What did you do in the Apiary today?

[psafloyd]

Actually, I did nothing in the apiary. But I was weeding and the raspberries were alive with bees of all types, particularly honey bees.

 

[WelshPaul]

Took someone who is scared of bees with me today and inspected the double brood hive in the garden, bias on all frames in top BB, over 5 in bottom, beautifully drawn brood comb with larvae in. Very happy about that. Fella who came with me was amazed and very happy afterwards and couldn't believe how quickly all the girls went back into the hive.

 

[drstitson]

"Now have two hives, she is a very prolific queen but keep finding new queen cells in orginal hive, think it's going to be a seriously hard job to keep her from disappearing with a swarm."

how much space are you giving them?

 

[whoosling]

"Now have two hives, she is a very prolific queen but keep finding new queen cells in orginal hive, think it's going to be a seriously hard job to keep her from disappearing with a swarm."

how much space are you giving them?

I've moved six of the frames into a nuc lots of brood,eggs and a frame with a couple of queen cells which is being fed, the other is on two broods plus a super and i'll be adding another super soon. Last week there were no queen cells in original hive squished all before I lost the queen, today there were 3 qc with lava. This is really my first year as I got my first swarm last may and they happily stayed on one brood all year, this explosion of bees is amazing to me, as a newbee at least!

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Took my councillor colleague to inspect the home apiary - not that warm this morning but bees bringing in pollen and nectar the original queenin the hive that seems to want to supersed is still there and has picked up her laying a bit but still patchy (new supersedure QC being built so I'm still watching that one. The dark bees are now cramming the super and the combs are beginning to fillwith honey (don't know whose sneaking honey into the hive because according to one world expert on bees, they don't forage in these temperatures!) - glorious smell in the apiary now though
Happy days - colleage well impressed at his first apiary visit.
Then went to a bee diseses workshop with the Wales regional bee inspector organised by our local BKA Redwood and I almost scored full marks in the exam (well, don't want to look too clever in front of the beginners or they'll keep asking us awkward questions!!)

 

[drstitson]

"Last week there were no queen cells in original hive squished all before I lost the queen, today there were 3 qc with larvae"

couple of points - firstly have you read the welsh QC pdf?????

ok - you've taken off a nuc - great BUT you haven't actually done anything definitive to temper the swarming instinct. and knocking down QCs alone will just end up with more as you've found, and potentially in a shorter timescale than expecting.

is you nuc on the original site of the parent hive OR is hive with Queen still in situ and nuc elsewhere?

 

[VEG]

Did 2 AS on another two hives in my apiary today and made a nuc up as well I have now run out of kit lol

 

[whoosling]

couple of points - firstly have you read the welsh QC pdf?????

Not yet but I did download it sometime ago I think, will have a read - do you have any suggestions?

queen on same site.

 

[galileo]

Quoth I yestern, all cocky...

...but those girls are going to swarm next week if I don't attend to matters tomorrow - I can feel it in me water....

Ha! Well I was right, they were, and they did, and I must have missed them by an hour or so on account of being delayed until 11 this morning. No sign of a ball of bees, but no sign of a queen either - just a big fat sealed cell hanging there in a very "inept prat!" kind of way. It serves me right for ignoring it as a dry cup last Sunday. They must have popped a larva in it & got it sealed yesterday, 'cos they were all home when I added the super in the morning.

Ah well, live and learn, and all I can do is wish them well in their new home, wherever that might be.

On the plus side, they'd filled another super on the OSR so I've just spun off 20 pounds of golden elixir.

Swings, roundabouts - and with a fair wind, I'll get a nice new eager queen out of the bargain.

 

[MJBee]

Just on my way out at 1300 today and heard that unmistakable "swarm in progress noise"
A quick check showed that it was my Warre hive. Had to leave them to it - had to keep an appointment -
Got back at 1700, all quiet at the Warre and found a huge swarm cluster on the ground below a climbing rose. They had settled on the rose stem some 5ft above ground and the weight of the cluster had bent the stem down to ground level.Popped a National brood with 11 frames of foundation over the pile 1 hour later most in, put the brood on a floor added a roof just in time as it started to rain - that hastened the stragglers in. My lucky day they could easily have been long gone by 1700.

 

[Polyanwood]

Moved a hive from one apiary where they had gone nasty and were stinging passers-by and another hive from another apiary where there is zero tolerance of swarms and the demaree had thrown off a cast.

Nosema seems an issue - some colonies not biulding up. Tested and found them positive. Treated with thymol syrup spray.

I am having a go a using swarm lure in 2 bait hives for first time. Will this be £5 well spent?

 

[abi-e]

Inspected the split in the nucleus hive which now has 2 frames of eggs - all good.
Inspected first hive - very blackened comb so hard to see, but hope there were eggs in there!! after the inhabitants swarmed off 2 weeks ago (my only marked queen gone!)
Moved on to the second hive. Originally on brood and a half, now on double brood and a half due to my attempted bailey change! They have 2 supers both half full, a super of 90% capped stores that definitely contains syrup fed to them in the late spring so no good to extract. They are drawing out the second BB - amazing progress in just 24 hours, and plenty of visible brood and larvae inthe original BB, still can't see the eggs due to the blackened comb.
Hopefully all will thrive in the good weather forecast for the week ahead.

 

[Dishmop]

er,, nothing today, but the other day I shook a tub of wood preserver to stir the contents.











and the lid wasnt on properly!!!!!!!!!

 

[flemage]

Got my self sorted for a/s ing two hives tomorrow, found new up right eggs in queen cells (cups) last inspection on Wednesday.

So have made my plan and drawn it out on paper, written list of all equipment needed to meet that plan and loaded up the car ready to go.

however no plan ever survives contact with the enemy..... so I will have to see what the state of play is tomorrow and take it from there.

But I am ready..........unless the third hive wants to go as well then I would be truly stuffed!

 

[Goran]

Luckily in case of my first mating nuc - first kitten doesn't go into water. Formed with two queen cells ( one destroyed by other queen - " there can be only one"). So I have one queen bank, when this queen prove her pedigree she already has her spot on apiary, next will be on the way. I forgot where I put queen cages
Gave some more frames for mating nuc in ordinary hives to be built, as I am making more mating nucs these days.

But overall experience of today is that I felt I did something right and with good result.

 

[VEG]

Its a good feeling when something goes your way

 

[Goran]

Its a good feeling when something goes your way

It is little to say good, more like -

By the way soon approx. number of colonies I will change, just to finish some planned splits.. Again -

 

[richardbees]

Crikey dishmop, you lead an exciting life!

I opened a hive that was an AS 18 days ago - the ten frames of foundation are now 9 frames of sealed brood, even though I really don't want to I moved the QE up a super to give them brood and a half.

 

[Haughton Honey]

Spotted one of these 'pop up' OSR apiaries with between 6-8 hives that must have appeared in the last week.....about 300 yards from my main mating apiary!!!!

 

[Dishmop]

Crikey dishmop, you lead an exciting life!

Sometimes. I am however thinking of starting a mite counting group..working on the basis of "Pointless" Less points is the winner.