What did you do in the Apiary today?

[Chris Luck]

Does it produce a good flow/honey? I might plant some if it does.

Chris

 

[Monsieur Abeille]

Thought better of the piece of twine I'd left holding the recently introduced queen cage and replaced it with a piece of wire - luckily in time, it was getting a bit frayed.

 

[Swarm]

Prepared an area for out apiary. Not too bad a spot and should be secure as it's overlooked by the landowner so nobody should gain access without first passing the owners house.

 

[madasafish]

Thought better of the piece of twine I'd left holding the recently introduced queen cage and replaced it with a piece of wire - luckily in time, it was getting a bit frayed.

I put my cage in on Friday held with gardening string. Queen had been released by Sunday pm.. String untouched...

 

[Monsieur Abeille]

I put my cage in on Friday held with gardening string. Queen had been released by Sunday pm.. String untouched...

Maybe worrying unduly then, but it did look like it had received some unwanted attention.

 

[Headnavigator]

Inspection day after two weeks of itchy fingers.

Both these hives went queenless at the end of May, in the dark (near-native) one I later found a hidden nicely uncapped queen cell so it was a supercedure, the other I thought was genuinely queenless but I found a tiny ball of bees and a queen on the floor 2ft from the hive two weeks ago so popped her (back?) in. Couldn't have been a cast from the other hive so unsure what's going on.

Today: Dark hive bursting with brood, watched a load of workers hatching. Beautiful! Not a great many eggs to be seen but perhaps due lack of space, so much brood. Couldn’t see the queen. Everything propolised to bu**ery, inspection like working in a treacle mine.

Gingers (no longer to be known as ginger mingers as they behaved so well) one frame of eggs, no more than 2 days old. Definitely laid by a queen as they were plumb in the bottom of cells (workers can’t lay that deep, they’re too short) but not out of the woods till we see the cells capped and know we don’t have a duff drone-laying queen. She’s taken so long I’m suspicious.

I destroyed a whole bunch of capped drone cells in the dark hive – no visible varroa mites in there with them - what a good sign, these seem very 'clean' bees!

NB Last week in May to third in July - is this a record in the slow race?

 

[Raceyboy]

Just opened up the hive, checked for queen cells, there wasn't any, they have started on the new foundation, i then put a gallon feeder on and bobs your uncle, there is quite alot of new brood, capped honey and lots of pollen

 

[madasafish]

Just stopped raining after about 80mm in last 48 hours, Bees coming out.

Decided to do nothing except top up feeder on hived swarm

 

[circe]

Fed one hive low on stores and left others alone - it is rumoured the sun is out on Thursday....so will be looking into hives then

 

[Mike a]

I split a strong colony some time ago and left them to get on with raising a new queen after I confirmed they had two good queen cells of different sizes. Over the past few weeks I've only lifted the roof off but left the sheet of polythene in place and just looked down to see how they were doing.

Today whilst the weather was nice and warm I decided to give the hive a full inspection.

Langstroth deep and medium

The brood chamber has 5 excellent deep frames worth of large patches of brood and 2 good frames of eggs larvae pollen. The end frames are full of mostly capped stores. The medium chamber above has been mostly drawn out apart from the end frames 2 each side which are still being worked on. The central frames have a nice arc of capped honey across the top, 6 frames in all with a nice patch of sealed brood, plus more recently a patch of larvae extending the brood area backwards across 3/4's of the frame.

Sealed brood within the green circle, to the right of this 2" more of larvae extending the brood nest area (darker coloured comb)

My NZ ginger ninja's are still building up nicely and currently on 6.5 frames.

Moved a part drawn frame to the back of the hive and placed another new frame inside the last frame that has stores and some brood in it.

Other hives on site are ok, collecting nectar and the queens are still laying allbeit much smaller areas. The colony which kicked its drones out earlier this month are now raising a few more.

 

[Ellem]

Fed swarm and old hive. Looks like requeening was successful on the old hive because the queen is alive and there are eggs and lovely capped worker brood

 

[Swarm]

Sun's out at last. Shuffled supers and put a clearer board on one hive. Checked status of Q- hive, bees said it all really no eggs yet. Honey bursting out of the next hive and very busy bees. Likewise one of the nucs, really busy. Next nuc had superseded, new queen looking happy strolling around.

inspection like working in a treacle mine.

Sounds like a hive of mine from last year, HM was known as Sticky Vicky.

 

[Headnavigator]

Nice one, Mike a, always good to see pics, thank you.

 

[freethorpe bees]

Checked my two this morning. Both queens laying well, the as drawing out more comb now, thankfully. Supers on t'other hive filling up nicely

 

[WelshPaul]

Had my first delivery of brood frames, and learnt that you must count correctly when ordering as, as soon as I built them, then took them out to the hive and realised I was one short. Doh!!!

 

[Swarm]

No worries, make a dummy board until you get more frames.

Took off a super that had not cleared last night.

 

[tonybloke]

Had my first delivery of brood frames, and learnt that you must count correctly when ordering as, as soon as I built them, then took them out to the hive and realised I was one short. Doh!!!

make a 'dummy board' to fill the space?

 

[tonybloke]

checked 5 colonies this morning, all queens in stealth mode!! eggs seen in all hives, so no worries!

new queen ( they swarmed on 1st July) has laid up 3 1/2 frames, but 'they' have decided to supercede her ( supercedure cells (2) left)

the swarm colony has laid up 4 frames so far, not bad considering the crap weather we've been having.

 

[madasafish]

Checked 5 colonies.
One - a swarm housed in awarre , now on three boxes.

One - which had swarmed - has virgin queen hatched this week - looks large . Mating flights today judging by the activity and drones?

One queenless - QC taken from swarmed hive failed..

Other two with bees bursting to fly after 4 days heavy rain. Bringing in nectar and lots of bright yellow pollen...and HB of course.

 

[TOBY-3652]

Followed wasps from hives found 3 nests in holes in ground.. Now 3 less wasp nests.. And had a look at nuc queen now laying thats 10 out of 11 virgin queens now in lay