What did you do in the Apiary today?

[Mike a]

Laughed loudly at my other half...he decided, without asking me...to help. First I had to take 6 frames apart and shoiw him how to put them together properly...then at tea-time he proudly announced he had made me sugar syrup (using my only sugar). What he has made is a wonderful caramel sauce I can use on Sunday - but I'll have to buy sugar for the new girls somewhere tomorrow!

Can't you simply dilute it by just adding more hot water?

 

[starflex]

Post Royal wedding inspections done. The OSR honey in the top supers of two hives is down to 17% water content; they will be coming off very soon.

Made up a nuc, and now will busy making up some more supers and frames over the weekend.

 

[madasafish]

Now we are four ...

Larger hive - Carnies - inspected this am - first time for 7 days. At least 10 QCs spread over 4 frames. One sealed. (I must have missed it last week). No queen or eggs. Split hive three ways (it was BIG) - each with 2 QCs.. All very docile - did not use smoker or water spray once.

Other smaller hive - requeened three weeks ago - gradually building up.

 

[Mandeville]

I saw my first waggle dance today


Aaah bless!

 

[dpearce4]

what did i do today?

went and bought some lemongrass oil. sprinkled a little on a hive that has been scouted over the last few days.

built some brood frames for my other hive that is empty (both empty not actually an apiary yet as no bees) lol

then put the frames in second hive sprinkled a few drops of oil on the inside of that hive to.

spent the afternoon watching the hives with hundereds bees coming and going. punchups going on, stabbings, falling out of doorways.

god it was just like our local town on a saturday night. death and violence everywhere was like the bees had been drinking thier own mead lol.

thought they were better than us lol

 

[darren64]

I put another super on my 2nd hive,I removed the duff queen from my 1st hive and replaced her with a frame of eggs from my second hive,

 

[Bad Boy Bee]

Inspected most of my hives over the last two days, no Q cells - aint I good, or is that lucky. Made up another 50 frames and added those strategicaly - lovely weather we're having don't you think?
Visited several friend to help with numerous Q cells and swarming, filled several apideas/nucs - naughty me but hey why waste them. These swarmy colonies, as they are called, were gathered similarly last year and they seem fine this year.
Can't decide what to do with the full supers (not OSR), not that keen on honey anyway so will probably leave it to them. Too many years seeing colonies run out of food at the so called main nectar flow has made me over cautious. Moving some hives at the weekend, always fun at this time of year, but needs must.

 

[tonybloke]

perfomed an A/S on another colony in the garden ( how much spare equipment must I have? LOL)

 

[fredbloggs]

Happy and sad apiary visit.

Went to check on shook swarms previous posted. The one that i did shake down is going great guns. Two full frames drawn and eggs galore. Plus no casualties in the frame feeder .

Also the colony that i did not shake as it was q- had the first suprise. I previously diagnosed it as having laying workers. There were multiple eggs per cell and these were half way down, not at the base. I had previously replaced the dodgy frames with the best from the shook colony. This would boost numbers whilst i obtained a queen from somewhere as in anywhere? Close inspection today shows every available cell impecably laid up with new eggs.

Should have gone to specsavers - or go on the wagon? Still happy days!

And finally:-

I have a stack of boxes at this apiary all of which have woodpecker damage. There is no brood comb in them - mainly last seasons frames with undrawn foundation. I take one home every visit and recycle/repair.

Did exactly that this afternoon and having wipped the crown board off i was confronted by a mass of vegetation. Thinking "mice!" but not thinking with any brain activity, I plunged my hand in and extracted - a birds nest complete with eggs! It was a work of art full of moss and hair, the eggs being white with a ginger pale brown fleck. I transferred the nest to a nearby hedge but don't hold out much hope.

I have looked on the net to identify the eggs. Suprising there is little pictoral egg info on uk species - presumably due to the illegality regarding possession. I do think they might be lesser spotted woodpecker! Considering they have entered through a hole of their making, it would seem to a WP to be similar to being inside a tree? If that is the case despite the fact they have caused me a few hundred quids worth of damage, i am gutted that i have destroyed the nest. Ho hum, I'll post a couple pikkies tomorrow soon as i work out how to do it!

Regards

FB

 

[fredbloggs]

Ureekahaaaaaaaa

After 4 hours fiddling with an iphone, I have capitulated and now done it ( I hope) on the laptop.

Here goes

"sorry - still not got it right - this url gives access to ALL my pikkies!!! need to fiddle with photobucket a bit more"

Regards

Fred

ps Tech note. Uploading pics from iphone is a Piece of cake. trying to edit into album and posting link to that album is wholesale PITA! even using the App? Will get there in the end as Iphone has great handy simple camera and access to laptop is not always possible.

pps Guilt note. I really feel pig sick about the eggs. We have a number of spotted woodpeckers in this area, we found a dead'un in my daughter's school grounds last winter.

Ho hum, we all have the rights to make mistakes but have the responsibility to learn. I shall have a go at a few bird boxes suitable for wood-peckers and attempt to redress the balance.

 

[freethorpe bees]

Oh poor old you Fred. I think we've all done something accidentally that we feel awful about. It would be great if you made some nest boxes and they were used (probably not til next year now) that'd make you feelbetter!

I put a second super on my hive today, the girls are going great guns!

 

[fredbloggs]

Try this:

http://s372.photobucket.com/albums/oo161/fredbloggs999/Pecking squatters/

Phew - Me and the next-door neighbour in the bath - not every-bodies cup of tea ?

FB

 

[MuswellMetro]

well, it has got to the point where i have run out of brood boxes, every hive i have has had QC including a late overwinter nuc on 4brood +3stores frames and 4 undrawn foundation in a 14x12 that had 8 QC

so that one has been split and the QC put into a temp 14x12 brood box made from two supers and an api Eke (325mm deep) and a snelgrove board as floor

the swarm in my last empty brood box that i found last week in the super stack , on inspection , turned out to be a virgin caste and is now on one side of two 14x12 but no eggs yet, so dummy-ed it into a 4 frame in the corner of the brood box and reused the undrawn foundation elsewhere .I could have done without that as i needed that 14x12 brood box today, May knock up a ply Nuc and transfer but worried about a virgin not finding her way back if i move/change the box, also wonder were she has come from as i have not lost any prime swarms (yet) and the ASs are too young to have issued a caste last week

went out later this afternoon with other beekeepers to trace a swarm about two miles away said to be in a ISO container, turned out to be just scouts and eventual we traced the main prime swarm to an apple tree , about 5lb of bees now in two ROSE OSB brood boxes in one of the other beekeepers apiary

 

[drstitson]

been damp and dreary for a few days - only occasional bees flying during brighter patches. hope it clears up soon as the acacia are about to come into full bloom.

hopefully will get to inspect again tomorrow or mon but in meantime had first sip of my first go at nettle beer - it worked!!!!

 

[Lois]

.

had first sip of my first go at nettle beer - it worked!!!!

whats the recipe please? We have lots of nettles at work and no passing dogs to p*ss on them.

 

[Chris Luck]

More boring bees. Not much time for anything else at present.

 

[terryme]

that does not look even remotely boring - lucky lucky you!

 

[aberreef]

whats the recipe please? We have lots of nettles at work and no passing dogs to p*ss on them.

Not tried it yet but these sound good. I'm brewing Oak leaf wine atm and will move to this later in teh week I think http://www.selfsufficientish.com/strongernettlebeer.htm

 

[simonf]

Moved one colony on double brood to OSR yesterday, thats 2 on it now and one left in my garden, spotted queen today, now laying in brood box after finding her in super, QE on so of to the OSR for them soon

 

[tonybloke]

Try this:

http://s372.photobucket.com/albums/oo161/fredbloggs999/Pecking squatters/

Phew - Me and the next-door neighbour in the bath - not every-bodies cup of tea ?

FB

that was a wren nest, fred!