What did you do in the Apiary today?

[AndrewE]

Far too early for supers ... there's no nectar down here on the South Coast...

So what? Our past branch chairman (who like me gets big crops) regularly says - I thought for the benefit of beginners but maybe others might benefit too - "Early in the season you add supers FOR THE BEES. Later in the year they are for the honey crop (and at that stage don't forget that a super of honey needs 3 to park it while it is still nectar.") or words to that effect. I think that is part of the current module teaching too...

 

[pargyle]

So what? Our past branch chairman (who like me gets big crops) regularly says - ..... I think that is part of the current module teaching too...

Like I said ... if it works for you then fine ... I don't think there's many on this forum that would agree with your thinking though ...

AND ... it's certainly not something that I would be recommending to new beekeepers. There's enough temptation to be peeking into hives - and even people doing inspections - without encouraging it ...

Far too early IMHO.

 

[TryingToLetThemBee]

Buckybeast found a big chunk of Apiguard in some dark forgotten corner. They seem to have taken a lot of bees through winter, and everyone else is doing fine too, touch wood. Pollen flooding in. I so love this time of year.

 

[Bosleeu]

Just went out to listen to the bees, most hives are busy, my double brood looking very happy through the crownboards.

 

[youngyoungs]

Drove South yesterday to Bee Tradex, to top up supplies. Came back with a full car and an empty purse! According to HWMBO, bees were flying in Cheshire.

 

[jd101k2000]

Did some photography - here is one of a varroa going into a hive

Thought you might like to see this.

 

[jonnybeegood]

Had a look in the top of my hives & nucs today, all were flying & sun was warm so checked their food. 2 of my hives hadnt touched the fondant i put on in early Jan, hives too heavy to lift i think i over erred on the side of caution with the fondant. Checked 3 nucs all thriving, eating fondant but still have stores. One nuc which was really full at the end of last year is still really full of bees, i will have to watch this one for early swarming, doesnt look like many bees have died off this winter. Is that down to poly hives & nucs? Maybe.[/ATTACH]

 

[jonnybeegood]

 

[jonnybeegood]

An old ash tree came down on my land a couple of years ago leaving the trunk still upright to about 15 foot, i got some large chunks off it today to use in my smoke, i tried a little of the dry stuff & it smells lovely, made some smoking bricks with a load of little bits, all now drying out in the greenhouse. No more hessian sacks or cardboard for me

 

[Erichalfbee]

2 of my hives hadnt touched the fondant i put on in early Jan, hives too heavy to lift i think i over erred on the side of caution with the fondant.

I've done that too, I'm sure we all have
BUT
Might I suggest that you weigh the hives after that first inspection, then you can correlate the weight to the amount of stores left.
I always tried to keep that in my head but writing it down somewhere is much better.

 

[jonnybeegood]

I've done that too, I'm sure we all have
BUT
Might I suggest that you weigh the hives after that first inspection, then you can correlate the weight to the amount of stores left.
I always tried to keep that in my head but writing it down somewhere is much better.

How do i go about weighing them? I wouldnt want to pick the whole thing up to stand on scales?

 

[Swinton apiaries]

Check you tube mike palmer weighing hives he doesn't lift them

 

[Amari]

How do i go about weighing them? I wouldnt want to pick the whole thing up to stand on scales?

I put a screw in each side of the floor with c. 3cm proud. Then weigh each side with luggage scales and add.

 

[Erichalfbee]

Yes, that works or you can hook under the floor it the design allows. Remember, you're after only a rough weight, not down to the last gram/oz

 

[Goran]

Over here, wind for week or even more don't stop, 10celsius day temp, nights frost. Even sunny but cold. Despite this bees go out, a lot on cornel ( nectar and pollen) and some forest flowers. Forest willows seems are opening.. Ordinary March for now..

 

[Galaxy55]

Watched the bees bringing in the first pollen of the year, most being bright orange/yellow probably from crocus - nice to see them preparing for the year to come, lets hope it is as good as last year.

 

[MikeT]

Orange pollen being brought into all 3 hives, which may be Alder from the water meadows some 500m away, also some white pollen. Checked fondant on 2 hives still about 1 kg left on each. The hive with super below brood box is still relatively heavy. If I have to feed again I will use the extracted mustard honey I took off last Autumn, it has such a strong aftertaste.

 

[Hivemaker.]

If I have to feed again I will use the extracted mustard honey I took off last Autumn, it has such a strong aftertaste.

It was obviously English mustard and not French then.

 

[Tremyfro]

Checking food supplies

We always take a walk via the bee hives after finishing on the stable yard. Had a quick peek at the fondant situation on the hives.
Hive 1.... Eaten all the fondant and felt much lighter to heft. Loads of bees on the top bars of the frames. So more to be added tomorrow as we are forecast to have a sunny day. Hopefully some of the bees will be out flying and it will be easier to add the fondant.
Hive 2... Still some fondant left but the hive still felt quite heavy.
Hive 3.... Almost all the fondant eaten. Hive felt light to heft. So more fondant to add tomorrow.
I hope we are keeping up with the bees needs....since it is our first spring it is hard to tell.
It would be great to have a roving camera in the hive....then we could see what's going on.

 

[pargyle]

Well ... yesterday actually, in the balmy heat of the Costa del Fareham ... nearly 14 degrees... I had a look through the clear crown board on my long hive and saw the two slugs I had seen previously ... bloody big beggars as well ... just underneath the crown board at one end of the hive - actually well away from the bees so ... my crown board in the long hive is in three sections so up came the end section and out came the two slugs - sadly now deceased by the application of my size 9's. Found another one just at the bottom of the last frame in the hive - didn't go any further in.

50mm wide Copper tape on all the hive legs now to stop any more getting in although I will keep an eye open for any intruders that have been left behind.

No more honey drips on the inspection board like those that I saw last week. I dropped one end of my detachable floor to see if I could see anything - no sign of rodents in there so no idea what caused that. The mesh was so clean I was pretty amazed - no dead bees no debris build up, a few wax shreds but nothing to get excited about. Hooked the floor back up and left them to it.

They have built comb on the bottom of all the frames in the space under the frames (my **** up when I built the hive as I accidentally left a gap between the mesh floor and the bottom of the frames of about 2"). I suspect that, in due course, it will get filled with drone brood and I will reduce the varroa by trimming it off. My intention is to modify the floor later in the season but the bees will need a little holiday in another hive to let me do it so not going to be any time soon.

I then had a huge bonfire burning the remains of fence panels, ivy and general garden debris ... About 20 feet away from the bees. I usually only have a bonfire at night but no option but to do it yesterday afternoon - so I was a bit worried about the bees getting excited as it was a bit smoky .. They couldn't have cared less - just kept flying, through the smoke occasionally - bringing in pollen and collecting water from a pool that had collected in the cover of a sailing dinghy I store at that end of the garden. Little darlings - just getting on with what they do ..

My wild plum tree (always the first to bud -long before any others in the garden) is just today showing signs of the buds breaking into leaf.

If you look closely in the very bottom of the frame of honey you will see one of the offending slugs .. they don't seem to be interested in the honey they appear to be living off the microscopic organisms around the edge of the hive ... feel a bit mean killing them but we really have a lot in the garden. Hopefully the copper tape will deter them from the hives.