What did you do in the Apiary today?

[user 6228]

Working out how to build a cluster for virtual bees
and fetching a couple of frames of real honey out of a real hive for the bee keeper

 

[Jimmys Mum]

I did an artificial swarm (Pagden style) on a hive that was until 5 weeks ago still an overwintered nuc!

It was rehoused in a 14x12 brood box in early March. They've drawn out all the additional frames of foundation I added and she'd laid up 7 frames in the brood box and 6 shallow frames in the super above (I accidently forgot to add QX a fortnight ago ).

There was still plenty of laying space in both boxes plus they had an additional super about half filled with OSR nectar. This lot were spawned from very swarmy stock last summer so I was half expecting this!

 

[dpearce4]

Colonies absolutely exploding atm. Nearly got caught out by 2 of my polyhives that needed demareeing.
One had filled a double brood and had lots of almost capped QC's!
Partly my own fault as I hadn't inspected for 11 days.
Both have 2 supers half full and I added a 3rd super.

I can see it this year my hives are taller than yours being the thread of the year.

 

[dpearce4]

Introduced a friend to one of my sites today, Had a great time. Found one hive had absconded, nothing in there not even a dead bee, will have to think on that one. Another hive the last we inspected was wall to wall brood, the 2 supers put on last Saturday were 3/4 full, and when going through the brood box there was just one queen cell on the side of the frame not capped but will be tomorrow or Saturday. Found the queen and did a AS using a snelgrove board, ready for moving to a new site on the apiary on Monday.

First thing this morning moved the colony I cut out of a persons eaves onto my other site, got there at just after 7.30am and one of my colonies there was already flying like mad.

I now have supers on 8 hives, hope this continues for the summer.

 

[TryingToLetThemBee]

Saw the Red Queen Unseen!! Pretty pleased, given that it's now a strong double-brood colony with BIAS on 15 frames. Turns out she was (or is) unmarked. I'm pretty sure I've not lost a swarm, and I doubt they have superseded, so friction in her year of life I suppose.

Sprang the drone trap: not a mite in sight but the patience of my local cock robin was well rewarded!

Will put another box of foundation under in case a flow gets going.

My first 9 months of beekeeping have been amazing: thanks everyone.

 

[Erichalfbee]

First week look in to two Bailey changes. One box has most of the frames drawn mostly with queen laying. The other, five frames partly drawn and queen still downstairs....I'll give this one syrup tonight....
Excluders in, bottom entranceS closed (lots of miffed bees) and top ones open. I went down an hour later to see how they are coping with the entrance change and got chased away !!

Isn't dandelion drawn comb a beautiful yellow

 

[theeggman]

Mowed the paddock and around the hives, on a ride on.
We currently have 1 colony Q- and assume they are the bees that are being a pain when you approach closer than 10 mts. A frame of brood and eggs go in tomorrow to see whether they will rear a new Q. If not they will wind up on the grass infront of the other hives.
Had to finish the mowing wearing a T's £5 sale smock and rubber gloves, doesn't help the control of the mower!!. Couldn't see begger all to the side or behind.

Tim

 

[poshpikey]

Went through both colonies and found a few queen cells with eggs in each. Did an AS and also added a fourth super to each!

 

[Tom Bick]

Cleared a new allotment site, slashing, strimming, burning and digging ready for the screening, gate and stands. A bit warm tonight, think I have caught the sun but still a great day, just love allotments.

 

[einsteinagogo]

I've also been down at the Allotment Site, Apiary No.2 today, introduced two overwintered nucs with marked 2013 queens, moved nucs into 2 new nationals, 6 frames, and added foundation either sides of the 6 frames. One nuc was bursting with bees, 4 frames of brood, 2 stores and the bees and queen were hiding in the "feeder part of the poly nuc", it was quite a treat to lightly handle, and present her to the entrance, and she walked in, and buzzed a little at the entrance, and the hive quieten - a fanastic sight to watch.

nuc1, 3 frames of brood, no as much stores, not as sticky (frames).

Put feeders on both hives this evening, 4 pints of 1:1 sugar syrup to gate them to draw out the remaining foundation.

I didn't inspect frames fully, just wanted to transfer frames quickly over, and used dummy boards in both.

Hive No.1 a little quite this evening, compared to Hive No.2, bees quickly came up and started taking syrup.

Inpsect in 7 days. Check on frames, see how they are progressing.

It's starting to get cold, so I'm expecting a frost tonight!

 

[beewade]

Really good day today! first of all went to collect a new hive full of bees from a friend early in the morning, started them off in the garden and removed the foam blocking the front after about an hour to make sure they'd settled down a bit. Then in the early afternoon I did a hive inspection on my other hive, found it full of brood, stores and drones with quite a few queen cells as well. Found and marked the queen for the first time. Decided to go for my first a/s, seemed to go by the book with the hive splitting well and they dont appear to have disappeared yet, just hoping a new queen emerges from the old hive. all seems well atm

 

[Bosleeu]

Scout bees!

Had a lot of activity at the entrance to my bait hive yesterday evening.

Don't appear to be mine as they were flying back over the hedge one that had a look.

Fingers crossed!

Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk

 

[YorkshireBees]

I can see it this year my hives are taller than yours being the thread of the year.

Honestly the way I run my hives, there should be on 1 deep BS National, 1-4 Supers and then the demareed BS National Deep on top.

Unfortunately due to the weather some of my colonies overwintered on double brood have expended that fast that I am having to demaree both deeps making for very tall hives!

I will need to start carrying a step ladder if they get any taller.

 

[masterBK]

I run double broods and most have 15 or 16 combs of brood in total at the moment. I demareed yesterday and sorted the brood putting all the sealed brood in the bottom box with the queen and the unsealed brood in the top box with three supers in between (2 of whihc are fairly full). The sealed brood soon emerges providing laying room for the queen and I find this avoids sky scraper hives and the step ladder that you might need if you do it your way.

 

[Erichalfbee]

Bees really aren't coping with the entrance change on the Bailey hives.
Possibly because the hives are MB ones and are not straight sided.
I nipped round the back of the hives and quickly flicked off the bottom closed off reducers. I just about managed to run fast enough!!!!

 

[Glenviewbee]

Actually this is what I did yesterday but hey ho!

Decided to have the purpose of my inspection as 'finding and marking the queen'..... unfortunately failed both times

The queens are in there - both hives have eggs, larvae and sealed brood - both colonies seem to be building nicely, there's a decent amount of stores in both and the bees are piling in with pollen so all good

I will have another go when the weather is amenable - will try the 'move the brood box away to reduce numbers' trick - I am checking the darker side of the frames first to try and catch HM before she disappears, but obviously my novice eye is not identifying the differences quickly enough.

I want to mark the queens because I do want to build up my colony numbers - plus it will make AS procedures easier.

 

[oliver90owner]

I-want to mark the queens because

That is one way to lose a colony, or be panicking for a few weeks. The middle of April is too early for a novice to be messing around, looking for a queen and possibly losing her by marking. How often have we seen on the forum, where queens have been lost and beeks have been worrying, for weeks, as to whether they have a queen, a mated queen, a DLQ or need to buy in a replacement (or another replacement when the introduction goes wrong)?

I know the books say it is easier to find her before there are too many bees, but that really is a load of rubbish where 'one and two hive novices' are concerned.

If you have single broods, she will only ever be in the one box. If you have double broods, she will only ever be in one box at a time. Even if you give her the run of four boxes, she will still only be in one box at a time - and it is far easier for a novice to find her on shallow frames.

KISS Principle - buy a spare Q/E. Work smart instead of the other.

RAB

 

[Glenviewbee]

I-want to mark the queens because

If you have single broods, she will only ever be in the one box.
KISS Principle - buy a spare Q/E. Work smart instead of the other.

RAB

Hi RAB - I know which box the queen is in, I just have difficulty spotting her. As you say there is always quite a lot of conflicting advice re when to find and mark queens -in the beginner section I posted something and a response to that post was for me to take advantage of the fewer numbers now to find and mark the queen......

I do have a spare Q/E so presumably you are suggesting I do a Demaree to increase numbers?

 

[VEG]

I have spent the last 2 days planting 420 pollinator friendly trees, plenty for the bees to forage on next year.

 

[oliver90owner]

-in the beginner section I posted something

There may lie the problem - you may well have got a beginner's answer. I try to avoid the beginners section as some don't seem to like to hear the truth; and, anyway, too many beginners in that section.

Crass advice, I would say, for a beginner to be advised to mark queens even earlier in the season than now. But there again, the advice is often worth exactly what you paid for it. I will now go and look back at your posting history to find out who I might just have miffed off.

RAB