What did you do in the Apiary today?

[clv101]

A hive that I split a couple of weeks ago - removing the queen and a couple of frames and leaving just one large open queen cell behind. This hive has a glass crownboard. I lifted the lid... and there she was, the new queen running along the top of a frame under the glass! Can't have emerged more than a few days ago. Easiest inspection ever!

Glass crownboards are great for the summer. Not so sure about them for overwintering though.

 

[youngyoungs]

Inspected all, lovely day today and busy bees out and about.
Nuc with virgin queen last week, all well this
Nuc with sealed QC about to hatch, left alone.
Q- hive, frame of eggs, now numerous sealed QC's. Knocked down all but one.
DLQ? Hive, hmmm. Capped brood is drone, lots of eggs and larvae (see separate thread).
Swarm hive, drawing frame, BIAS, looking good and marked queen looking like she rules the roost!
So in summary, one good hive, the rest are rubbish. Time to start thinking about uniting.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

The best laid plans........

...... I won't bother typing the rest as it's just jockinese babble

Went to the association apiary - explained to all that my intention was to perform a Demaree on my hive to induce QC building thus enabling me to harvest (hopefully) three nucs and maybe some QC's for my mating nucs. We all cheerfully got all the kit ready (drawn frames, frames with foundation extra brood box, stand ,floor and so on) even some experienced beeks down to check their hives joined in to see the demonstration. Opened up the hive - although there were plenty of bees, there was also plenty of sealed QC's (I must have had a premonition of this as last Tuesday I had a hankering to pop down and check these bees)
So, change of plan, luckily I had left two nucs down there in case of this eventuality (again, either premonition or for once in his life Jenkins being organised ) Two of us could not find the queen after check and double check, so even though there were loads of bees she must have gone. So now I have two more nucs in my apiary awaiting queen emergence and a hive in the apiary site ditto and everything crossed in hope it will work out as these are the gentlest bees I've ever come across, in fact when I updated the colony notes I noticed a comment from the last inspection done a while ago by our association queen rearing guru in my absence. ' temper - 10/10 I want her babies!'
In fact in all the crashing and banging, double inspection and faffing around sorting it all out - at all times stood in front of the entrance!!, no smoke was used and only one sting down to my sheer clumsiness!

 

[beebopalula]

Hive inspections. All well, but lots of queen cups and drones, no proper queen cells ... yet. Everything in Nature is late this year!

 

[Polyanwood]

I checked my surprise swarm. Small dark virgin. She doesn't look at all stripey like mine. There is a slim chance that she isn't because the tree that they settled in has small clumps of white comb which seems to act like a magnet to bees.

 

[VEG]

Said goodbye to a nuc as it has gone to its new home this evening.

 

[sunhivebee]

Extremely happy to have been up and about this morning to see a huge swarm emerging from one of my loveliest, strongest colonies - at eight thirty in the morning!!
Somewhat dismayed to watch it cluster at a height of eight metres in a willow type tree - especially when the sheer size of the cluster became clear. Managed to get it with the help of a fish catching net on a long pole - it took three climb-ups as the bees hung in a huge triangle and did not fit into the net. In case anyone should try the net, having acquired it at a certain discount store, it must be lined with some light fabric before being put to swarm catching.
Judging from the weight each time, there were about 10 pounds of bees, now hived in a large German hive; they walked in rapidly, but it took them nearly oneandahalf hours to get in.
I don't think I have ever seen such a massive swarm, and really hope that they will stay, as they come from really good resilient, sweet tempered and very frugal stock.

 

[richardbees]

re-marked a second of my Qs with white tippex.....yellow (and red) dots are not as easy to find as a generous white tippex streak.

After all, I know which year my Qs are so why should I colour code?


Heidi

really hope that they will stay,

You could put a QE underneath the BB over the floor until they start to draw comb

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

re-marked a second of my Qs with white tippex.....yellow (and red) dots are not as easy to find as a generous white tippex streak.

After all, I know which year my Qs are so why should I colour code?

You could neatly write the date on top of the tippex?

Heidi

really hope that they will stay,

You could put a QE underneath the BB over the floor until they start to draw comb

What Brood Box? what floor?

 

[richardbees]

What Brood Box? what floor?

Ach o! but presumably German hives are of similar design?
Whatever...... the principle's the same i.e. use a QE to stop the Q absconding...

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

What Brood Box? what floor?

Ach o! but presumably German hives are of similar design?
.

Think of a wickerwork lampshade the same as those big round paper types, but more egg shaped with a cocktail umbrella hanging upside down beneath the bottom hole,liberally daubed in cow dung and hanging inside a gazebo.
So similar to the British National, yes

 

[richardbees]

Really?

you mean a sort of art deco, back to nature, skep thingy then?

well I never....what will they think of next

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

 

[richardbees]

now you're kidding me!

that's a prototype "Big Bertha" 2KG H.E. jobbie the Luftwaffe used on the East End!

 

[pargyle]

That's a nice hive JBM ...is it one of your's ?

 

[BeeJayBee]

That's a nice hive JBM ...is it one of your's ?

There's an updated modern version, made of plastic
http://www.coroflot.com/AndyWallDesign/Design-for-Need-BeeScene

 

[sunhivebee]

http://www.beekeepingforum.co.uk/album.php?albumid=466

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

That's a nice hive JBM ...is it one of your's ?

It's the one I have hanging next to my totally organic holistic composting toilet (AKA the rear garden hedge - it's a long walk back to the house)

 

[Cazza]

It was an accident waiting to happen. Picture the scenario.
9.30 p.m. under an oak tree, quite dark.
4ft up a stepladder attempting to remove a National bait hive full of a prime swarm. (Not mine.) Bait hive is wedged into 3 tree branches and has to be slightly tipped and lifted up and out, way past my centre of gravity.
You can imagine the rest.
The most amazing thing was that all I could think of was: hang on to the hive, don't drop the bees. It bloody well hurt but it will hopefully be worth it.
Cazza

 

[pargyle]

http://www.beekeepingforum.co.uk/album.php?albumid=466

Well ... that's an interesting selection of hives Heidi ... and I thought mine was a bit off the wall. All seem to be working OK though ?

The knockers and hooters will be along shortly though ....