What did you do in the Apiary today?

[Obee1]

We are topic drifting but, based on my experiments, you want the heat source as low as possible (obviously). That means dark base, conductive to get the heat to the wax (I use an old roasting pan) and shiny sides. Two layers of glass or similar. There's a current thread with some great pics.

How are we topic drifting. This is what did you do in the apiary today. Steve H went skippy dipping for beek materials.

 

[Ely]

Today I checked on a hive that I requeened last Friday in an introduction cage. I was surprised to find that she was still in the cage. She was alive but all attendants were dead. I assume the worker bees have accepted her and had either been feeding her through the cage the past seven days or she had been going without. I let her out. She was not attacked but the workers seemed very interested in her. The first thing she did was gorge herself on honey. I wasn't aware queens ever fed themselves but obviously they do when desperate. I just hope she is well enough to start laying. I would have checked sooner but had to go away for a few days. They seemed reluctant to eat the fondant plug.

Has anyone had a similar experience?

 

[Goran]

Hot, hot, hot.. Maybe one shower till the end of month.. Temps over 30celsius. Lime will be not so great, nevermind.. Droughts are knocking at our door..
Worried for our hazel trees..

 

[Steve H]

BeeJayBee,
Thanks for the link for the photos, i have compared them to my photos and I'm pretty sure now they a re gonna be daddy's little girls.

BeeJayBee, I managed to resize some photos,
see Attached Thumbnails. What does any one else see that a new-b like me could have missed. Thanks.

 

[Erichalfbee]

Today I checked on a hive that I requeened last Friday in an introduction cage. I was surprised to find that she was still in the cage. She was alive but all attendants were dead. I assume the worker bees have accepted her and had either been feeding her through the cage the past seven days or she had been going without. I let her out. She was not attacked but the workers seemed very interested in her. The first thing she did was gorge herself on honey. I wasn't aware queens ever fed themselves but obviously they do when desperate. I just hope she is well enough to start laying. I would have checked sooner but had to go away for a few days. They seemed reluctant to eat the fondant plug.

Has anyone had a similar experience?

Not quite but one lot propolised all the holes and didn't touch fondant. I made a few holes and scratched half the fondant out( it was still soft by the way). Queen was ok

 

[Ely]

Not quite but one lot propolised all the holes and didn't touch fondant. I made a few holes and scratched half the fondant out( it was still soft by the way). Queen was ok

Ah thank you. Fingers crossed

 

[Cussword]

The swarm I hived last month is doing well, there are eggs everywhere and they are so calm. On the downside, I assisted my mentor. We hived a nuc, then checked the hive next to it. We found a new laying queen and decided to mark it. I have marked queens before but unfortunately there was a drop on the end of the brush. The queen now has blue thorax, abdomen, and wings. We put her back and left them trying to clean her. I'm not feeling great about this.

 

[protheroe]

The swarm I hived last month is doing well, there are eggs everywhere and they are so calm. On the downside, I assisted my mentor. We hived a nuc, then checked the hive next to it. We found a new laying queen and decided to mark it. I have marked queens before but unfortunately there was a drop on the end of the brush. The queen now has blue thorax, abdomen, and wings. We put her back and left them trying to clean her. I'm not feeling great about this.

At least she will be easy to spot.I have done it a few times myself when not testing a marker pen first and it pours out

 

[Cussword]

So they won't kill her? We watched them for quite a while and they seemed to be cleaning her, some of it had come off the wings.

 

[protheroe]

So they won't kill her? We watched them for quite a while and they seemed to be cleaning her, some of it had come off the wings.

They shouldn't kill her but bees being bees you never know.the ones I have covered have been ok and they do get cleaned up.usually leaving a nice big spot on her back

 

[Steve H]

The swarm I hived last month is doing well, there are eggs everywhere and they are so calm. On the downside, I assisted my mentor. We hived a nuc, then checked the hive next to it. We found a new laying queen and decided to mark it. I have marked queens before but unfortunately there was a drop on the end of the brush. The queen now has blue thorax, abdomen, and wings. We put her back and left them trying to clean her. I'm not feeling great about this.

Ohh Shhhhhhhhhhhoot,or similar. hope it all works out.

 

[Falesh]

I removed all but one queen cell in the colony that was split off the second hive during last weeks artificial swarm. I put the remaining queen cell in a cage so when I unite it back with the second hive I won't have to search for her, though I am going to have a good look anyway in case I missed any cells this time.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PZ0rY0e9lqs

 

[Erichalfbee]

8 frame 14x12 poly bait hive in field next to apiary was really busy yesterday. Husband left an empty, but used full size polyhive practically next to it while he finished working in the veggie plot. EVEN MORE attention and more bees looking at it half an hour later. I was expecting a "HUGE" swarm and gleefully tripped up there this morning full of expectation. Nothing doing so went about usual stuff and by the afternoon there were bees in the smaller of the boxes; about 2 seams
Poor bees....they are the latest in a line of ever decreasing casts we have captured.
I will mollycoddle this lot. They have moxie...they deserve to live.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

errrm i think there may be a bit of a flow on!

Braved the thundery weather as things I had to do - checked a demarree I did last monday for any capped Qcs as I want nice queens reared from young larvae for my next batch of nucs then decided to have a look at a few more hives as they weren;t that stroppy, glad I did - nuc I hived last week is now on seven frames of brood and the rest packed with honey - I decided to give my yellow queen a bit more room - I thought there was plenty of room for stores but there are one heck of a lot of bees as well - they've filled two supers in a week!, another newly hived nuc is chock a bloc with brood and honey so another super needed, then decided to check and maybe demarre a very strong hive even though I knew they'd be more than a little stroppy - they were desperately in need of a fourth super and the queen had filled all eleven frames with brood - luckily I found her easily so Demarree conducted and I think I'd be mad not to harvest some of those QC's. - I'm going to have problems inspecting that one - the grounds a bit uneven there as originally the stand was earmarked for mating nucs not a hive already consisting of two deeps and five shallows!! nice relaxing day tomorrow checking the GArn cottage apiary weather permitting, delivering honey - and making more kit!!

 

[Tom Jay]

Just checked the supers in my most active colony and immediately met their need of a fifth super - wow!

Also checked one of my nucs drawn from a hive preparing to swarm and, while I didn't inspect the frames, all six are drawn and it's heaving with bees so I guess she's got herself mated and laying already. I'm still awaiting delivery of a new brood box so I took the bottom off a nuc carrier box and put that on top of them with six new deep frames to get drawing. Someone told me they do a good job 'double decker' at this stage. I'm pleased!

Tom

 

[deanrpwaacs]

Popped another brood on one of the jam packed hives and need to extract in the next couple of days . Supers are bursting and running short on kit .

 

[Helen]

Wow...lots of space!
I'm hopeless. I bought a couple of plastic ones from Mann Lake and they must be a third of the size. Not tried one yet.

I tried those this year ... twice. Ran a narrow trench in the comb to the midrib, pushed it in firmly. Took the resident bees 1 night to tunnel underneath it and dispatch the queens.

My bees have definite regicidal tendencies this year.

So I made a similar one ... about the size of a national super. solid back and sides, added drawn comb with pollen and some food in, with some attendants and queen. Will check tomorrow to see how things go.

 

[Erichalfbee]

I tried those this year ... twice. Ran a narrow trench in the comb to the midrib, pushed it in firmly. Took the resident bees 1 night to tunnel underneath it and dispatch the queens.

Heavens. I read that they could do that.
I will try with queen I am prepared to lose.

 

[maddydog]

Checked the q- to q+ combine, all good q spotted and plenty of bias. Took off the 14*12 and put two supers in it's place. Trialling some mann lake plastic foundation so will see how they get on. Seems to be another flow on, doesn't smell of blackberries though.
Found and marked a q in another colony so I'm back to 8 colonies all with marked queens and although too early to tell with this one the rest have raised calm bees in good patterns

 

[Obee1]

Heavens. I read that they could do that.
I will try with queen I am prepared to lose.

I had heard of them burrowing in so was super careful to push to midrib and pull it tight with elastic bands. I looked in after 24 hours and it was holding up well. Just made a second one for another queen who was in a travelling cage. Let her out (nervewracking) and popped intro cage on her. Placed back in nuc. Fingers crossed.