What did you do in the Apiary today?

[BeeJayBee]

Panicked !!!!

Why?

 

[Shabro]

inspected 5 colonies, marked 1 queen and had 20lb extracted.

 

[Chris Luck]

Well, in case of rhinos are being to extinct and their horns are used aphrodisiacs or something.. I think these caterpillars are much better aphrodisiacs - and here are free to take so please come ( we can fill your backpacks for free)

What is the caterpillar species Goran and what tree does it forage on?

Chris

 

[Gilberdyke John]

Sat and watched the constant flow of bees in and out of the hive this morning. Nearly every one coming back with full shopping bags. Not sure where they are getting all the pollen from as the nearby Hawthorne is almost finished. The village lies in the direction they are returning from so maybe its garden flowers? A few more days should see clover in our paddocks opening up.

 

[madasafish]

Checked the mini nucs I placed out yesterday and opened last night were OK.(they were).
Checked newly introduced queen had been released- she had.

Checked 2 other hives for swarming - there was none.

Checked a suspected Q- hive for queen and eggs. None... I see a unite coming on.

 

[user 6228]

retrieved another swarm from the apple tree.
and yesterday made a very deep kingspan/reticel telescoping roof (250-300mm) for the thornes wooden hive we had to press into service. The reward was a lot more activity from that hive today.

 

[Goran]

What is the caterpillar species Goran and what tree does it forage on?

Chris

I think.. Lymantria dispar

And eats everything which has leaves, I think is said when eat all decidious it goes for confiers..

Often You can find going through the grass or over the road in it's holly quest..

Periodically "explode" ( I think more not payed attention than exploded) it's population..

 

[Chris Luck]

Ah ha, the good old Gypsy moth, there was a famous British plane named after them.

http://ukmoths.org.uk/show.php?bf=2034

Chris

 

[Goran]

Here is called " gubar". More like " bad old" Gipsy moth..

By the way - today again over 30 ( around 34 celsius).. Lime in a day or two.. Today I have to be quick on this temp in the apiary..

 

[Ben90]

Today, I got home, and no sooner than I'd entered, I'm told that the lady my grandmother knows around the corner has called saying she has bees in the eaves of her house. So, for a moment I go "No... They can't have", thinking my own bees might have swarmed and taken residence in her house. Then, I get excited as I realise this might be a brilliant opportunity for my first swarm collection. I rush to my apiary (that's my name for the back yard now), grab my nuc box, drop a handful of frames with foundation in it, fuel up my smoker ready for when I get there, put my suit on, and carry the lot out of the door and walk to the bottom of the road and around the corner.

When I get there, she shows me to the bit where, as she put it, they "keep coming out of the wall".

And there were bees there alright, but... Well, here's a dead one I found on the ground.

A very healthy bumblebee colony judging by the number buzzing around the wall of her house, but a bit of a letdown after preparing to pick up a swarm.

 

[Ely]

Stuck my head in a hive after a terrible exam.

 

[beebopalula]

Inspected swarms - two new queens laying, but third no evidence yet.
Put super on another hive.

 

[beezers]

Gave myself an headache...changing from commercials to 14x12. Virgin should have emerged last monday,can't find her or see eggs in comm nuc. Commercial hive bias but so chocky that I can''t find HM to mark. Now got bees on all sizes frames in 3 different hives etc. Need a drink me thinks.

 

[Tom Bick]

Went and moved a nuc into a full box, inspected one other and treated the two hives for nosema. Also checked the entrance of the occupied bait hive and flying very strong and noticed a few bees checking out the other bait hive.

On my way back to my little workshop had a call from the bee inspector wanting to inspect my bees and show me how to look for SHB.

 

[dpearce4]

Just took a swarm up to my Apiary and someone filming a music video on the Farm, was asked to do a cameo walk on part and some promo pictures for the vid.

Not something I do every day. Will give me some serious kudos at work with the pupils.

 

[galileo]

Watched 2 entrances for pollen going in - yes, but not enough to suggest new queens laying yet.

More positively, happily removed another full super from the bronze medalists (Archive), now on 18 frames of BIAS, no signs of any swarm preparation whatsoever, and darkening the clearing through the trees with their comings & goings. Intending to rear half a dozen queens from that girl!

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Virgin should have emerged last monday,can't find her or see eggs in comm nuc. .

Bit soon to have expected her to mate IMHO and virgins are notoriously elusive (especially in my neck of the woods ) give her some peace to get her dancing shoes on.

 

[stephenpug]

Checked the new hive I started with a queen cell a few weeks ago and found a loverly golden coloured queen also plenty of brood and eggs :-D but my main hive has got one massive queen cell right in the middle of the frame the original queen in there is now two years old and laying well (double brood box) but I still hope it it a superceidure (I think that is how you spell it) the cell is sealed and there is a full hive of bees si I am certain they have not swarmed
Also I have started a poly nuc off with 3 queen cells had a quick look today and there is two big fat grubs on the landing board so checked inside the nuc and found one cell with a nice neat round hole in the bottom and the other two cell had been ripped apart so I quickly put it back together and I will not look again for at least two weeks

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Cold and wet this morning so I got on with painting the roofs and floors I'd made with some 5 year wood stain from Wilkinsons (less than half the price of the Ronsal stuff - wish i'd seen that a few years ago! - watched the bees flying strongly in the rain - loads of action around all hive entrances. it got warmer late afternoon so I finished building a hive stand that Ii'd cut all the bits for weeks ago.
Really bright and sunny from 5 onwards - watched even bigger clouds of bees flying back and forth fron the hives loads of pollen and nectar going in.

 

[sunhivebee]

Hived a swarm yesterday, heard the freaky sounds of queens piping from a hive on the way back to the house, kept a special watch on that one today, enjoyed their swarm during the six minutes of sunshine in Sussex at 2.30 pm, and had the great surprise of a swarm swooping down onto a weeping birch from seemingly nowhere at 4.00 pm!
Hived them a little later and noticed a red marked queen running up the ramp with the throng.
This brings up two questions: I was under the impression that colonies do not choose sites where there are quite a few colonies already in residence. Perhaps they did not mean to stay? Or they like the idea of competition,
And secondly, which year is red? They came from elsewhere as none of "my" queens are marked.