What did you do in the Apiary today?

[Beauhawk]

Wish I had something to do! First hive is on ordean it no bees yet but part 5 of my beekeeping course tonight in Yalding.

Looking forward to it.

 

[TOBY-3652]

lost one more colonie.. was small and no queen. it was one that had 4 queen cells torn down last year on the 15th of september and there was a good lot of drones in it so maybe a virgin hatched and never got mated. the old queen was 2 year old.. This year if i can do im going to try to overwinter with young queens and unite small colonies more.. The other 2 i have lost were both only 5 frames of bees last october and down to 3 frames in january this year

 

[Erichalfbee]

In the apiary -5 overnight
+10 this afternoon with an evil wind. Still some bees out collecting water from the pond.
Strangely frog spawn laid a fortnight ago and frozen repeatedly seems to be showing signs of life.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

What did i do in the apiary today? Not as much as I planned to!
SWMBO was expecting her new phone to be delivered between 1100 and 1500, so guess who had to stay in to receive it? and it didn't turn up until 1710hrs So tomorrow (which was going to be a quiet day with a few hours in the shed I'll be up clearing the rest of the wood and doing a little more with a chainsaw! - checked the fondant on the hives - the Welsh blacks are making serious inroads into it now so I've put another kilo on.

 

[richardbees]

The bees were all over the top bars of one of the hives with a glass crown board so I put a kilo of fondant on - even though they hefted right.

 

[susbees]

Report on home apiary, last visited 25 Feb. Thirteen colonies, four nucs. Three colonies had emptied their carry-out container of just-in-case fondant, rest still had some or most of it. All colonies still alive, laying status unknown. Some certainly very small looking, so expect to find some unviable due to failed supersedures/old queens.

 

[Glenviewbee]

Bees from both colonies out and about collecting at least 2 types of pollen.
This is only my 2nd year of beekeeping (1st nuc in Jun and 2nd in Sept) so haven't got much experience at all
I attach a couple of photos of the bees landing on the boards - to me they look quite hairy bees so does that mean they are probably new spring bees? There has been quite a lot of brood capping debris on the inspection boards under the VMf (I had the inspection boards in for a week to have a look for mite drop, of which there seems to be none)

 

[Haughton Honey]

Some certainly very small looking, so expect to find some unviable due to failed supersedures/old queens.

Likewise. Took a look through two apiaries totalling 20 colonies yesterday to check fondant etc and quite a few of them were on a smaller number of frames than expected. Most of the 'Buckspinfast' variety too, which I have found in the past to have overwintered as strong colonies.

I think that it's going to be an interesting start to the year.

Nice pics Glenviewbee.

 

[YorkshireBees]

Took the opurtunity of the sunshine and relative calm / warm weather (that is not blowing too much and +6 degs C) to check all my hives for fondant. Replaced 2 empty containers with full and earmarked 3 more to check at the weekend.

A few of the hives were active with water gathering and a little pollen coming in but most were staying inside.

 

[Erichalfbee]

Feels cool but T says 11˚
Pollen coming in and a few bees on my hellebores in the garden 1/4 of a mile away.
Even the odd black bee was coming out of the failed colony.

 

[dn170221]

Bees from both colonies out and about collecting at least 2 types of pollen.
This is only my 2nd year of beekeeping (1st nuc in Jun and 2nd in Sept) so haven't got much experience at all
I attach a couple of photos of the bees landing on the boards - to me they look quite hairy bees so does that mean they are probably new spring bees? There has been quite a lot of brood capping debris on the inspection boards under the VMf (I had the inspection boards in for a week to have a look for mite drop, of which there seems to be none)

Nice photos!

 

[user 6228]

Another bitter bright day but the bees were out. Then a few decide they would a have a little cup of something

 

[eleanor20]

I had moved 2 hives on Tuesday, thinking we would have really bad weather all week and they wouldn't be flying. Moved them maybe 10 and 12 feet from original sites. Lots of bees flying today (temp only around 7deg but sunny), and around midday there were a fair few bees milling around behind these 2 hives, in the area where they had been moved from. I worried a little and went away to think of a plan.... Came back an hour later, sun gone in and so had all the bees! Looks like they found their way home.
I know we are not home and dry yet but pleased to see that all 4 hives have made it through this year, nice to see them flying and pollen being brought in again.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Almost finished the hedge laying around the apiary - all the waste timber stacked for seasoning or piled up awaiting the shredder, It's amazing the difference clearing the trees has done - hives in the sun from early morning, bees out and about from about 9 a.m. temperature was around 17 degrees for most of the day so wished now I hadn't donned thermals . Tools away for now as we're flying out to Venice Saturday morning - so an early start for Birmingham (have to watch the match out there so i doubt much touristy stuff on the first day)

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Oh, I also did an interview with the BBC (BBC on-line) on Himalayan Balsam (there's a whiff of summer) from the point of view as Chairman of the Carmarthenshire Fishermen's Federation (don't panic I did give the fact they're beneficial to bees a good airing as well) and persuaded her to possibly turn up at the convention a week Saturday to talk about the challenges to bees

 

[Drew]

.............we're flying out to Venice Saturday morning - so an early start for Birmingham (have to watch the match out there so i doubt much touristy stuff on the first day)

Yeah should be a good match...........
Italy have been playing pretty well this year and the Irish are always good value.
Venice seems an odd place to go to watch it though - isn't Stadio Olimpico in Rome?

Oh! You didn't mean that match did you?

PS - Good luck, may it be an open flowing game........

 

[victor meldrew]

I had moved 2 hives on Tuesday, thinking we would have really bad weather all week and they wouldn't be flying. Moved them maybe 10 and 12 feet from original sites. Lots of bees flying today (temp only around 7deg but sunny), and around midday there were a fair few bees milling around behind these 2 hives, in the area where they had been moved from. I worried a little and went away to think of a plan.... Came back an hour later, sun gone in and so had all the bees! Looks like they found their way home..

You may find a fair few die hard forages returning to the original hive location before immediately entering hive at present site !
This also happens when changing an entrance block, they arrive at the previous hole position and run along to the new one and continue to indulge in this ritual until the are eventually replaced by up and coming foragers
VM



Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Yeah should be a good match...........
Italy have been playing pretty well this year and the Irish are always good value.
Venice seems an odd place to go to watch it though - isn't Stadio Olimpico in Rome?

Oh! You didn't mean that match did you?

PS - Good luck, may it be an open flowing game........

I was out in Rome when Italy first beat france (and we beat ireland) - fond memories - what i remember of it anyhow

 

[JCD]

Mould

I was so so proud to put approx 2 dozen frames of drawn comb into storage at the start of the winter......a few brood frames, and the rest for a super.
Today I got everything out to prepare two new hives ready for doing an AS should it become necessary, and found that virtually every frame is mouldy. I'm so disappointed. No wax moth, just colourful, hairy, mould. I stored them outdoors in their brood boxes, and supers, all sealed up.......what did I do wrong?
I've done a search and read that others would put mouldy brood frames back in a hive.....I'm not sure I like that idea, perhaps its a question of degree......
So I've got some cleaning up work to do in the next couple of weeks.

The good news is that the bees in both my hives are alive and well, and still have some fondant left.

 

[Bob Bee]

Pollen patties on 6 hives today, lost one colony from suspect queen superseedure (not mated probably, this colony superseeded 3 times once even after requeening ?) late in the season . Remaining 9 colonies and 5 nukes all looking well, even one very late small swarm that I expected not to make it. May the weather now be kind to the bees.