What did you do in the Apiary today?

[Headnavigator]

not strictly in the apiary but finally got around to making markers for my hives so the girls dont get confused and know which house is theirs!!! (I am only joking btw!)

5 hives and getting muddled too often so with some of my travis perkins specials and my chop saw I made stick in markers which I have numbers and dipped in varnish several times.

Actually quite pleased with them! Hope the girls like them! think they will look better than milk bottle tops!

Photo? Please?

 

[For want of a better word]

Caught a wopping great eel in my wicker eel trap..... but no more interest in the riverside bait hive!!!

 

[drstitson]

what a life eh? it's like river cottage with piskies!!!!

 

[For want of a better word]

I am wondering if I can smoke the eel in my chimney?

 

[Alabamaeee]

You're gonna need a shed load of Rizla papers but it will be a cool smoke, that's for sure

 

[milkermel]

Photo? Please?

Not much to look at and I should have sanded the tops to remove rough bits, but its better than nothing! didnt have a paint brush handy to varnish so just dipped each post into the varnish and let it run like toffee apples!

Hubby came home and thought i had lost the plot and was trying to grow beading cuttings in sand!

 

[drstitson]

"was trying to grow beading cuttings in sand!"

it'd probably work with willow!!!!

my thought was that you were getting ready for multiple pet deaths!

 

[Headnavigator]

V good idea though - I can lose the plot with just 2 and a Nuc!

 

[milkermel]

V good idea though - I can lose the plot with just 2 and a Nuc!

That is my problem 2 plus the one I look after was fine I could visulise Green hive, new hive, Rock hive (was based at rock!) But with AS and a swarm from last year and now this years I am going in circles trying to remember which is which!

Drstitson think it would work well with willow trouble is my sheep would anilate once planted out. Down side of not having to cut my lawn anymore!

 

[Foxylad]

Found three queen cells, one in a commercial that i suspect to be a supersedure. The other two found in a double brood box split with a horsley board.

Removed frames and bees from each into a nuc with the best queen cell. No frame of stores as it was wall to wall brood. Fed with fondant as couldn't get a feeder under the roof.

Removed four more frames and donated to a small cast that was in a bait hive collected last night. In total 9 frames, replaced with mostly drawn comb.

Fingers crossed this will quench there swarming instinct, will check again on Sunday.

Felt more like work today, relaxing hobby????

 

[Bee-Key-Pur]

Got very wet trying to cut back a few weeds.
Well, we do need it. (not the weeds, the rain)

Brian.

 

[tonybloke]

checked on a mates bees ( he's on holiday )

do other beekeepers get someone to check their bees if they go on holiday?

 

[tonybloke]

checked a couple of colonies that are off 'darn sarf' on Sunday.

 

[Mike a]

Just about able to drive safely short distances as its only been 12 days after my spinal fusion op, so decided to drive to my apiary to see how things were going as I'm bored to death being in doors for so long.

Wasp - Hornet traps between have caught a wasp !

I had no intension of trying to open any of the hives but simply sit off to one side and watch them coming and going. Not sure how I missed it for so long as I was only sat 20 feet away but another swarm has moved into a 5 frame national nuc. The nuc box has been used for collecting rubbish like old varroa treatment trays and wrappers, left over fondant wrapping, old sacking and odd bits of comb etc etc last year and this year and to be honest I can't remember if there is any rubbish it at the moment. I'll take some pictures when I can ask one of my friends to come and open them up to see big the swarm is and then decide if to transfer them into a full size hive or nuc or combine them with another colony.

 

[Mike a]

After finding a swarm had moved into an old 14x12 nuc box which was being used for rubbish yesterday, today I went back to take a closer look with a friend.

I set up a poly nuc box next to the site, and my friend carefully lifted the nuc with the swarm off to one side and placed the new nuc over the site.

Up until this point the bees seemed very calm and happy. As soon as my friend lifted off the roof a cloud of bees took to the air, both of us were covered with hundreds of very angry bees. Slight miscommunication at this point as I suggested he put the roof down (I meant back on the nuc) however he thought on the floor as seen in the picture below (my fault). I took a sting to my forehead as I was taking the pictures.

Some what freaked out my friend didn't want to get any closer again (I don't blame him as he isn't a bee keeper) so I carefully lifted the roof to avoid breaking any of the combs and turned it over again whilst my friend removed the poly nuc and put the old nuc on the stand before I replaced the lid on it.

We decided it would be best to leave them alone and called it a day.
On the way home I started to feel hot and sweaty, my ears were bright red and I could feel my forehead starting to swell, lips felt puffy and my whole body start feeling hot and sweaty. Fortunately I only live a few minutes away as by the time I got home I knew I was reacting badly to being stung. Since my back op I've been on a cocktail of drugs, currently I'm still taking Dihydrocodeine, Etoricoxib and Paracetamol. I think the combination of drugs and the sting reacted badly.

10 minutes later my whole body was covered in blisters. (picture of my upper arm)

Each of them felt like a small burning sensation and sore. My suit was peppered with hundreds of stings sacs but I'm positive this reaction was only from one sting. The wife got the piriton tablets out and got me bowl of cool water and a cloth to help cool me down again.

Despite some peoples thoughts of leather gauntlets I am so glad I was wearing them today. Two hours later I feel fine again.

 

[Dilligaf]

Well. If I work on the principle of not being able to be a beekeeper unless I have some bees. I am now a beekeeper.
Picked up my Nuc from Andy at NorthWest Bee Supplies this afternoon.
I will be going back. He has a great setup there and the first thing he wanted to know was if these were my first bees. When he found out they were, there was lots of advice forthcoming including instructions on how to transfer my bees.
The nuc is currently sat on top of the brood box while they have time to calm down ready for the transfer later. Bees are currently flying around on their orientation flights and the syrup is ready.
At last I'm a beekeeper. Now the learning starts properly.

 

[TOBY-3652]

Extracted 45lb of honey/ swarm that i got on 16-6-11 now laying and put a q cell in a small swarm with no queen. And marked queen thats been laying 2 weeks only just seen her

 

[MuswellMetro]

AHHHHHH second round of Swarm cells, first in April now the next batch

even new three requeen hives had 10 queen cells each, that should not happen, two new £30 Buckfasts and a Italian , all settle as far as i thought, supers just drawing, one frame of 14x12 brood foundationstill drawing out and wham, capping one and nine wet ones and working new play cups

had this before with yellow/brown queens into black bees but not brown queen into brown bees

I might have well let them swarm in April, no honey this year the way it is going

think sunday and monday are going to be swarm catches paradise, might switvch my mobile off tomorrow

 

[jallen]

watched bees come and go

 

[victor meldrew]

Fed a nuc + a small colony . This lousy last 6 weeks has certainly caused the colonies to use up their reserves ( 3 supers per hive in April , all much lighter now) .
Bags of time , the main honey flow around here should be starting any time now

VM