What did you do in the Apiary today?

[Mike a]

Took a few pictures.

If I knew what I was doing with the camera this could of been an excellent picture, sadly I don't but all the same I like this one.

 

[warts]

Mike a
don't you dare knock this photo. It is fantastic as it is. I know what you might have been after, but what you have delivered is excellent. If I had managed a photo this good it would be my screensaver for a while to come. Take credit where credit is due. And it is due!

Sally

 

[oliver90owner]

Knock it! That is a super shot of a typical entance regulator!

Good for the new beeks (and psafloyd!) to see how it can be done so easily. Mine usually have a bit of wood or other vegetation wedged in to prevent the entry block from moving, but some are a tight fit.

RAB

 

[Mike a]

I was trying to get the entrance and the flying bees in focus to start with then I tried to adjust the cameras shutter speed to freeze the wings in mid-flap but no joy. Either the pictures come out to dark or they are grainy (no idea why they would be grainy). Its a great camera Canon 500D eos with a standard lens, I was about 12" away. I would love a proper macro lens for it but I have to settle for a cheap macro ring x10.

If I'd only pressed the button a fraction of a second earlier the bee on the right would of been in focus, a fraction of a second later and you would of seen nothing more than the out of focus bees head as it crashed into the lens and left mark on it.

 

[psafloyd]

Knock it! That is a super shot of a typical entance regulator!

Good for the new beeks (and psafloyd!) to see how it can be done so easily. Mine usually have a bit of wood or other vegetation wedged in to prevent the entry block from moving, but some are a tight fit.

RAB

Thanks for remembering me, RAB. But I am, too a mere novice.

 

[SteveJ]

Went into the Apiary this evening. Very hot and muggy. All I could smell was Honey. One super clearing overnight. Another four still a bit drippy but won't be long hopefully.

 

[Onge]

Took a few pictures.

If I knew what I was doing with the camera this could of been an excellent picture, sadly I don't but all the same I like this one.

Amazing photo very well done.

 

[MuswellMetro]

Amazing photo very well done.

Agree, nice photo

i find when beekeepers who dont know me visit my apairy they always ask why i have the blocks half pulled out

it seems it is not taught now as a method of controlling entrance size. now it is just sticking bits of £hornes expensive foam in the gap to reduce the size

 

[keithgrimes]

did a 24 hour varroa count. One mite in three hives. Excellent

 

[madasafish]

Quickie inspoection of 4 TBH nucs and one full TBH..All Ok except one queenless: mated queen has failed and not superceded...

Note to Forager who writes in BBKA news: You CAN inspect a 30 frame TBH ...And find the (unmarked) queen and write your notes - in under 15 minutes...
(But then if you bothered to do some research ..)

 

[tonybloke]

added another super to one colony, ( 2 on this one now) and put a rhombus clearer board under the top 2 supers on another hive ( 3 on this one)

 

[TOBY-3652]

Marked 2 more queens and united queenless hive 2 one with 2011 queen,, ho and got stung on knee

 

[Elaine]

Checked on our nucleus - queen still there - loads of stores (gave them 2 litres of sugar syrup on Saturday - and they've taken the whole lot!) but no eggs yet.

Found out that propolis doesn't wash off fingers easily - and plays havoc with contact lenses - I have to take them out when I go looking for eggs, else I can't find them, then put them back in after a good hand wash, ouch!

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

knocked up a five and six frame nuc then sat and looked wistfully at two of my hives who (hopefully) have virgin or new queens who may start laying soon nice to see at least three varieties of pollen going in though!

 

[beeboybee]

extracted 70lb from one hive!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[louiseww]

Yesterday I did something that isn't in the book and based on my wonderful three years of experience ha!
I have a queenless colony that has been making stores like mad but no brood except a scattering of drone which clearly suggests that the queen is a drone layer or I have a laying worker. I have been told to destroy the colony - couldn't bring myself to do it so have been watching and learning from it.
I have now removed the brood box, cleared the frames of all drone brood (because of varroa) but left the sealed stores and the masses of unsealed nectar - removed all of the bees.
Added this brood box to another colony that is weak because I think they have superceded the queen (maybe more than once) and possibly swarmed without my knowledge as i have found empty queen cells several times. The brood frames are slow so they may be waiting for the new queen to lay. This is a very humble opinion based on limited knowledge.
I then collected up as many of the bees as poss at the failed hive smoked them well and liberally sugared them with freshly ground sugar. Added them to the weak hive. All seems well this morning - no signs of massive carnage outside the weak hive which now has two brood boxes. The other site has a small 6" ball of bees that looks like a caste where the bees are gathering, I aim to collect them up this evening, sugar them and add them to the other hive.
I decided that with one weak hive and one failed I had nothing to lose by doing this and I was giving the bees in the failed colony a chance to enjoy their last few weeks in a queened colony (tears flowing here!). I am sure I have done everything wrong, and none of this is in the books, but it is done and I watch with interest and hopefully learn something on the way.
Louise
PS my other two colonies are strong and doing well and I will be extracting honey when the weather gets cooler in a few days.

 

[victor meldrew]

Yesterday I did something that isn't in the book and based on my wonderful three years of experience ha!
I have a queenless colony that has been making stores like mad but no brood except a scattering of drone which clearly suggests that the queen is a drone layer or I have a laying worker. I have been told to destroy the colony - couldn't bring myself to do it so have been watching and learning from it.
I have now removed the brood box, cleared the frames of all drone brood (because of varroa) but left the sealed stores and the masses of unsealed nectar - removed all of the bees.
Added this brood box to another colony that is weak because I think they have superceded the queen (maybe more than once) and possibly swarmed without my knowledge as i have found empty queen cells several times. The brood frames are slow so they may be waiting for the new queen to lay. This is a very humble opinion based on limited knowledge.
I then collected up as many of the bees as poss at the failed hive smoked them well and liberally sugared them with freshly ground sugar. Added them to the weak hive. All seems well this morning - no signs of massive carnage outside the weak hive which now has two brood boxes. The other site has a small 6" ball of bees that looks like a caste where the bees are gathering, I aim to collect them up this evening, sugar them and add them to the other hive.
I decided that with one weak hive and one failed I had nothing to lose by doing this and I was giving the bees in the failed colony a chance to enjoy their last few weeks in a queened colony (tears flowing here!). I am sure I have done everything wrong, and none of this is in the books, but it is done and I watch with interest and hopefully learn something on the way.
Louise
PS my other two colonies are strong and doing well and I will be extracting honey when the weather gets cooler in a few days.

I've seen a guy throw three small colonies together on the premise that the total confusion works in favour of little if any fighting .
It worked out fine

VM

 

[Monsieur Abeille]

I've seen a guy throw three small colonies together on the premise that the total confusion works in favour of little if any fighting .
It worked out fine

VM

That very clever maker of hives is a keen proponent of this method

 

[Erichalfbee]

That very clever maker of hives is a keen proponent of this method

Indeed. A method of introducing a queen involves throwing three sets of bees on frames into a nuc moving it away to an out apiary and the queen can be introduced immediately.
Amazing.

 

[drstitson]

you don't even need to move to an out apiary.