What did you do in the Apiary today?

[ugcheleuce]

Did the first inspection of two hives. Found one queenless and broodless, but with full frames of honey/sugar syrup (from previous year). The have had a shrew in it, so maybe the queen got eaten. I did see some drone brood, which is disconcerting, but I saw no multi-egg cells, so if there are any egg laying workers, they're still only a few.

The other hive had a queen, a smattering of brood, and some baby bees, so I took a frame with brood from that colony and put it into the first one (after first locating the queen to ensure that I don't put her into the other box... and that took time).

I'll check tomorow afternoon if they've started drawing a queen cell or not.

 

[Helen]

As this is my first winter with bees, it's rather exciting seeing how they pulled through. I've got 3 Dartingtons. 2 went into winter with a queen each, and one had 2 queens in it. The frames are across the middle of each hive, with heavy insulation within the remaining space in the hive, on the outside and across the roof. The mesh floors have been open all winter.

I only took a quick look to see how they were, if they needed any food. All 3 hives have bees flying from them, 2 much more than the 3rd. The 3rd hive has bees covering 6 frames. I didn't pull any frames so didnt see any brood, but they are bringing in pollen. They also have stores, so ok.

The other 2 hives are buzzing! One is packed solid with bees, across 11 frames. Has stores and brood. Saw some drone brood at the bottom of the one frame I pulled out, as well as lots of worker brood.

The last hive was again across 11 frames, but not so densely populated as the other. These ones are more feisty than the other 2, but weren't too bad. New stores going in, new worker brood as well. This is the one with 2 queens (at least there were when I closed them up last autumn).

I didnt take any honey from them last year, as I wanted to let them build themselves up, so this year they get to give me something back. Really looking forward to it.

 

[Charlieanne]

Finally finished clearing ground for the area where we will keep bees when we eventually get them. Bark on the ground to keep weeds down, realised the bags don't go that far after all but was enough!

 

[Tremyfro]

As this is my first winter with bees, it's rather exciting seeing how they pulled through. I've got 3 Dartingtons. 2 went into winter with a queen each, and one had 2 queens in it. The frames are across the middle of each hive, with heavy insulation within the remaining space in the hive, on the outside and across the roof. The mesh floors have been open all winter.

I only took a quick look to see how they were, if they needed any food. All 3 hives have bees flying from them, 2 much more than the 3rd. The 3rd hive has bees covering 6 frames. I didn't pull any frames so didnt see any brood, but they are bringing in pollen. They also have stores, so ok.

The other 2 hives are buzzing! One is packed solid with bees, across 11 frames. Has stores and brood. Saw some drone brood at the bottom of the one frame I pulled out, as well as lots of worker brood.


The last hive was again across 11 frames, but not so densely populated as the other. These ones are more feisty than the other 2, but weren't too bad. New stores going in, new worker brood as well. This is the one with 2 queens (at least there were when I closed them up last autumn).

I didnt take any honey from them last year, as I wanted to let them build themselves up, so this year they get to give me something back. Really looking forward to it.

I am going to put a colony into a Dartington this year. I am really looking forward to working a hive at waist height. So glad your bees survived the winter. Quite a few reports of losses...sadly.

 

[Erichalfbee]

I went to play with the association bees today. The beginners are being taught that one of the reasons to change brood comb regularly is that if you don't you get ever smaller bees.
Ho hum.
Association hives rammed with stores leaving little laying space.
The weather forecast is excellent tomorrow so will look in mine.
I have one colony that needs to be moved into a different box so might as well get a quick look into the rest.

 

[Amari]

Inserted varroa boards 2 days ago (ApilifeVar in August, oxalic vap at new year).
Readings today (varroa per 48 hours): 0,0,5,1,0,0,1,5. Hive 2 had dropped 1000 varroa after vapping. Quite pleased with these counts but not complacent - I have previously posted discrepancies between drop count before and after treatment.
Two boards each had a wriggling larva with a brownish head, presumably wax moth.
One board had half a dozen strange opalescent mini-mounds of jelly-like substance c. 5mm diameter - what are these - what do wax moth eggs look like? Unfortunately i didn't have my camera with me.
PS. T'was only 11C but bees very busy bringing in bright yellow pollen - probably from a few early OSR flowers 200m distant.

 

[Brian Bush]

I went through all my hives today. First big check of the season. Saw queens, and marked where necessary, in all but two hives. These two had obvious BIAS but a shy queen.
I have lost 2 more hives in the last three weeks. I assume the queens did not make it through the winter as they still had plenty of stores.
The bees from hell are thriving. Several frames of BIAS and are much better natured in their clean equipment and new apiary. They have drawn three frames of new comb and still have 20kg of stores. A good day. Where is Spring only 14C today at its best.

 

[jonnybeegood]

Finally finished clearing ground for the area where we will keep bees when we eventually get them. Bark on the ground to keep weeds down, realised the bags don't go that far after all but was enough!

I found the same, i wish i had done something else, you will fjnd you have to add half as much again each year.

 

[bontbee]

Went through all the garden hives today. Good job too - if this weather continues, I will be supering - in fact I was tempted to super today. They are packing in nectar. Found a sealed queen cell, and a cell with just an egg in one hive - likely to be supersedure rather than swarming as there were only two cells and the Q is coming into her fourth season. Good pattern with the brood still. Unfortunately, the cell was built between the two boxes and got wrecked...

 

[Tdod]

Hi
went through my hives today for the first time lovely sunny day I had 4 and a nuc going into winter, I have 3 remaining as of today. The nuc was empty I don't think there was enough bees going into winter as there was plenty of stores left, and the other hive that has died the queen was there dead on the frame surrounded by a few bees so not sure what happened in there.
The other three I saw bias on about 3 frames each and caught a glimpse of the queens so happy with that..
There seemed to be a lot of stores left but crystallized, don't recall this last year, but I am presuming the bees will deal with this?

 

[madasafish]

Took super off under polyhive.. Approx 7 frames of bees through clear crownboard.

Inspected nothing: too early.. One TBH nuc (buckfast) is very busy so will have to inspect that first as it could swarm if crammed..

Rest can wait till end April.

 

[Amari]

I went through all my hives today. First big check of the season. Saw queens, and marked where necessary, in all but two hives. These two had obvious BIAS but a shy queen.
I have lost 2 more hives in the last three weeks. I assume the queens did not make it through the winter as they still had plenty of stores.
The bees from hell are thriving. Several frames of BIAS and are much better natured in their clean equipment and new apiary. They have drawn three frames of new comb and still have 20kg of stores. A good day. Where is Spring only 14C today at its best.

That's positively tropical! Max 10C yesterday and forecast max 9C today with cloud all day. In high barometric pressure we in the east often get stuck in cool cloudy weather while you midlanders and westerners are sunning yourselves. Mind you t'was 21C Inverness way yesterday.

 

[MJBee]

We are also the "wrong" side of the high pressure system so even though we have blue skies and wall to wall sunshine the bitter NE wind has kept temperatures down to less than 10C, without the wind it would be 20C+!!

Some hardy bees were flying yesterday - mainly collecting water!!

 

[Tremyfro]

Bright sunshine here today...but temperatures still low and a cold breeze.....bees bringing in loads of bright yellow pollen...so probably willow.
Although tempted to do our spring inspection......sunshine does not make a warm day here yet. We will see what the afternoon brings...but I doubt we will be inspecting today.
The hive we moved to the new Bee Yard is very busy...bringing in pollen too. We see only a few odd bees around the old hive site....so most have reorientated to the new Bee Yard. So we feel it was a fairly successful move. Very few foraging bees were lost as we initially left a hive in the old position and after a couple of days put it on top of the colony with a no return bee escape on it.
So despite many worries about trying this idea...it seems to have worked. We didn't see many trying to beg their way into the other hives in the old location either. Most of returning bees made tiny clusters on the old position. We collected all and took them back to the new hive position.
I think we were helped by the weather...it has been too cold and wet for much flying so the bees stayed in the hive after we released them....they had been shut in for 72 hours with food and water. It was only when the sun came out that we began to see bees coming back to the old hive position.
However, I am not sure we will do this when we come to move the larger two colonies. Probably, we will take them away on the trailer for a few weeks or leave them in situ until next winter when they go into cluster. The new road is being delayed...so not quite the urgency first thought.

 

[masterBK]

Bee yard? Is this a term adopted from across the pond? Is "Apiary" no longer fashionable?

 

[Cazza]

Bee yard? Is this a term adopted from across the pond? Is "Apiary" no longer fashionable?

You missed the reason why this was used, something to do with "apiary" being too tricky a word for young children. As a specialist in children's language development I was amused!
Cazza

 

[Obee1]

Removed insulation from inside walls of boxes. Slotted foundation in. Checked for brood. I have 5 frames downstairs and 2 frames upstairs. Plenty of honey and space to expand brood.

All looking jolly good, even if I do say so myself.

Obee

 

[Tremyfro]

Of course, we could insist on using the correct terms....Apiary...Apiculture etc but I think we would soon lose our audience. Also, we have a family history of living in the southern state of Georgia USA. It provokes memories for the older family members. And it is fun. Above all, make it fun. Already we have a queue for using the tiny bee suit. Sitting on the high Bee Stool to watch the bees and having a turn when we are inspecting the bees is a highly sought privilege....here on our hill. Now we have a Stable Yard, a Chicken Yard and a Bee Yard. There is a logic for it.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Now we have a Stable Yard, a Chicken Yard and a Bee Yard. There is a logic for it.

maybe I should rename my hives 'bee house' then I could walk up the path behind My house and go and check my bee house through the gate just behind the chicken house, green house and outside sh................................ ine your buttons with brasso it's only two an hapence a tin, you can buy it or swipe it from Woolworths, but i don't thin k they've got any in.

Iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii thenkyew

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Popped up to the Carreg apiary via my cousin's farm to see off the anniversary 'defiance' bicycle ride - 130 years ago to the day his grandfather's brother rode a bike he'd built from there to Swansea, it was the first chain driven safety bike built outside Coventry and the first in Wales. The Defiance bicycle company were the only bike building company in Wales (they also had branches in Durban and Johannesburg) and I'm proud of the family connection - it was all in aid of raising funds fo the local dementia centre.
Back to the bees - not flying as strong as back home - it's a bit higher up and no sign of willow opening yet but plenty of gorse. bees are hoovering up the fondant, topped up most hives. Thought about putting some supers on - then laughed!