What did you do in the Apiary today?

[Erichalfbee]

Second round of Oxalic sublimated this morning in the rain
Then made thirty odd bags of honey fudge for Conwy Honey Fair.

 

[44Whitehall]

I was a spectator in the apiary today. Pollen of very different colors was being brought back aplenty - some deep orange right the way through to a creamy HB. I got careless and took a sting to my knee - that'll teach me to hang around in shorts and flop flops!

 

[Goran]

One of the last inspections in last warm days, mostly good with supplies, few young queens ( July/August) brooding strong, have to watch them for supplies carefully. No signs of some diseases. Still many to inspect.
One young queen disappeared and laying workers.. Bummer.. Will have to shake it out, as for anything else too late..

 

[drex]

Feeding my colonies and in second week of apiguard treatment. Yesterday one colony was very active in the sunshine with loads of bees in and out, had a look in today and they have absconded, leaving mainly sealed but a few unsealed larvae. Room to lay and sufficient stores. Another colony, no sign of queen, mainly sealed brood,a few unsealed, but with two supercedure cells. The queen was this years. Feel it is getting late for successful mating. It has been a funny year, with very odd queen behaviour especially.

 

[dpearce4]

fed 9 colonies and petroled 2 colonies

 

[birdsandbees]

fed 9 colonies and petroled 2 colonies

Petroled? Why?

 

[Jimmys Mum]

Last week of Apilife Var for most of the hives. Have had some horrendous mite drops on a few. Fed a couple of light hives today - just waiting for the ivy to flower, any day now I reckon. They certainly need a good top up.

Best of all, it looks like one of the virgins in the home apiary is no longer a virgin......brood on 3 frames now

 

[8ace]

Winter paining and dwcorating

All fences creosoted, handrail& picnic table stained, fascia boards and workshop door painted. Bit of feng shui for the bees all done without sealing any hives up..... Good bees

 

[Tremyfro]

Whizzed through 7 colonies this morning. All queen right...yay! Some were cutting back on brood....others were still laying up the frames but all were back filling with nectar. Even saw and marked the new queen in the supersedure hive....moved these into a nuc for the winter. The original queen from this colony is in another nuc.....she is a slow layer but still has eggs there.
The Buckfast colony has almost filled the top brood box with stores and even a few frames in the lower one....so no shortage of stores for them this winter. Still need to be capped but the Himalayan balsam is still coming in. Only a few super frames filled but not all capped ...so left them for a bit longer.
All the other colonies were fed with 2:1 syrup.....only one was a little low in stores so will do a top up in a few days time.
So only the big hive and a double nuc to go through in the Pond Apiary. Weather forecast is iffy for tomorrow.....so may have to wait.
Interesting to see the preparations for winter by the bees. How they are arranging the stores and brood in regard to North ,South,East and West orientation....prevailing wind taken into account too.
Stores are on the North/West side with any remaining brood being made on the South/East side....in the central frames. The hives are facing South/East.
So when moving colonies into long hives it is worth remembering this orientation.

 

[dpearce4]

Petroled? Why?

For not a happy reason. EFB, its to late to do a shook swarm (no spare drawn comb spare) and needed to do it so as not to pass on to other hives.

Was a really horrid noise coming from the hive for 30mins. I hope I never have to do that again.

 

[For want of a better word]

Checked over a friends colonies as has been a recent case of EFB from an imported colony local to his bees.

( thankfully I am informed immediately destroyed under the statutory powers)

Found one colony hopelessly queenless so merged with another brimming with more wonderful Native black bees.... treated with Hiveclean as a precaution.


Nos da

 

[Millet]

For not a happy reason. EFB, its to late to do a shook swarm (no spare drawn comb spare) and needed to do it so as not to pass on to other hives.

Was a really horrid noise coming from the hive for 30mins. I hope I never have to do that again.

Ficam W any hives diseased.. you wont hear much noise after that.. but wash the equipment good if it's to be used again..

 

[dpearce4]

the kit is being scorched by the sbi for me. so it can be used.

Just looked at Ficam W. petrol seems better to me.

 

[Millet]

the kit is being scorched by the sbi for me. so it can be used.

Just looked at Ficam W. petrol seems better to me.

You know better than me..

 

[Hachi]

Treated remaining hives and continued feeding. Taking the feed well. Helped a buddy inspect his, who were none to happy with both of us taking hits. Took one to the throat, bees got in the veil and when the drama had subsided, I inspected my kit and found I need to be more attentive when "throwing" on the suit. Happy days

 

[Itchy]

Ficam W is not the thing to use, it has a high residual action. Petrol best.

 

[Cazza]

Lost this season- two hivetools, one smoker lid. Found- one crown of thorns, impaled in my wellie sole.
Cazza

 

[Firefly]

Lost this season- two hivetools, one smoker lid. Found- one crown of thorns, impaled in my wellie sole.
Cazza

Great idea for a new thread. "The most important thing I lost this season was..."

At one point I was convinced my bucket of soda was leaking and I was losing solution all over the bee shed, so I put it outside, since when it has not leaked at all

My main gain this season has been an appreciation of how much difference it really does make how you handle the bees. I remember one inspection where the crown board was off but no frames out and I just moved my hand quickly over the top of the box - reaching for something. The shadow of my hand, moving so quickly, was enough to cause a hum of alarm through the box - like chickens responding to a hawk.

Since then I have tried to behave as if I have the entire day to inspect every hive. The stress levels for us all have been so much less

 

[einsteinagogo]

Went to the mating apiary, to collect a mated queen, laying well and apideas bursting with bees last week, to unite with a queenless colony at the main apairy, only to find the apidea full of wasps!

No bees, no queen, no fondant, just wasps, approx 200!

That was a nice buckfast queen - RIP!

Damn wasps!

 

[kazmcc]

For not a happy reason. EFB, its to late to do a shook swarm (no spare drawn comb spare) and needed to do it so as not to pass on to other hives.

Was a really horrid noise coming from the hive for 30mins. I hope I never have to do that again.

I'm sorry dpearce. Not a nice experience I'm sure.