What did you do in the Apiary today?

[oliver90owner]

Checked out four of five in our 'garden'.

The 'hurried' unite from last year is reasonable; the adjacent colony donated a frame of emerging brood to help it on it's way and was supered with eleven frames of drawn comb.

The other two were smallish, but getting into gear; each were likely choices for uniting last autumn. Don't think I will unite now as both colonies have a good compact laying pattern and the bees were well behaved, but they might yet get some bees from the final one (not checked as I failed to take a posi-drive screwdriver with me, to remove the lid).

RAB

 

[TOBY-3652]

Made some new dn4 and sn4 frames and transfered a colony that i bought yesterday into my hive {was supposed to be a nuc but because he liked me he gave me one of his colonies**

 

[MrB]

Made room for 2nd colony! (see you soon pete!)

 

[Hivemaker.]

They are in need of their bigger accomodation,see you soon Ian.

 

[MrB]

They are in need of their bigger accomodation,see you soon Ian.

yep, i am looking into sites for an out apiary, (as i want to expand more next year) the problem with the garden is not much room for performing an AS

 

[the beehive lodge]

egg laying worker

Got me thinking if a wild colony lost its Q over the winter and no brood available to make emergency cells
if a worker starts laying drones this must be a survival instict

My main question is has anyone in controlled condtions put a drone egg/lava in a Q cell for the colony to rear and what was the out come ?

 

[oliver90owner]

Probably removed by the bees. Or might become a very large drone.

Think what would happen with a human baby; Any sex change? No, don't even bother to answer that.

A drone is haploid, a queen is diploid.

RAB

Edit: isn't this double posted?

 

[Teemore]

The only way production of drones by laying workers could be an effective survival mechanism would be if the laying workers actually laid eggs into drone cells. One of the diagnostic features of laying workers is a very 'sporadic' brood pattern. If they lay in worker cells the resultant drones will be stunted and unsuited to making successful mating flights: if they get lucky and lay in a drone cell that drone, if it makes it to sexual maturity, might have a small chance of mating.

If you have an drone laying queen she lays everywhere in the brood nest, not just in drone cells so you end up with a lot of small drones. The fact that she can and will lay in some drone cells is in some way a means to try to ensure that some of the colony's genetic material is passed on -IF one of these drones actually mates with a virgin queen.

 

[grizzly]

Hardly slept last night, working through plans for each hive and what i might find on first inspection, glorious sun all week, get to the 1 day in 10 i can do something and post here and ........... Wheres that "(;/;£@ sun gone !!!!!!! Hoping it will brighten later dont want to leave another week.

 

[Silly Bee]

Its gone very cold here today, so I've been making a Top Bar Hive.

 

[darren64]

I painted the outside of the apiary fence,the temperature dropped to 6 degrees but I could still see the bees flying over my head.

 

[Monsieur Abeille]

Temp drop very frustating. Stayed in nursing a hangover.

 

[For want of a better word]

Checked the out apiary hives now returned to my garden as the ***** builder there has started having a clean up of his yard and filling the air with acrid smoke.

Shock horror the hive doing so well was queenless, no brood no eggs, but loads of bees...

merged them with the remaining strong colony, with a queen laying away in 2 brood boxes!!

Put QE atop the 2 broods after putting the top box on the bottom.. then newspaper... SWMBO had used my last copy of the FT so had to use the Weston Morning News!! and then a brood box of steaming bees....................

I just hope I did that correctly!

Oh..... and hung up some more bait sausages near the bait hive I have secreated in the orchard

And looked at a new apiary site next to a loverly stretch of Upper Tamar....... grayling and brownie looking water, if there ever was!!! and on the West Country Rivers scheme for a mere 2 tokens a day... think I will be there for some time.!!!!
Just going to check on the bees..... sneaky or what!!!!

 

[grizzly]

Managed to get into all hives, all strong, queens seen, plenty of everything, need to make up super frames urgently, anyone know if you can get manley side bars for Dadant shallow? Or who sells?
1 hive moved into new brood so i can repair the woody holes, Back killing me, but happy with no losses.

 

[greatbritishhoney]

It's cold outside and I've got a bad case of man flu, so today will limited to looking out of the window at the hives and daydreaming about summer

 

[Black Comb]

Managed to get into all hives, all strong, queens seen, plenty of everything, need to make up super frames urgently, anyone know if you can get manley side bars for Dadant shallow? Or who sells?
1 hive moved into new brood so i can repair the woody holes, Back killing me, but happy with no losses.

Are you using Dadant supers on Langstroth broods? Langstroth and Dadant supers are different depths.

 

[Russel]

Cut the associations grass ready for next weeks practicals, some bees out and about not too bothered by the petrol mower except for the odd inquisitive ones but several kamikazes when raking cuttings up.

 

[simonf]

Quite a warm spell today up in North east so it was of with the lids, the hive in my garden had 2-3 frames of stores 2 hand sized patches of sealed brood only a half a dozen of drone, some comb cleaned out ready for HM.
Hive 2 which was a captured swarm which we think went on to superceed had 2full frames of brood with only a little honey on the edges, 2-3 frames being cleaned ready for HM, 1 frame drawn and 1frame undrawn which has been in there since last year, the rest all stores,this hive brood patern is text book lovely, the other like I said is only a hand size on 2 frames, this hive is on open mesh floor the other is not could it make much difference plus one is cold way and the other warm.

 

[oliver90owner]

this hive is on open mesh floor the other is not could it make much difference plus one is cold way and the other warm.

The OMF and solid floor could make a difference, but the direction of the frames will be irrelevant for the OMF.

Regards, RAB

 

[simonf]

[
The OMF and solid floor could make a difference,
Is it best to seal up OMF this time of year when brood rearing starts ?