What did you do in the Apiary today?

[linoleum bonypart]

Anybody ever strapped a bait hive to a tree trunk ....looking at placing a couple in a south facing copse....

 

[Tremyfro]

Finally had time to spend in the Bee Shed. OH has removed his last DIY and gardening equipment...under sufferance.....well he doesn't really have any more excuses since I removed all my horse stuff from the tool shed. I had a move around of bee boxes. Stacked a lot of stuff tidied generally. I can now actually see the worktop..... Just got to take some cleaning wipes etc to wipe down all surfaces then it's good to go. Yay. It's lovely to be able to see where everything is instead of scrambling through boxes and tripping over tools...skinning my shins!
The bees were flying well in the sunshine...then it hailed...sun went in for a while but now out again...how weird is this weather!
Found my microscope amongst the pile on the worktop....checked it to find out the magnification...goes to 1200x ....this is wonderful news as I was tempted to buy a new one at the show....thinking it was much weaker magnification. So new batteries and I will be able to crush bees bellies...ugh!

 

[Erichalfbee]

Anybody ever strapped a bait hive to a tree trunk ....looking at placing a couple in a south facing copse....

I did for two years and caught nothing.
The favourite trapping places have been on the potting shed roof and on two compost bins.

 

[Robbo8916]

I am becoming impatient for the arrival of my girls next week now! Gonna be a long seven or eight days!

Ordered more super foundation from Thornes in the vain hope that the wonderful garden the girls are going into plus the abundance of HB later in the year will require it!

Now I wait..........

 

[Millet]

I have been trying to get some food into my hive for the past 4 days but its been wild, gale force winds for the past 3 days and now hail sleet and snow which is forecast till the end of the week.
I just hope they piled enough food in when the weather was good last week.

 

[wessexmario]

I did for two years and caught nothing.
The favourite trapping places have been on the potting shed roof and on two compost bins.

A lot has been said about the size of box, size of entrance and height above ground of bait hives, but a shed roof and a compost bin strike me as possibly quite warmer places than the immediate surrounds...

I wonder if the micro-climate temperature of the prospective nest has a big influence?

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Anybody ever strapped a bait hive to a tree trunk ......

Yes - every one caught a swarm - bit of a b*gger getting them down though

 

[RogueDrone]

Anybody ever strapped a bait hive to a tree trunk ....looking at placing a couple in a south facing copse....

not exactly strapped put placed at the branch fork (three branches) five foot up caught swarms every year.

This year will be interesting as one of the branches broke so tree now more open

lemon grass oil seems to be the trick.

Colin

 

[Brian Bush]

I spent the morning cutting the grass in both out apiaries. There were no bees flying in the first one so did it all without suiting up. In the second one it was later and warmer and the bees from hell decided to say hello. I suited up but a little darling found the damaged bit of a glove and stung me on the wrist. It was soft tissue and I now have a swollen, itchy wrist.
The good news is I sneaked a look in my NUCs with the new queens and they are both laying.
The bad news is that all hives have consumed their food and I will have to feed again unless this weather improves.
I spoke to a 90 year old beekeeper friend yesterday and he says that he cannot remember ever having to feed bees this late in the year in over 70 years of beekeeping. He also has volunteered for the swarm collection list again!! What a man!!

 

[nantmoel]

We moved two strong Nucs into full hives, but we put dummy boards in and just added two frames, one of the Nucs which were given a 14x12 frame of foundation have almost drawn it all out, put feeder on them to encourage them to draw the two other frames. We really need these extra frames of bees as we have a few queens coming the end of May.

 

[MuswellMetro]

fed two shook swarms some syrup IN A SNOW STORM, interesting times

 

[Millet]

fed two shook swarms some syrup IN A SNOW STORM, interesting times

Do you loose many bees doing that in such weather, its been around 5c here.

 

[dpearce4]

Do you loose many bees doing that in such weather, its been around 5c here.

Nope they know their address well.

 

[nantmoel]

Just drove home in driving rain and 3 degrees! Poor bees.

 

[Millet]

Nope they know their address well.

So you advocate on opening a hive in this wild weather, with sleet and gales that will not allow any flying bees to survive such a manipulation.

 

[dpearce4]

So you advocate on opening a hive in this wild weather, with sleet and gales that will not allow any flying bees to survive such a manipulation.

Millet P off.

 

[Michael Palmer]

Moved the 10 frame Lang singles, we installed over wintered nucs in them a couple days ago....to fill up my apiaries. Lovely day. Wind driven snow storm. We're all cold and wet. Flat tyre. Day's job done! All 30 apiaries are full, with at least 24 colonies in each. Trying to finish early spring work before the dandelion bloom...and it's already in Massachusetts and the New York Hudson Valley...on the way north. Hurry, hurry, hurry.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Do you loose many bees doing that in such weather, its been around 5c here.

Why would you lose bees topping up a syrup feeder?

 

[Millet]

Nope they know their address well.

I would p of Normally but i am trying to learn and your methods or reasoning conflict with what i have read/ reashearched.

 

[Millet]

Why would you lose bees topping up a syrup feeder?

Brain cell do you not read well or do you just go for the nearest post so you can attack, its 5 Celsius hail sleet and snow with around 30mph wind. is that a ok situation to feed. i'm clueless so let me know.