What did you do in the Apiary today?

[psafloyd]

you should not accept bees from a man who likes a number 34 Bus

WE need to get a local queen rearing group going to provide a less smarmy bee than the area now seems to have. what's happpneg is that the more swarmy bees are increasing as the swarms and castes are being rehoused and the % of swarmy hives are increasing and so are swarmy drones

Might it not also be that there are more inexperienced beeks failing to do their AS in good time and resulting in swarms?

[Guilty as charged ]

 

[nosmoking]

TBH swarmed at 10-15 this morning, again! Opened up hive and it was a mess! Loads of bees though even while they were swarming. Clustering on outside they eventually came back in. Noticed what I think is a Queen cell. (Pics sent to forum member for confirmation) Gave them more room and tidied up the broken comb and then another one broke off, great. National hive all quiet and looking good. Took 2 minutes to inspect not, like TBH! I am going to have reconsider the TBH route me thinks. Ordered another national hive as well.

 

[Shabro]

had a quick check on a cast I collected, unsure really what to do with it, as it is quite small, maybe only covering 1 1/2 frames, I have dummy boarded it to 4 frames but I wont hold my breath

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Checked the two home hives - bees have been at it hammer and tongs since early morning - both hives on eight frames of brood and stores now building.
I'd heard that someone had bought some land forther up the mountain (opposite one of my fields where I planned to put bees eventually) spoke to his nephew today and was shown the apiary. Did his basic beekeeping course last season and has gone out and bought 24 colonies (or nucs, i'm not sure) - impressive two ranks of pristine cedar nationals. I noticed a pile of dead bees here and there and he'd only started feeding in time as they were almost starving (foraging has been hard the last month with us) Hope to meet his uncle tomorrow as we are neighbours.
The lad commented ' he didn't realise how much work bekeeping was.
Spent the rest of the day making bait hives

 

[Silly Bee]

Got to the allotment at 8 O'clock this morning and a swarm was drifting across the plots. It drifted about 100 yrds and then I lost sight of it.

(not one of mine)

Hived a swarm I took yesterday.

 

[george]

Had a call from a local Golf Club who had bees 'swarming' round a hole in a tree 25ft up . Not too much of a problem normally but they had Andy Murray playing in a match there and the spectator seating was built about 10 feet from the entrance to the nest .
By the time I arrived the orientation flights had subsided and I was able to convince them that no one was likely to get attacked and they should sit everyone as normal . The only concession was the camera man who locked his camera off in a fixed position and came down and sat at a safe distance(wearing my suit) .
So , no swarm , no celebrity spotting and no bees harmed during the making of the programme .
G

 

[dickndoris]

Collected a small cast swarm last night in the centre of York so spent the evening while waiting for them to warm to their cardboard box, making a quick knock together 5 frame 14x12 nuc as I have run out of equipment with so many swarms this year! Only 2 mine;-) I have 2 hives made up of a standard brood box with a super on the bottom with 14x12 frames in. Out before 6 this morning to cover up the cardboard box as IT'S RAINING again:-( Will try and get them in their new nuc today after work if the rain stops. Sighhh.....

 

[blackcavebees]

It's poxy raining again! Lemon grass oil arrived from eb*y for my newly constructed bait hive. Tidy up round hive with rake, prayed for sunny weather, made up some frames.

On the bright side, nights are getting shorter :-(

 

[BILL.HEARD]

Might as well go for a swim, not much else to do in this weather.

 

[MJBee]

Scout bees have been showing an interest in a 2 box Warre hive I had by the garage. LOTS of bees there yesterday - yep swarm (not mine) has moved in

Either they have been doing a bit of pre-move diy or they have been there a while because when I tilted the boxes the top one has 7 frames with comb right to the bottom of the upper box.

 

[For want of a better word]

WE need to get a local queen rearing group going to provide a less smarmy bee than the area now seems to have. what's happpneg is that the more swarmy bees are increasing as the swarms and castes are being rehoused and the % of swarmy hives are increasing and so are swarmy drones

I SO agree!
Checked the AMM queen rearing cell bar ... 5 set out of 14.
Set up a Q- 1/2 AS ready for dronless bees for mating nucs to be collected tomorrow

What a difference between the non swarmy gentle AMMs and the Nasty bitches of Carnolians ? BuckSpinfasts at the naughty girls apiary.... I know the weather is not at all nice... but I was followed all the way to The Coachhouse in Kellywick!

 

[susbees]

Got through - I'm told - 24 hives yesterday with 20yo daughter. Bees happy mostly, stores a bit tight in some. Completed combines off the worst hive (bad followers and way too flightly) and its AS to hopefully give two powerhouses for our amazing summer honey crop: fog's just clearing as I speak and that's up the hill

Going to build half a dozen up for the heather (which will be cr*p this year as excellent last but we're too far away by about three miles...).

Wonder what state the hives in the out apiary are in and need to move some bees to the other one. No chance today or tomorrow

Collected biggish cast and smallish cast - first neatly boxed by householder and second in the most manicured large holly topiary job on the planet in the last 24h and passed on another two calls.

 

[Sir Quej]

Yesterday was my first weekly inspection of my new bees. I transferred them from my NUc last week and this week was my first inspection. I have to admit that I have been champing at the bit to get at them...lol

I have also spent all week worrying about them and boring my work colleagues to death about them...

First inspection went well (I think). No obvious signs of disease (a little chalk brood but not much), queen present, capped brood, eggs, uncapped lava, capped honey stores, pollen, nectar and new foundation being drawn out.

All in all, I think i saw everything that i should see (maybe someone might point out additional stuff to look out for).

Am well chuffed and cant wait until next week now....

 

[Essexgary]

Yesterday was my first weekly inspection of my new bees. I transferred them from my NUc last week and this week was my first inspection. I have to admit that I have been champing at the bit to get at them...lol

I have also spent all week worrying about them and boring my work colleagues to death about them...

First inspection went well (I think). No obvious signs of disease (a little chalk brood but not much), queen present, capped brood, eggs, uncapped lava, capped honey stores, pollen, nectar and new foundation being drawn out.

All in all, I think i saw everything that i should see (maybe someone might point out additional stuff to look out for).

Am well chuffed and cant wait until next week now....

Hi Sir Quej, congrats on your first inspection! if it helps, I always have this at the back of my mind which helps to keep me focussed - otherwise I just tend to stare at them pointlessley. So, the 5 things I look out for on a standard inspection are:

1) Food
2) Space
3) Queen-right
4) Disease
5) Swarm signs

Hope that helps, sounds like you ticked most of them!

Gary

 

[alysonmaria]

Checked new colony

Today I checked my first colony which arrived on Monday evening (Thanks New Bee 2). Full colony on 12 x 14 deep brood box, which I added a super to. The bees all seem very quiet and well behaved-was told they were good temperament, saw the queen, lots of sealed brood and stores, but there were so many bees over the frames I couldn't see any eggs today. Wondered whether to brush them off but as it was my first inspection I didn't want to do anything to upset them. Then it started raining so closed the hive up. None of the bees have moved up into the super yet-is this normal?
Will check them again on Sunday (can't wait-so excited) then weekly.

 

[Poggle]

Had the delightful Kevin Pope out doing my bee inspection today. And they passed I have a bit of a Varroa problem that I am addressing anyway and I will be feeding the hive 2:1 suger and water syrup from tomorrow when this infernal rain stops!!!

 

[YorkshireBees]

Managed, yesterday after work, to get to the last of my hives overdue an inspection. Checked it, all going strong and demareed it.

Just finished the hive and saw really dark clouds approaching so raced back to home apiary as I had promised to cut the grass (12-16inches long) round the 2 hives I have there. Got wet cutting the grass but I probably didn't need to wear the suit as they were not interested to come out of the hives in that weather!

 

[Queens59]

Stood in teh rain with the dog - watching bees coming and going...why do they fly in rain?

 

[MuswellMetro]

The picture says it all

 

[Swarm]

Scrumping again? You'll get caught one day