What did you do in the Apiary today?

[Little John]

Have I missed something? I don't recall anyone saying, "don't open up to feed, it's too cold."

Eh ? I didn't say that anybody on here did. I was speaking figuratively. As I thought I had clearly said, it was my judgement that 2 degrees was too cold to open a hive, no-one else's.

The 'nonsense' I was referring to was that of a poor hive design that requires a hive to be opened in order to check supplementary feed.

'Non-sense' - i.e. it does not make any sense to me to expose colonies for what ought to be a routine check.

Of course you must feed if required.

Isn't that the whole point - how do you know that feed is required until after you've looked ? (by which time you may have done serious damage, perhaps unnecessarily)
Hefting won't tell you if stores are crystallised, or if fondant has dried and gone hard - only a visual inspection will tell you that.

In my considered view, only visually-inspectable externally-accessible feeders of one design or another are appropriate.

LJ

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Well, we have a large shed in the garden where I keep the hen stuff and I have tidied it up and very neatly stacked last years supers and a couple of new poly 14 x 12s in it.
Two cedar boxes have gone in the garden store at the apiary ( husband never looks in there)
Bee shed now has an amazing amount of floor space (husband doesn't look in there very often) so if I'm quick with the kit the only thing he might notice is that it's tidy

That's not the end of it though.........sigh
The greenhouse is full of germinating bee friendly plants for the meadow and so is the local DHL van.

You need to find a surrogate 'Mam' locally to act as a dead letter drop for your mail!

 

[madasafish]

A TBH is rather difficult to inspect in winter.

As I have a bottom board under the OMF, I remove and look to see the cappings. Hence location of cluster. Clean board. Then open bars on side of cluster quickly to see stores - only needs to be done once. If lots, leave well alone.

If little, fed fondant in freezer bag suspended between two bars next to cluster.

A semi competent but organised owner of a national hive can add fondant and replace roof in under 1 minute in my view if organised...at least I can when I (rarely) handle one.

 

[richardbees]

Little John

Good result...you must be feeling relieved!

(and thanks for posting the pics.....)

 

[Little John]

Little John

Good result...you must be feeling relieved!

(and thanks for posting the pics.....)

You're very welcome. Relieved ? Well yes, but with an understandable tinge of "if only ..."

madasafish: If little, fed fondant in freezer bag suspended between two bars next to cluster.

No cluster - hive now fully active (which is why it's sister hive starved) - hence new feeding strategy.

On opening hive, bees were climbing over all combs - mass clearance flights (at 4 degrees) followed. Had to scoop-up large numbers of chilled bees, and return them to the hive via unused feeder hole. At 2 degrees it would have been much worse.

I thought these were average Carnie-crosses - guess they must have more Carnie genes in 'em than I thought.

LJ

 

[Polyanwood]

Cleaned the mini nucs (disinfected them with acetic earlier in year). Boiled the top bars and scrubbed and rinsed the boxes. Those wax moth have made a couple more tunnels. Grrrr.

Remembered that I need to order a new cupkit system as managed to deform that by boiling it trying to clean it. Doh.

 

[protheroe]

lost another nuc,thats 6 nucs and 4 hives gone.these are my first losses in three years and its all down to last summer.

 

[Little John]

lost another nuc,thats 6 nucs and 4 hives gone.these are my first losses in three years and its all down to last summer.

Bummer.

Commiserations - if it's any consolation (which I'm sure it's not) - you certainly won't be alone.

LJ

 

[itma]

+3.5C weak sun.
Opened up the weakest colony and gave them a shallow frame of pretty thoroughly granulated honey, as well as a fresh tub of fondant after I discovered how dry their fondant had gone.
Wet the new fondant while packing it into the tub to give them the easiest start into it.
Fingers crossed.

Looking through the coverboard today, they are making a meal of the soft fondant, but haven't bothered with (or maybe found) the honey yet. Me being too careful and not putting it right next to the cluster ...

 

[madasafish]

5C. Most of my hives flying. Scottish bees bringing in pollen.

Most activity since Jan 2013..

Snow drifts still in garden and hard frosts every night. Pond frozen solid for 3 weeks..

Assisted feeding Association hives Saturday: all eating fondant : few stores left. Looks like a 90 odd % survival rate..

Fields look like someone has taken a white paint brush round all the edges.. very picturesque.

I would imagine local beef and dairy framers are struggling for feed as grass is not growing and last year had a poor grass crop.

 

[jp19sqn]

Bees flying wildly and 10% bringing in pollen, possibly crocus and gorse. Only losses so far are 2 nucs who started Winter with too few bees. Poly hived colonies are clearly ahead of the Cedar ones, about 2 weeks I reckon. They were also working for an extra 2 weeks in the Autumn so I am provisionally thinking that poly buys an extra month to the season. And it is generally cheaper. Win!

 

[MJBee]

In a recent poll about wax moth being seen in active colonies I posted "none seen" However I have just swapped out a total of 10 old black comb frames. When I dismantled them to clean and sterilize I found wax moth larva/pupae behind the wedge bar and particularly in the join between side and top bars. The latter seriously weakening the lugs.

6 of the 10 are now firewood Anyone else found this?

 

[nosmoking]

Actually made the first grass cut of the year! Quite dry considering the weather we've had but no rain for a while now. Sunny but cold. Seemed strange seeing my 2 hives blocked up knowing they're both dead!

 

[richardbees]

Too cold for me outside - let alone the bees- so spent the afternoon in my Bee shed/workshop making a Solar Wax Extractor from Estate Agent's boards, using the poles to make a framework and the Correx for side and bottom panels.

Googled first to check that the 'softening' temperature for exterior signeage Correx is 160c'

 

[Peterxix]

Too cold for me outside - let alone the bees- so spent the afternoon in my Bee shed/workshop making a Solar Wax Extractor from Estate Agent's boards, using the poles to make a framework and the Correx for side and bottom panels.

Googled first to check that the 'softening' temperature for exterior signeage Correx is 160c'

To cold for me as well,So just completed my home brew 2 Frame Electric Hony Extractor , will post some Photos soon,

 

[BeeJayBee]

spent the afternoon in my Bee shed/workshop making a Solar Wax Extractor from Estate Agent's boards, using the poles to make a framework and the Correx for side and bottom panels.

Did you cut panels of correx or cut it half way through and bend it?

 

[richardbees]

I already had a sheet of triple walled polycarbonate panel about 400 mm x 700 mm

So I've use as made a complete framework to match that size for the cover --- and 200 mm deep.....then cut the correx into panels to nail onto both ends, sides and bottom ... like a shallow coffin! then juist botch up a shelf inside using cheapo foil roasting trays to copy thrones £140 one.
I made one years ago out of scaff. plank - on a midummer's day in full sun, the wax
melts within minutes!

With a bit of of luck.......

 

[Polyanwood]

I checked the association nucs and hives for food. I had put inspection tray in one of the colonies that was on the small size. There were varroa and quite a lot of mouse droppings on the tray.

 

[johnandyrob]

Actually made the first grass cut of the year! Quite dry considering the weather we've had but no rain for a while now. Sunny but cold. Seemed strange seeing my 2 hives blocked up knowing they're both dead!

Our is still under two inches of snow

 

[nosmoking]

Our is still under two inches of snow

I shall bee up your way next week end and not looking forward to it. Too cold!! Thankfully just, a flying visit