What did you do in the Apiary today?

[richardbees]

, god it was full

Welshpaul,

a very good description that probably applies to most of us - result of zero Winter and early Spring...

richard

 

[Cazza]

Oh my, what a start to the season. My bees have already started capping honey in the supers. Wow!
Cazza

 

[Swarm]

Not for all of us, unfortunately.
Two colonies transfered into poly, super added to another. Some are booming, some coming along steadily, just another season among many. Bees all nice and calm though, various pollen and nectar coming in.

 

[VEG]

Had a good look through mine today and they are packed with brood most are on at least 7/8 frames of BIAS, I have added supers to all but 1 colony which is a bit behind the others.

 

[einsteinagogo]

Put down another 5m x 2m weed fabric in Apiary No.2, and moved nuc and national hive, ready for mid week, to move a colony of bees in.

 

[REDWOOD]

Quite a contrast to last years spring, hives still packed with stores and full of bees, hopefully we are going to have a good year

 

[Itchy]

http://www.beekeepingforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=6513

Thanks

 

[Erichalfbee]

Quite a contrast to last years spring, hives still packed with stores and full of bees, hopefully we are going to have a good year

Yes please. I have rather rashly promised to supply my step daughter with honey favours for her wedding next year.

What a silly custom. When I got married the guests gave ME presents....not the other way round.

 

[BigAshW]

Received my first swarm today. They landed in my mentors spare kit yesterday and so we got them into a nuc box, and saw they are covering 4 commercial frames, and tonight took them over to my apiary.

I'm looking forward to moving them into my hive and very excited about the coming season.

 

[Grub]

A full check on both today 1st time this year, one is covering every frame, drone cells capped so glad I done it today , added QE and super , the other hive only covering 3 frames, no drone cells but eggs and larvea present have to keep a eye on this one maybe a 1 to 1 feed may help ?

So a mixed bag, very sunny today but a chilly wind at times.

Grub

 

[Swarm]

Yes please. I have rather rashly promised to supply my step daughter with honey favours for her wedding next year.

What a silly custom. When I got married the guest gave ME presents....not the other way round.

Snap.
We picked up a box of little hex jars at Llanelwedd, daughter is home from Australia in two weeks and getting married in May. I kept a bucket aside from last year.

Soon be time to fill them and make them pretty ... so we can ... give ... away ... our liquid gold (???)

It puts me in mind of kiddies parties where their little friends all leave with party bags.

 

[Tim.S]

Swapped national deeps around on 5 hives and added a third super on one of them. Can it really still be only the middle of April?

 

[pargyle]

A full check on both today 1st time this year, one is covering every frame, drone cells capped so glad I done it today , added QE and super , the other hive only covering 3 frames, no drone cells but eggs and larvea present have to keep a eye on this one maybe a 1 to 1 feed may help ?

So a mixed bag, very sunny today but a chilly wind at times.

Grub

Sorry ... Why ? Drone cells are pretty normal .. quite a few in the association apiary hives today ... not an indicator of anything untoward as far as I know...

As for feeding ... there should be enough forage about now for them to manage well enough on their own ... I think most beekeepers will have had the feeders off for a week or three at least by now - if indeed they needed feeding at all ? It's a small colony on three frames but as long as it's queenright and there's no signs of brood disease or nosema they are probably just slow in getting started.

No doubt there will be some other ideas along shortly !

 

[user 6228]

Sorry ... Why ? Drone cells are pretty normal .. quite a few in the association apiary hives today ... not an indicator of anything untoward as far as I know...

...

An indicator that spring is here and the happy swarming time will soon be upon us!

 

[pargyle]

An indicator that spring is here and the happy swarming time will soon be upon us!

Yes ... but no recorded correlation (AFAIK) between drone cells in the hive and imminent swarming ... at any time of the year.

 

[Grub]

Sorry ... Why ? Drone cells are pretty normal .. quite a few in the association apiary hives today ... not an indicator of anything untoward as far as I know...

!

just being factual about one hive with drone cells and the other without, I thought the same about not feeding should be enough forage about , no problems with disease etc , but did not see the Queen and only on 3 frames I should off.

thanks for your reply

Grub

 

[user 6228]

Yes ... but no recorded correlation (AFAIK) between drone cells in the hive and imminent swarming ... at any time of the year.

they tell you within a month or three ...

 

[pargyle]

just being factual about one hive with drone cells and the other without, I thought the same about not feeding should be enough forage about , no problems with disease etc , but did not see the Queen and only on 3 frames I should off.

thanks for your reply

Grub

Ahh .. reading between the lines and found more than there was there ...

But ... if you have eggs and larvae she's there somewhere so probably no need to worry ... just not really got going yet ...

 

[beeno]

Hi all,
I give up trying to second guess what is going to happen next with colonies. The one going into winter with no winter bees and no capped stores or pollen has got loads of brood, but still not enough stores. Luckily, I have some frames from other colony with surplus stores to be cleaned out! Somehow I don't think I am going to get any honey out of this colony this year either?

 

[pargyle]

they tell you within a month or three ...

Soooooo true ....

Like just about everything in beekeeping - completely random !!