What did you do in the Apiary today?
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After some cold spel, weather calming and bees continue to fill the supers with lime, white clover. I am bit worried cause pretty much are on clover, so lime for now seems doesn't offer nectar as it could. Some good thing, it didn't opened fully.
Colonies still very strong. Today I was preparing some colonies for qrearing, nice queens. Preparing the list which queens will exclude or retire.
Since my beekeeping is completelly dependant to income I receive from bees ( colonies, honey) I formed only 7 mnucs. And when time come several nucs will establish with qcells. Also productive colonies will receive new queens. The goal is as each year at least 80% of 1-2 years old queens. The old ones which will remain are usually ones which gave me great offsprings or yields, some which have sentimental value and I can't always have cold heart.. Lot of good and bad things we got through and help each other..
Colonies still very strong. Today I was preparing some colonies for qrearing, nice queens. Preparing the list which queens will exclude or retire.
Since my beekeeping is completelly dependant to income I receive from bees ( colonies, honey) I formed only 7 mnucs. And when time come several nucs will establish with qcells. Also productive colonies will receive new queens. The goal is as each year at least 80% of 1-2 years old queens. The old ones which will remain are usually ones which gave me great offsprings or yields, some which have sentimental value and I can't always have cold heart.. Lot of good and bad things we got through and help each other..
REDWOOD
Queen Bee
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Added supers, blackberry flow now on.
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Repatriated a queen to her original box a la Wally Shaw Modified Snelgrove.
She is actually a split from a previous WSMS........
There is one QC along a side bar in the box....
So she is being superseded?
Anyway...put her "back" ....knocked down this QC so that I know how long I have before uniting this parent hive with another......
Strange season....I know where all the boxes originate and where they should be re-united but...........bugger!!!!......I'm getting in touch with HM for a new queen
She is actually a split from a previous WSMS........
There is one QC along a side bar in the box....
So she is being superseded?
Anyway...put her "back" ....knocked down this QC so that I know how long I have before uniting this parent hive with another......
Strange season....I know where all the boxes originate and where they should be re-united but...........bugger!!!!......I'm getting in touch with HM for a new queen
For want of a better word
Queen Bee
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Looked up to heaven and asked... why so many queen cells?
Not had an answer as yet !
Yeghes da
Not had an answer as yet !
Yeghes da
Tremyfro
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Cut up some wood to make spacers to hold the roof up on the Maisie's poly nucs. I am fed up of squashing bees...there is no top bee space and the roof squashes them on the frames. Also made clear cover boards for them too.
For want of a better word
Queen Bee
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Obee1
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Looked through my former meangreen hive which had been joined to a Hivemaker queen via nuc/ newspaper.. Newspaper eaten and she has wended her way through the 3 hive boxes scattering eggs in a few frames. Rejigged the frames from the join and pinched a few for a new nuc to host Tremyfros queen that she kindly gave me. That was yesterday ... OH is feeling left out of our joint beekeeping venture so when I went out today I left him some beek duties. Feeding the swarm. Checking tremys queen etc. and of course checking hivemakers nuc that is now a fully fledged hive. (That one didn't really need doing but I knew he would so enjoy it. They are such lovely bees.) it's the first time he's beeked alone which made me feel rather guilty. Hes always in work when I work the bees so he does get left out. All went well and he enjoyed his beeking. Must stop hogging the bees!
Obee1
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Maybe hivemaker is sneaking into everyone's hives and placing them there. Then he gets lots of orders for his bucky queens.
Just returned from taking twenty black AMM virgin queens to mate with their own kind at the isolated mating station.
REDWOOD
Queen Bee
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Everyone knows it's the QC fairies that put them there
MikeT
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Put supers on 2 hives which originate from swarms collected 3 wks ago. Put last swarm collected in brood box, but could not find Q, she is laying well, but I wanted to amalgamate this colony with another.
Tremyfro
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- Possibly...5 and a bit...depends on the bees.
No it shouldn't be....as it was done in my kitchen with a saw....my fingers were in great danger.....I was brave and persisted.....a look of total concentration....all for my bees......and then my OH took pity on me and took over.....and that is why some of the pieces of wood are beautifully cut and some are a bit rough and splintery!
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spent a 3rd day on researching the history of the insulate vs ventilate/ conserve vs replace debate.
Farrar, Anderson, crane,
wedmore, manley ... and so on in books, periodicals, and transcripts of wartime BBC radio programmes.
The crucial year appears to be 1943. The winter of 1942/43 decided many things.
the battle of Stalingrad
the entry of the U.S.A into the war
the battle of El Alamien
And the fate of billions of honeybees
Farrar, Anderson, crane,
wedmore, manley ... and so on in books, periodicals, and transcripts of wartime BBC radio programmes.
The crucial year appears to be 1943. The winter of 1942/43 decided many things.
the battle of Stalingrad
the entry of the U.S.A into the war
the battle of El Alamien
And the fate of billions of honeybees
For want of a better word
Queen Bee
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Crikey Pete... are you taking a walk on the dark side... you will be joining BIPCo next !
or are you on holiday in Colonsay?
Yeghes da
einsteinagogo
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Checked Apideas this evening, as the weather broke, clear skies, warm, and the sun came out from the clouds.
Spotted all the queens, didn't fly off this time, no eggs, brood, swapped frame 1 (undrawn) near the entrance to position with frame 3 (drawn), all the drawn frames are full of stores and pollen.
Maybe no place to lay, plenty of fondant.
Spotted all the queens, didn't fly off this time, no eggs, brood, swapped frame 1 (undrawn) near the entrance to position with frame 3 (drawn), all the drawn frames are full of stores and pollen.
Maybe no place to lay, plenty of fondant.
lilybetbee
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Yesterday I finished building bases for hives, well OH did, whilst I checked bees!
A colony I split in 2 (after getting rid of the queen) now each has a queen laying well. Weaker half moved to a 6 frame polynuc and stronger half will go in a brood box today.
Moved my Hivemaker queened colony from a nuc to a hive.
Got OH to help lift my 14x12 to demaree the hive, (and he took a sting to the back of the hand).
Now have a mated daughter from my good queen laying in a nuc, spotted her a nice big queen, but didn't have paint to mark with me, hope she's as good as her mother!
Nuc currently hiding in my garden needs hiving too so off to the apiary today.
That leaves me with 3 nucs but only 2 floors and 1 roof left. When are the sales?
A colony I split in 2 (after getting rid of the queen) now each has a queen laying well. Weaker half moved to a 6 frame polynuc and stronger half will go in a brood box today.
Moved my Hivemaker queened colony from a nuc to a hive.
Got OH to help lift my 14x12 to demaree the hive, (and he took a sting to the back of the hand).
Now have a mated daughter from my good queen laying in a nuc, spotted her a nice big queen, but didn't have paint to mark with me, hope she's as good as her mother!
Nuc currently hiding in my garden needs hiving too so off to the apiary today.
That leaves me with 3 nucs but only 2 floors and 1 roof left. When are the sales?
maddydog
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Spotted and marked two new queens so just waiting for one more emerged q to get mated then I'm back up to a full complement and need to decide on combining.
First extraction of the year complete - 178lbs. Effectively gone from 4 to 8 colonies this year (no caught swarms). Not error free but have lost just a clipped q and possibly a cast. Might be getting the hang of this lark
First extraction of the year complete - 178lbs. Effectively gone from 4 to 8 colonies this year (no caught swarms). Not error free but have lost just a clipped q and possibly a cast. Might be getting the hang of this lark
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went thru a couple of hives at one site that I new were close to preparing, found queen clipped her and took a shook swarm after finding queen cells, took to next apiary. Here went thru 2 hives one was agressive on a 14 x12 and two supers so strong no signs of swarming,n ext hive clipped queen gone queen cells present spotted a virgin running free caged her and made a nuc with a cell and ran virgin back in, been lucky if weather wasn't as bad that would of swarmed and been lost. noticed that there's nothing coming in an using stores. Bad year this up here.
