive the nuc came from as a split. They appear to be queenless - no eggs, no larvae and bad tempered to boot, but choc full of stores. I shall wait until a warmer flying day and try and get a clearer board in and give them a test frame of eggs and larvae from the split and see what they do.

 

[pigletwillie]

I also transfered a nuc into a brood box, lots of brood and eggs present, lots of stores and they were nearly finished drawing out the last frame. As its my first colony and indeed first transfer Iwas a little anxious but it all went well.

 

[Beemad06]

Was it one of your hives that swarmed or have you found a fresh swarm of bees.

 

[abi-e]

It was a fresh (but very small) swarm - One of the farmers a few fields away had moved the trunk of a long dead willow tree - I think they originated from there - definitely not from my hives as they are a much yellower bee and I have none in a state to swarm.

 

[Polyanwood]

Another artificial swarm.
Burnt the old frames from Bailey frame change.
For the first time cut part of the leg of a queen when clipping her, so had to squish her, boo hoo!