What did you do in the Apiary today?

[einsteinagogo]

Inspections cancelled due to rain, was going to build frames, and then ....

see this posting, Colony at Ap.1 starts forming a "vortex of bees"

http://www.beekeepingforum.co.uk/showthread.php?p=411398&posted=1#post411398

 

[Cazza]

Busy day today.
Up at 6 to take off 3 supers and extract them.
Trip to town to buy some more honey buckets.
Inspected enormous demaree and an AS, rhombus clearer board on 3 more supers ready for extraction tomorrow.

This beekeeping hobby is bloody hard work.

Feeling the need to go to the pub for a beer.

Cazza

 

[beeno]

I am off to the pub too this evening. Yday spotted swarm queen from my first swarm call of the year and 'scrub queen' (not in the same box) both looked fat and mated, but too early to lay. Today, before the bad weather set in, got laying Q back in BBB with all the drones, Q/E, stores with some worker brood in TBB here's hoping that they may move stores into the supers!

 

[bontbee]

Just came home to my first ever blown-over hive. My most docile colony, but this was too much even for them, so a few pecks received. Can't say I blame them.

Luckily, saw HM on second retrieved frame - busily looking for somewhere to lay! Lovely girl.

They have calmed down again, very quickly, but I wonder how they will regard me next time I visit.....

 

[alldigging]

Got a shout someone's bees were swarming so went and looked.

Indeed they had chosen the half hour it wasn't raining to swarm. Not mine. So they've been put in a nuc by the owners.
Second lot from this hive as they did a mini-split when they first had a go at swarming on 29th.

 

[YorkshireBees]

Took 2 more supers off between rain storms.

Decided to put one of the extracted supers onto the feisty lot on my way home, bad idea! Received several stings.

All that after extracting 7 supers this morning!

Time for a pizza + beer !

 

[Moggett]

Went to the apiary and found a swarm on the side of the tallest supered hive under the edge of the roof. I initially thought I must have missed a queen cell but checking my colonies revealed it was not one of mine. I've never experienced a swarm landing on an occupied hive before, and there are plenty of bushes and trees around. There are other beekeeper's colonies nearby so it's probably one of theirs.

There are mating flights due in my colonies from now onwards and the weather is typically bad.

 

[Goran]

Goran, your updates are upsetting but keep them coming anyway because we feel for you. Good luck. We just lost our awesome spring here; hopefully it comes back but sometimes they don't.

Thank you for your support. I hope you will get better season than me. I have next week of bad weather to reorganize myself.
Will see what it turn to be at the end.

Forgot today was decent day for forage, bees exploited it to go at black locust. No pics.. I broke my camera.. Right in a tone..

 

[pre1mjr]

Found sealed swarm QCs and Q, so A/S. Did it vertically for lack of space in my garden. Q plus 3 frames of stores and rest foundation in bottom, 1 QC left in top (plus any I missed), with cover board and entrance in between. Don't have any drawn frames as beginner.


I wonder if this was right.

 

[youngyoungs]

Day of queens. Can't find the queen, are those queen cells, is that queen cell about to hatch. Oh look, a scrub queen, and another and another. Wow, a new queen, isn't she lovely. Oh look, last years queen is still here and laying well. Despair, excitement, and panic all in one day!

 

[VEG]

Not a thing done in the apiary today as it is blowing a gale here today.

 

[Swarm]

Not in the apiary but filling little hex jars for wedding favours for my daughter.

 

[Somerford]

Nothing....went to GBKA auction, AFB found there, see threads on bee health

 

[stephenpug]

reading about everyone extracting honey is getting me jealous is it because they are on oil seed rape ?? there isnt any by me (thank god) just gardens with plenty of flowers and quite a few horsechesnut trees

 

[einsteinagogo]

A very busy day from 1pm, when I thought I was going to have a lazy day making roofs, floors and frames! Hive started to swarm, and released 3 casts, one cut from pear tree, and dropped into swarm box, and then later put into a nuc at Apiary 2, and then the other casts on the hive later this evening were collected and merged with nuc, the original swarm, was only covering two frames, when adding the other casts to it. Closed OMF, reduced entrance, and put on excluder for a few days, and then I'll remove excluder.

When I returned this evening with the other casts, the bees in nuc looked quite content, on the middle two frames. I'm hoping this will give me a strong nuc, not sure if this was best beekeeping practice, but I didn't have the heart to leave them overnight, they'd been in the rain for 7 hours, and had not moved. I also noticed many dead or not moving, bees on magnolia leaves, just motionless, as they had come out, settled, and then been rained on.

we will see what tomorrow brings.... here's a 1 minute video clip of it all starting...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fZCLVVz2fSY

the post of today is here, if you want to see photos

http://www.beekeepingforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=29247&page=2

 

[RosieMc]

looked at the rain
looked at the flowers and tree blossoms getting battered by the wind
looked at the rain some more

 

[Itchy]

Checked on a trap out I have....amazing how bees find a way in to the original nest even if it involves marching 12ft from the original entrance.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Went to the Teifiside BKA auction - they had a wide selection of novelty firewood there including a national brood box you could crumble up into your smoker. Lost interest and went home early (Sorry MBC if you came looking for me!) gave some 1:1 to the swarm I collected Tuesday.

 

[Margaret Elisabeth]

Panicked and moved a frame with queen cell and bees into the other hive where the queen is still not laying though now getting as much sun as the good hive.
Having said this the good hive is still slower at build up than I would have expected and is producing queen cells so maybe the white queen is not able to lay as much. Got Stung Again. I must remember to keep my fingers well apart.

 

[Cazza]

Another early start to extract some more honey.
Might to back to bed now as it's raining.
Cazza