What did you do in the Apiary today?

[nosmoking]

Just watched a few hardy bees popping in and out, flying off and returning. With what I don't know.

 

[Summerslease]

Finished painting a frame feeder I've just made and settled down to read an article on bees in a popular scientific magazine I subscribe to. I now know that a bee can count to ......

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Just watched a few hardy bees popping in and out, flying off and returning. With what I don't know.

Poo probably

 

[user 6228]

got the digital temp monitoring pcbs assembled. as these are only about 3mm thick(pcb material 1mm) I should be able to slide these in at the side without fully opening the hive or letting bees out.

 

[Polyanwood]

I put some fondant on 3 colonies. Didn't lift the crownboard.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Took advantage of the cold snap to move some hives to their new site in the plot behind the garden, not a bee stirring, bot one hive a bit light so fondant put on.

 

[Pete D]

About +2 here all day after a hard frost. Walked past all my hives and not a bee stirring (as expected), left them be.
Spent the afternoon assembling 8 Thrns roofs (2nds) in the garage, quick sand and paint tomorrow
Pete D

 

[Nic Rhodes]

Oxalic acid demo at the teaching apiary today. Some bees flying.

 

[Dusty Rhodes]

Did nothing in the apiary (again) today.


However, as I do every day, I said thank you, girls", when I put honey in my cereal.


Least I can do.


Dusty.

 

[user 6228]

and replaced some cling film that had fallen off

 

[stephenpug]

Sorry if it sounds stupid but won't cling film cause condensation ??

 

[Margaret Elisabeth]

Home Furnishing.

Hid indoors all day. making curtains and blinds at the moment. However before I started on the house furnishing I made a deep quilt for the beehive and it went on the top deck on Friday at lunchtime when the frost had lifted.

 

[user 6228]

Sorry if it sounds stupid but won't cling film cause condensation ??

Not if the bees seal up there end
if they dont then the moisture between the correx gaskets will seal them even more effectively and support a greater pressure differential and hence a higher temp.

 

[Hedgerow Honey]

Fondant

Had to put fondant on two hives in my garden I thought they had plenty stores but had a quick look under the crownboard and the cupboard was bare
The hive in my out apiary which are big orange italian crosses still have plenty but put some sloppy fondant on crownboard just in case.

 

[Beeline]

Woodpecker damage already

Went to check on two out-hives. Discovered the one hive, I hadn't got round to covering in netting, had a few holes drilled into it by Woody in the past week. One had gone right through whilst the others were simply pilot holes, and plenty of them. Damn pest. So a quick visit to the hardware store for some wood filler and filled them up before fitting the chicken mesh over the hive.

Applied fondant to a number of hives that seemed light. I'm surprised how quickly the stores have been eaten up.

 

[Polyanwood]

Checked all the overwintering nucs. Put fondant on the ones that had eaten it all.

Found a dead mininuc.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Finished moving hives around and left them with plenty of twiggy branches over the entrances, but they are so tucked up into their clusters I don't think even a brass band marching through would have stirred them

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Mild and rather sunny day today - watched the bees orientating to their new hive positions, some hives out in more numbers than others - only a handful of stragglers buzzing around the original site of No 1 hive, but most seem to have cleared off in the end.

 

[MuswellMetro]

Did an audit of what kits was where then scraped and flamed all the supers and spares at out apiaries

Why do i always seem to end up with more Bees than i Intended to at the beginning of the season, I will have to buy some more broods and roofs in the winter sales

Though this winterr with poorly mated queens that may be a blessing

 

[Little John]

Another bl##dy cold day at chez moi - around 3 or 4 degrees as I type this.

Have started to put together an Oxalic Acid evaporator: as I've been drilling 22mm holes in all me hives (to use wine cork stoppers), it would seem to make sense to also use a 22mm copper tube to get the gas in. However, the girls have coated the inside of the holes, so a 22 pipe doesn't quite fit.

So - assuming the girls would be tightly clustered, I fitted a brace with a 22mm hole-cutter in order to clear the hole, and gave it a couple of quick turns. One girl came whizzing out to complain (so she obviously wasn't clustered) only to make a quick circuit before scampering back through the hole a lot faster than she'd come out.

I could almost hear her muttering "Sod flying in this weather" ... or was it ... "Oh no, not HIM again".

LJ