What did you do in the Apiary today?

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Aiming to split in late May/early June

Why?

 

[Robbo8916]

Why?

Because after discussing it with Kath and also everything I have been told/read it is better to have two hives for comparison, sharing frames of brood etc should I lose/squish a queen.

Is that wrong?

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Because after discussing it with Kath and also everything I have been told/read it is better to have two hives for comparison, sharing frames of brood etc should I lose/squish a queen.

Is that wrong?

You can't just split colonies willy nilly and hope for success, Firstly, you are taking delivery of a nuc in a week or so it's going to take some time for that colony to build up and be strongenough to just go into a full hive. Splitting (whatever you may believe that to be) within a month is a surefire way of wrecking the whole thing and going into winter (if you're lucky) with two mediocre colonies. Don't get ahead of yourself, let this colony build up in its own time, fill a hive and maybe (just maybe) get a little honey.
If the colony builds up to a point where they make swarming preparations then by all means do an A/S and end up with two (maybe even three) hives. But for now get the hang of the one hive rather than compromising the whole thing for no good reason.

 

[Robbo8916]

You can't just split colonies willy nilly and hope for success, Firstly, you are taking delivery of a nuc in a week or so it's going to take some time for that colony to build up and be strongenough to just go into a full hive. Splitting (whatever you may believe that to be) within a month is a surefire way of wrecking the whole thing and going into winter (if you're lucky) with two mediocre colonies. Don't get ahead of yourself, let this colony build up in its own time, fill a hive and maybe (just maybe) get a little honey.
If the colony builds up to a point where they make swarming preparations then by all means do an A/S and end up with two (maybe even three) hives. But for now get the hang of the one hive rather than compromising the whole thing for no good reason.

It was an over-wintered nuc, Kath collcted my hive and they have been in a full sized hive (dummied down) until today. The dummy boards have been removed and they are running 7 frames of brood and now been given the further four frames of foundation to draw out.

It was purely a speculative question and of course will not be done if it is not necessary.

I may not have done this before but I am neither neglectful nor daft.

Upon purchasing said nuc we discussed that it would probably need to be split during thr season. My typed timings may be off....

But of course I will bow to your superior knowledge every time

 

[Tom Jay]

I checked in the two hives I gave syrup 48 hours before, one being my colony with the strongest build - it is hugely busy but hefted far too light - the other the colony which appears the smallest/slowest build this season. The big one had finished all the syrup and they were foraging in squadrons today so I took the empty feeder etc away and they're on their own now. The small one had not finished supping it up so I left it on. With such a pleasant afternoon I was tempted to do some first full inspections but decided against in favour of allowing an uninterrupted great foraging day. Please no swarm prep going on! No full inspections yet!

All in all, I'm thrilled that four of my five overwintered colonies are looking really busy. The slow build one was weak in numbers and brood area all last summer too [She's a early 2015 queen] so, if I have an artificial swarm to do some time in the season, I think I will probably dispatch her and replace from that procedure.

 

[Hedgerow Honey]

Quick check on the rape hives and pleasantly surprised thought with the rubbish weather last week that a lot of stores would have been eaten but they have actually brought a bit in.

 

[Plenty of honey]

First graft this afternoon. Couldn't find enough Larvae small enough, so brought two frames in, just in case. Got them under the light, tons the perfect age! took a while to get back in to it, technique for everyone is different but i got there.
Bees already claimed down. Nice to be grafting again.

 

[Millet]

It was an over-wintered nuc, Kath collcted my hive and they have been in a full sized hive (dummied down) until today. The dummy boards have been removed and they are running 7 frames of brood and now been given the further four frames of foundation to draw out.

It was purely a speculative question and of course will not be done if it is not necessary.

I may not have done this before but I am neither neglectful nor daft.

Upon purchasing said nuc we discussed that it would probably need to be split during thr season. My typed timings may be off....

But of course I will bow to your superior knowledge every time

Take it with a pinch of salt it knows what it is on about but its attitude and people skills are none existent.

 

[Brigsy]

I installed my first colony. And so it begins.........


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Michael Palmer]

First graft this afternoon. Couldn't find enough Larvae small enough, so brought two frames in, just in case.

Using a second choice breeder?

 

[Plenty of honey]

Using a second choice breeder?

Not this time but were rotating breeder queens on the next grafts. This one we used lots last year and the sisters are very nice. Very wise advice! as always!!

 

[Obee1]

I sprayed some water into my apidea. The mega colony in the garden which was demaree'd had raised two QC in the top box so I decided to pop one in my new apidea and get the bees working on drawing the frames and see if a queen comes of it. I don't actually need any more queens as my credit card ran away with me and ordered rather a few Bucky queens including a breeder so hopefully next year's queen supply is sorted too! The other QC in the demare I squished.
Today looks like a bidet (geddit!) so I'll be going to look at my farm hives. One is superceding or swarmed or I don't really know what - so I'll go take a look.

Ohh and I found 4 jars of last year's honey I had hidden in the kitchen woo hoo! It's my daughter's wedding in a month so the last of my honey crop has been earmarked for wedding favours (100 little pots!) and hidden away - and we are on rations. The four jars mean we can actually eat some ourselves.

 

[Finman]

.
I go to move some hives to outer pastures.

It is promised the whole week 18-20 C. It is best blooming with willow.
Bees were able to start brood rearing. It was frost at night.

Birch starts to open buds.

 

[Finman]

.
I go to move some hives to outer pastures.

It is promised the whole week 18-20 C. It is best blooming with willow.

Apples have swelled buds so much that I can see what they are alive.

Then inspecting hives first time and clipping queens. I have not even tried this spring, do they have food.

 

[Erichalfbee]

.

It's my daughter's wedding in a month so the last of my honey crop has been earmarked for wedding favours (100 little pots!) and hidden away

I did that for step daughter.
A few of the guests left theirs on the table after the do so I snaffled them back

 

[nantmoel]

How are the stings getting through, i double layer , i see them stinging my suit and gloves on occasions but my skin never gets touched.

I was standing by the hive watching them, it was a bit windy and one got blew onto my forehead - that accounts for my forehead. The ones on my arm god only knows.

 

[Millet]

I was standing by the hive watching them, it was a bit windy and one got blew onto my forehead - that accounts for my forehead. The ones on my arm god only knows.

That answers that question, .

 

[Robbo8916]

Just about to set out and take the last few bits, super,feeder etc down then there is literally nothing else practical I can do. One more sleep!!!

 

[bjosephd]

Checked both hives today, lots of BIAS and quite a bit of a drone laying 'mess' (especially in my national frames cable tied into langstroth frames to convert boxes last year).

Both hives had a fresh empty box of foundation on top 10 days ago and were fed.

One hive had neither touched the foundation OR the feed.

The other hive had totally finished off all the feed and were starting to draw out a handful of foundation.

I'm thinking I should keep feeding them to help them get these frames drawn out since an entire BB of foundation is a big ask.

Wondering whether to move some brood frames up into the top boxes to encourage the brood nest/queen/colony to make proper use of the second box… but I'll be going in again in a week so I'll see what their top boxes look like then.

No sign of either queen this time… but plenty of evidence, and chilled bees, so I will assume all is good.

Thoughts always welcome.

Hope you all had successful bee days now the sun seems to be coming out…

BJD

 

[Erichalfbee]

Busy on the Bluebells: lots of pale pollen going in with the orange dandelion