What did you do in the Apiary today?

[Hivemaker.]

Thanks HM, blimey 3kg!

Getting to be expensive stuff, but very useful, generally use about 8kg per season.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

At the association apiary - assisted by Redwood. Checked hive with new queen introduced last week - laying well, plenty of eggs. Shook out one hive with a laying worker, applied Apiguard to hives then tidied up the store shed in readiness for Syrup delivery

 

[pargyle]

Just stood and watched ... lots of activity .. bright orange pollen in abundance and some grey pollen coming in. Ivy still only the odd one or two florets open - taking its time to get going. Still ... more warm weather predicted here for the coming week 24 Degrees ! Long may it continue .. still not started feeding them as they seem to be doing alright ... everything is ready though. Still quite a few drones about - varroa count negligible on the inspection boards so no treatment again this year .... unless I see something that makes me feel they need it.

 

[TOBY-3652]

counted mites on worst hive 1400 in 5 days..

 

[YorkshireBees]

Removed final supers for the year!

 

[Amari]

Wish I could get as many hives into my Toyota Prius. Because of the big battery under the boot floor to drive the hybrid system there is only enough headroom for a bb and one super.

 

[Amari]

What did I do yesterday?: applied MAQ to my two hives on the heather at Dunwich Heath (Suffolk coast). My hives here (west Suffolk) have completed ApilifeVar but it will be too late to apply this when I bring back the hives from the heather at the end of the month.
Never used MAQ before - hope its OK at this time of year.

 

[TryingToLetThemBee]

Looked in quickly on the domain of Augusta, my first true increase Q, emerged about 2 August in my double-brood nuc, to see whether they'd repeated the supersedure-cell trick of a week ago. Not strictly necessary, but she's my baby, you know...

Luckily they hadn't because I've bred a monster! 4 frames of brood and heaving with bees; they need hiving STAT: already have the play-cups to show for it. It'll be Saturday so I'm slightly nervous.

And that'll be double brood of course (they have 12 frames already). Heck; they may even have to be Demaree'd.

What a year to have started beekeeping!!!

 

[Samurailord]

Took the BB and super off the floor so I could fix the drooping mesh which had been allowing robbers in the back door, so to speak.

As I knocked the tacks in at the back I realised that the front was now hanging off too - time and the weather has not been kind to it!

Will have to fix this come spring - we needed another new floor anyway, so will order one soon.

Took the opportunity of rearranging the order and put the super under the BB before applying the firsst treatment of Apiguard (leaving all the stores for the colony this year as it is their first year and I would rather have no honey this year and bees next rather than honey now and no bees next spring)

Also remembered (just) to reduce the entrance down to its winter configuration and to replace the varroa board under the mesh.

Nice placid bees again, totally different temperament to my last foray into the hive when they all came out fighting.

Looks like the robbing was the problem all along

Andy

 

[Amari]

T
Also remembered (just) to reduce the entrance down to its winter configuration and to replace the varroa board under the mesh.
Andy

Many would advise not leaving varroa board on over winter but close roof ventilation by putting an insulated board (Kingspan, Celotex etc) under the roof.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Many would advise not leaving varroa board on over winter

Inspection boards should only be in when inspecting (durring varroa treatment and maybe a week sometime before

but close roof ventilation

Why was it open to begin with?

 

[Anduril]

Many would advise not leaving varroa board on over winter but close roof ventilation by putting an insulated board (Kingspan, Celotex etc) under the roof.

Apiguard has just been applied.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

and......................

 

[dpearce4]

Just picked up a swarm the size of two footballs, they were in the box for less than 2hrs and the top of it is already covered in wax.

Got to be my latest swarm ever. will give it 2 days then will start to feed it in earnest. it has gone onto drawn comb so thinking 2:1 will be best?

 

[Anduril]

and......................

"before applying the firsst treatment of Apiguard" from Samurailord. Or would you prefer the apiguard to be ineffective.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

"before applying the firsst treatment of Apiguard" from Samurailord. Or would you prefer the apiguard to be ineffective.

Eh?
Nowhere in the apiguard instructions does it tell you to ventilate the hive - apart from to leave a full entrance.

 

[Anduril]

Eh?
Nowhere in the apiguard instructions does it tell you to ventilate the hive - apart from to leave a full entrance.

?

Samurailord nor I have said anything about ventilating a hive, he is closing it up, entrance block in. The way I read his post was as a set up for Apiguard treatment. But I wouldn't leave a super below while the treatment was on.
The confusing part was the term 'winter configuration'

 

[Anduril]

apart from to leave a full entrance.

Sorry but in the instruction I cannot find 'leave a full entrance'
It says 'Do not close up the entrance during treatment' I read that as do not leave fully closed stopping the bees from getting out.

 

[Amari]

What I did today:
Visited apiary to destroy Qcells in a poorly expanding (over 2 years) colony that I rendered Qless 72 hours ago in order to introduce a purchased Q due to arrive by post today. Arrgh, there were no Q cells! Despite a careful search I could not find a (probably supercedure) Q. There were plenty of one day-old larvae presumably laid by the culled Q. Very occasional eggs.
I could not risk introducing an expensive Q which might be killed by a resident Q so made up a Qless nuc from another colony and introduced the new Q to that. However I did not remove the plastic tab covering the fondant but will do so tomorrow by which time I hope the nuc will accept her. Is this what you would have done?

 

[protheroe]

What I did today:
Visited apiary to destroy Qcells in a poorly expanding (over 2 years) colony that I rendered Qless 72 hours ago in order to introduce a purchased Q due to arrive by post today. Arrgh, there were no Q cells! Despite a careful search I could not find a (probably supercedure) Q. There were plenty of one day-old larvae presumably laid by the culled Q. Very occasional eggs.
I could not risk introducing an expensive Q which might be killed by a resident Q so made up a Qless nuc from another colony and introduced the new Q to that. However I did not remove the plastic tab covering the fondant but will do so tomorrow by which time I hope the nuc will accept her. Is this what you would have done?

i think its the safest way of queen introduction