What did you do in the Apiary today?

[WelshPaul]

Sat there, watched it while it's still empty, waiting for frames for my brood to come. Soon I'll watch bees come and go. Lol

 

[OXFORDBEE]

Checked some mini nucs and the boys have sorted out the girls... Well almost; one left her map at home and seems to have got lost....

 

[Dilligaf]

Watched from the window as some of them ventured out onto the landing board, looked at the rain & went back in again.
Hopefully they will be converting syrup into wax and drawing out frames for themselves instead of going out.

 

[MuswellMetro]

watched the rain and the rain and the rain, beautiful clear blue sky now of course

 

[dpearce4]

fed 2 hives 1.5ltr 50:50 syrup each as when checked yesterday they didnt have enought stores to carry on drawing frames looking at this weeks forcast. hopefully will be able to feed somemore mid week.

 

[Raceyboy]

Been watching my hive since 7.30 tonight, theyre bringing in sack fulls of pollen, seriously thinking of putting a super on in the next few days

 

[Stresschris]

Colony not growing.

Just checked my one (first) colony, it's not growing at the rate I'd have expected. Started from a nuc with a Buckfast queen in mid-May so missed the rape flower season here. Basically they seem to be continuing with brood on the 5 frames they started with, they've drawn comb on 3 more brood frames and have a little pollen and not much honey stored down there. The one super I put on at the end of June is still pretty much empty, they've drawn some comb but that's about it. I stopped feeding them in late June, is it time to feed again?

 

[dpearce4]

Just checked my one (first) colony, it's not growing at the rate I'd have expected. Started from a nuc with a Buckfast queen in mid-May so missed the rape flower season here. Basically they seem to be continuing with brood on the 5 frames they started with, they've drawn comb on 3 more brood frames and have a little pollen and not much honey stored down there. The one super I put on at the end of June is still pretty much empty, they've drawn some comb but that's about it. I stopped feeding them in late June, is it time to feed again?

Hi Chris

first of all i think u need to take the super off for now as if u do feed syrup u dont want it being stored in there. i personally would feed at the moment im doing 50:50 syrup trying to build up 2 colonies from being new in a brood box then going Q- for nearly 6 weeks.

I also put asked this thread -

http://www.beekeepingforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=12255

have a look and my suggestion is to have a go at those to fill out the final frames in your brood box.

hope this helps
doug

forgot to ask what sort of hive ur using and where in uk you are. mind you dont matter with the expansion as it works on all hives.

 

[Beeline]

Just checked my one (first) colony, it's not growing at the rate I'd have expected. Started from a nuc with a Buckfast queen in mid-May so missed the rape flower season here. Basically they seem to be continuing with brood on the 5 frames they started with, they've drawn comb on 3 more brood frames and have a little pollen and not much honey stored down there. The one super I put on at the end of June is still pretty much empty, they've drawn some comb but that's about it. I stopped feeding them in late June, is it time to feed again?

Stresschris,
I also bought a Backfast nuc but more towards the end of May and they have also been slow to get their house in order. I have been feeding them throughout June and so far this July because on inspection I have found very little stores in the brood. As they had bees on 8 frames I made the decision to add a super two weeks ago. Again I have fed them and I can't tell you how quickly they have drawn out the comb in the super. Probably only 4 frames thus far but it has definately given them a shot in the *. So if your stores looks low I would recommend feeding. I think the trade-off with docile bees like Buckfast is maybe lower productivity than other strains but I like them.

BL

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Away at the moment so instead, the apiary is a virtual one! - been worrying about my A/S split - if my calculations are correct, and if the Q/C is o.k. the queen should emerge this weekend.also as the original queen still swarmed but I retrieved and rehived them, are they o.k.? oh the suspense!

 

[Mike a]

Just checked my one (first) colony, it's not growing at the rate I'd have expected. Started from a nuc with a Buckfast queen in mid-May so missed the rape flower season here. Basically they seem to be continuing with brood on the 5 frames they started with, they've drawn comb on 3 more brood frames and have a little pollen and not much honey stored down there. The one super I put on at the end of June is still pretty much empty, they've drawn some comb but that's about it. I stopped feeding them in late June, is it time to feed again?

Going by the colony of Buckfasts my friend started in 2009 from a queen he had from Germany or Belgium they also only have 5 frames of brood at the most, normally only 3-4, the colony size is only now covering 6-7 14x12 frames at most which seems to be their peek size ready for the Summer flow. Their temperament is lovely most of the time but they are the last to fly in the morning compared to his other colonies although they continue to fly in light rain and drizzle.

He was going to raise more queens from this colony but changed his mind as there was no excitement in keeping them, they just plod along without any problems week after week. Next year he wants to put them in a National hive or even a Rose hive so it gives him a valid reason to open them up throughout the season in case they need a super or are producing queen cells and looking to swarm.

 

[Nic Rhodes]

had a virgin emerge in my hand today....popped her into an APIDEA (new) hope they like her.

 

[YorkshireBees]

Check 3 more hives yesterday, 1st needed a 4th super!, 2nd has a new laying queen going great guns (5 frames of brood), 3rd was one I inspected the other day and wanted to check as the egg pattern was a bit strange and not too many eggs. I must have caught the new queen just as she started laying as a few days later and everything is fine. Didn't find either of the new queens to mark but not worried at this point. Last colony is my hospital case that has so far failed to raise and keep a queen. Moved them back into a poly nuc and gave them a fresh frame of brood in all stages to allow them one last chance to make a new queen and boost their numbers. It's getting late and this is their last chance.

Today my nephew had his 4th Bday party and between the rain showers I was in charge of the giant inflatable bouncy castle slide that was strategically placed to block off any of the 20 kids going into the orchard where my 3 hives are! Only had to rescue 4 bees that were confused by the multi-coloured giant flower thing that was inflated in the garden. Thankfully no kids (or adults) were bothered by bees and no one even noticed the hives!

 

[psafloyd]

Miserable day but bees still busy between showers. Lots crowding outside the hive with my first colony. Already have four supers on and will try and get another on tomorrow before extracting next weekend. I hope so, anyway.

 

[TJSnapper]

Just checked all 4 hives before disappearing for work for a week. The queens have been on overdrive in the last 7 days, considering they have been doing very little all year so far, maybe we have arrived at the critical mass of bees with no swarms for 2 months, but all 4 hives have had at least 3 frames of eggs laid as well as plenty of sealed brood, stores are a little light in a couple of them but the other 2 of them have nearly filled up a super each. Happy days at last.

 

[nonstandard]

I took the opportunity of a cool wet evening to bring back 4 nuc's from out apiaries to home, so that later this week I can transfer some to hives and some to 6 frame 14x12 poly nucs to overwinter.

 

[witchcraft]

Knocked together a cheapo pine national and two supers, and started building a nuc so I have some spare kit again. Though with the weather currently forecast I can't see a huge risk of swarms over the next few days

 

[victor meldrew]

Attended the Christening of two of my great grand daughters
The remainder of the day spent watching the torrential rain and wind flatten acres of rosebay willow herb and golden rod (not sure of the nationality of the original golden rod stock)!

VM

 

[Chris Luck]

Perhaps this will help...

Golden-rod. Solidago-virgaurea. Verge-d'or.

Golden-rod,Canadian. Solidago-canadensis. Verge-d'or-du-Canada.

Canadian Golden rod is the one most people know as a garden plant.

Chris

 

[victor meldrew]

Perhaps this will help...

Golden-rod. Solidago-virgaurea. Verge-d'or.

Golden-rod,Canadian. Solidago-canadensis. Verge-d'or-du-Canada.

Canadian Golden rod is the one most people know as a garden plant.

Chris

Acres of this stuff around here , it's out early this yrear. I'ts usually mid August

VM