What did you do in the Apiary today?

[jenkinsbrynmair]

If they've got 6 frames to draw, one or two feeds (especially at the moment as everyone says colonies are short of food) would give them a boost and hopefully get the queen laying strongly - that's only one opinion obviously, but at least it's qualified.

 

[Skyhook]

what would happen.

They would fill the space with syrup leaving no room to lay. To quote Hooper 'Has the colony suficient stores to last until the next inspection?' It clearly has, so that's good enough. They will buiuld out as they need it.

 

[Skyhook]

Found eggs and larvae in my other hive. They've both managed not only to raise new queens, but to get them mated in this rotten weather!

 

[Chris Luck]

Watched, (and heard squeaking), a tiny spotted Roe deer fawn in among the hives.

Chris

 

[Heather]

I had a small Roe deer wandering around my garden-- all hives safe- poor deer, Lord knows where it had come from. It disappeared down the road later...

 

[nematode]

I sat on a chair four meters away from the hive entrance and watched the comings and goings of bees through binoculars. Just sat and watched.

 

[greatbritishhoney]

Went to out apiary to prepare for moving one of the hives tomorrow morning. Taped up the crownboard and screwed floor/BB/supers together. The colony has become too aggressive to be in close proximity to the general public so it will be moved home tomorrow and requeened as soon as I can raise one.

 

[Pookiesbees]

After introducing a new queen and leaving them alone for 9 days, I went for a nosey to check all was ok. Thrilled to say new queen laying like a champion! Eggs and larva, content workers and no drone explosion. Happy days!

 

[Swarm]

Emergency feed for struggling nuc. Last week all was fine, new Queen, plenty of stores, plenty of bees. Today, critical.

 

[Andy Coleman]

Checked out my oldest colony from which I had removed the old Queen 4 weeks ago - found eggs, larvae, and eventually a nice looking new queen. Marked her white, rather ineptly, but should make her easy to find again. Tons of stores and pollen, however there seem to be a lot of drones, and there were a couple of Q cells. I destroyed them to give me some thinking time, but I suppose they will persist and build new ones. Any suggestions!?

 

[Andy Coleman]

I also have a nuc, growing rapidly for the last few weeks, but when I checked this afernoon found there were virtually no stores although lots of bees, plenty of pollen coming in. Put on some 1:1 syrup, will check again in a couple of days. Is this a big June gap?

 

[VEG]

Well I shook and brushed out 2 supers of bees that were above a Q+ brood box as there was a drone laying worker/queen in there.
Checked through the rest of the hives and they seem to be eating their way through the honey.

 

[TOBY-3652]

Just got back from moving 2 hives now on 40 acres of spring osr just coming into flower and seen a virgin queen emerge from cell other cell had dead worker entoumed

 

[oliver90owner]

Do you think 40 acres (15 Ha, or so) will be enough for two hives?

Two queens in that hive then? Fight to the death unless you lost a cast.

RAB

 

[Otleybee]

Heard a queen piping for the first time. There were some queen cells left from a swarm that left one of my hives last week. I went through cutting them out and managed to get three live queens. I dropped one into the hive so that will be a fight to the death.

We retreated to the garden table with the other two, cut open the cells and watched them emerge into the light. One flew off pretty much straight away. I have the other one in a matchbox. I don't have a mating nuc so I guess I will just practice handling and marking and then squish. Unless anyone near Otley wants an unmated queen? Free to collect.

 

[Erichalfbee]

Well, today is the first day of


for a month and I am going to take a beer out at lunchtime and watch the hives

 

[Teemore]

Checked two of my hives yesterday and stores were low so am feeding them 1:1 syrup. thankfully their temper has improved along with the weather. My other hives were checked on Sunday and all going well - they were already being fed as they are this year's splits.
Was helping a friend with some of his Colonies on Saturday and we removed some queen cells from one to use to requeen a couple of problem colonies, to make up a couple of Apideas and to help out another beekeeper with a queenless colony. The Queens started to emerge as we were working so instead of introducing Queen Cells we ended up introducing live Queens. It was priceless to see one of the queens wandering over my mate's stomach while I popped another Queen directly into an Apidea - they readily accpeted her. We later made up another Apidea as we had a spare Queen at the end of the day after helping the other beekeeper. I went home with two of the Apideas so fingers crossed they get mated and start laying well; both mini colonies are eating away at the fondant so hopefully that bodes well for them staying in the Apidea for a while!

 

[Juststarting]

Well, today is the first day of


for a month and I am going to take a beer out at lunchtime and watch the hives

Me too just spent a pleasant hour watching all hives and nucs flying freely and bringing in pollen - first time for weeks!

Just hope my virgin queen takes advantage of the weather too!

 

[madasafish]

Well it was warm and dry enough to do inspections. Added comb honey to 2 TBH nucs, fed one TBH syrup and kept feeding both Warres (swarms)..

Waiting for 3/4 queens to mate.. About 14C with a breeze but sunny so at least 2C warmer than any day last week..

Lots of pollen aound and no dount nectar: had 8 honey bees plus one bumble inside an oriental poppy going mad over the pollen..

 

[TOBY-3652]

got a swarm checked hives on spring osr@ just a reply 2 rab on 29th the virgin queen that i saw was in a nuc not hives i moved only 1 queen in each. should of explained better