What did you do in the Apiary today?

[user 6228]

Watched the bees flying...

 

[Apple]

Watched the bees flying...




James

 

[jonnybeegood]

treated with oxalic today, 3 poly hives all had bees clustered at the side where the sun hits the hives for the longest, clever bees!

 

[Pete D]

Went out at 11.45 and started oxalic trickling my hives and nucs, got on quite well and was back home by 14.15. Did all my 54 colonies at my 4 over wintering sites, no smoke, very quick with the syringe. Cold and bright nearly all hives clustered, some double broods quite deep down. Between 3 and 8 seams of bees across std and 14x12 national cedar hives and poly Nucs.
One or 2 light ones, check again in a couple of weeks, fondant at the ready.
Happy new year

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Mixed up a couple of gallons of OA syrup in readiness for the begginner's winter lesson on Sunday - ' How to clean up your frame top bars and runners'.
Went for a spin up to the carreg apiary to OA the hives up there - all bees quiet and clustered, most on 5/7 seams. Nothing drastically light on stores but as It will be a while before I pop up again, fondant put on the lightest.
One managed to sting me through ; gauntlet,bee suit and quilted shirt - there's determination for you!

 

[Goran]

Finally winter, snow and -20C. Now I can have lazy start of making fondants-patties..

 

[Firefly]

Finally winter, snow and -20C. Now I can have lazy start of making fondants-patties..

Minus 20, wow. And I was feeling sorry for my bees because I was opening hives to apply Oxalic with a bit of frost on the ground. Do you treat with Oxalic in Croatia at those kind of temperatures?

Red Kites from the Chilterns first reached this part of the Cotswolds about 3-4 years ago. They are now well established and two were circling us at tree-top height as Mrs Firefly lit the smoker. Happily they decided we are not (yet) carrion

 

[drex]

Scraped and scorched half of my boxes. Sunny but cold morning, the wax and propolis scraped off so easily. Bought some bleach ready to do the polys.

 

[Goran]

Minus 20, wow. And I was feeling sorry for my bees because I was opening hives to apply Oxalic with a bit of frost on the ground. Do you treat with Oxalic in Croatia at those kind of temperatures?

Red Kites from the Chilterns first reached this part of the Cotswolds about 3-4 years ago. They are now well established and two were circling us at tree-top height as Mrs Firefly lit the smoker. Happily they decided we are not (yet) carrion

Oxalic acid we treat at temps around 2 till 8C. Most of beeks do it in November. These days it would be late for a treatment here as in some colonies at this moment You can find even sealed brood ( I didn't take the frames out but a lot others did and said that).
We have carnies and they usually here have the last brood in September/October. After that ideal for OA. But I wait end of November/beginning of December cause I want to avoid reinvasion ( also late brood) and to have more effective treatment.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

finished OA'ing the home colonies, all twelve looking good - bursting with bees all on at least 5 seams, penty of stores (don't think I'll be using much of my fondant at this rate!)

 

[TryingToLetThemBee]

Flying today in 8C or so. Agonising over whether to vape the colony I am treating one third and last time, but tending to think not and that I have covered the full sealed-brood cycle since 20 Dec. Brood is clearly still emerging, based on dark cappings falling.

 

[beeno]

A few bees are flying probably water collection with all the Ivy honey to dilute.

 

[Erichalfbee]

Same here a couple of days ago, lots of bees at the pond edge in the sunshine

 

[enrico]

My bees are still strapped down because of the wind, need to unstrap them all to heft them when the wind dies down! This is the time of the year when I find the stores can deplete quite quickly.
E

 

[Jimmy]

Trickled oxalic to all colonies. All looked well, still clustered despite temperature of 12°. Was hoping to do it earlier in the week when it was colder but daughter's impetigo thwarted my plan.
Looked like a rabbit had been gnawing the corner of one wooden hive and stand.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Strappeed down the hives after OA yesterday (forgot to do it - luckily the bit of wind we had last night didn't do any damage) Tidied up the chamber of secrets in readiness to build some more floors and roofs (and in case the beekeeping kit fairy arrives uninvited )

 

[busybee53]

Got my first sting of the year whilst there to do oxalic - and not even my bees. The colony wot did it have been weak in the past but they are fighting fit now.

 

[user 6228]

fixed bluetit damage to the Recticel hives with some ally tape.

THis year the blue tits have started pecking at the corners of the roof and the floor. What they are achieving by this I dont know... perhaps they are frustrated by the abscence of delivered milk bottles

 

[Jimmys Mum]

More vaporising today. All good. Mites still falling.

Three hives which are on a single 14x12 brood box hefted a bit light so put fondant on those. Those nadired with a shallow of uncapped stores in October are all still heavy enough. Looking through the polycarbonate boards, most are on 6 or 7 seams.

Saw what looked suspiciously like mouse poo on the inspection board of one hive. I have mouse guards on so can only assume it's wandered in through the gap at the rear of the OMF to check out the inspection board rather than actually being inside the hive. If it is actually inside then it must have got in in the hour or so that I took the mouse guards off last week to make it easier for them to bring out their dead. I guess that mouse lungs won't cope well with vaporised OA.......

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Popped down to the association apiary to prepare for OA day Sunday, needed to sort out the insulation in the roofs (40mm kingspan permanently fixed in the roof, sheet of 50mm with hole in for fondant feeding over crownboard). bees showing in all hives, flying in the warm sunshine.