What did you do in the Apiary today?

[Brigsy]

Did my first full inspection. Slightly nervous as was on my own but it went well. Eggs, larvae and capped brood. HM seen on second pass of the next to last frame, must have missed her the first time I lifted it out. Thought I saw a full queen cell but on closer inspection it was just burr comb hanging from the bottom of the frame. No other emergency or supersedure cells seen, bees happily moved away from my hand. They are such lovely quiet bees!

The bees are busily drawing the super and after just a week I was stunned to see bee heaven garden really blossoming! As I only had my phone on hand I managed a couple of naff pics of one of my ladies on one of the apple trees!

Edit to add: the two frames of undrawn foundation in the brood box have now been drawn and are being filled with nectar and pollen.

Brilliant. I can relate, having done similar on last Saturday. Great feeling after so many months of reading and courses to actually get going!

 

[Blakebees]

Brilliant. I can relate, having done similar on last Saturday. Great feeling after so many months of reading and courses to actually get going!

Here here!

 

[Robbo8916]

That is what makes keeping bees worthwhile, i forget the honey yield if you get some you get it if you do not tough, i find them amazing insects and i could watch them all day long, i am pleased for you and long may it continue, .
Ps seems as you liked that inspection so much you can come and help me pull mine to bits tomorrow,

Might be a bit of a trek....

 

[Millet]

Might be a bit of a trek....

Just messing Rob.

 

[Blakebees]

Right, any one have any idea what an orange/brown rusty colour dust is from on bees? It is a pollen but not sure from which plant. Also a lot of bright yellow and very pale white pollen.


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[sbisme]

Demaree a hive today 7 frames of brood and making a few play cups, 2 super being filled with1 box starting to be capped, in full swing here happy days.

 

[Robbo8916]

Just messing Rob.

I guessed. My Yorkshire wit doesn't translate well into text.... bbq time!

 

[theeggman]

Did my first full inspection. Slightly nervous as was on my own but it went well. Eggs, larvae and capped brood. HM seen on second pass of the next to last frame, must have missed her the first time I lifted it out. Thought I saw a full queen cell but on closer inspection it was just burr comb hanging from the bottom of the frame. No other emergency or supersedure cells seen, bees happily moved away from my hand. They are such lovely quiet bees!

The bees are busily drawing the super and after just a week I was stunned to see bee heaven garden really blossoming! As I only had my phone on hand I managed a couple of naff pics of one of my ladies on one of the apple trees!

Edit to add: the two frames of undrawn foundation in the brood box have now been drawn and are being filled with nectar and pollen.

Robbo,

You're well and truly stuffed now, first SOLO inspection, lived to tell the tale AND enjoyed it. Welcome to the black hole of keeping bees, it's a pity it goes down hill from here.

 

[Swarm]

Right, any one have any idea what an orange/brown rusty colour dust is from on bees? It is a pollen but not sure from which plant.

Gorse.

 

[Erichalfbee]

Saw a lot of girls in the hive with blue/grey pollen so guessing they're still working the massive patch of bluebells in the front too.

Aaaarrrgh!!!! Spanish !!!

Well done though

Put second supers on my two remaining colonies. One has four bee drawn frames (i.e. no foundation) and has lots of drone on it. Bees like their drones, don't they.
There is masses of pollen in both hives...
As yet no swarm preps, though I was expecting to AS one colony and had everything ready

 

[Plenty of honey]

Some swarming, Making Nucs, Honey harvest starting, Mad busy busy busy.
exhausted already!! Havent been on the forum for a week, just no time !!

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

aren't eyes great!

Marked all the queens I couldn't see when I bred them last year. Bit strange now marking them at arms length and not with veil pressed to my face and nose an inch away from the queen .
I know people will disparage it, run it down and some are doing their best to break it up completely But thank the Lord for Jim Griffiths and Aneurin Bevan I say!! good old NHS.
Checked the Garn cottage bees - they're going bonkers there, begging for a third super in as many weeks and unfortunately one has swarmed - I knew they were close even though on only seven frames and had the gear ready for a demarree but, too late, they are an exceptionally swarmy bunch those and the last of the line in the apiary thank goodness.
Carreg apiary is now catching up so the next trip is to take another stack of supers up there for next week
Also. what's all this stuff abot queens not liking the light? put a queen on her frame in an open nuc whilst I set up a demarree this morning, went to put her back in the hive and found no sign of her on the frame, looked up, and there she was wandering about on the edge of the nuc sides - offered the nuc to the brood box, and would she hop in there? would she buffalo!! I then picked her up and put her on a top bar and....... she did a quick circuit around the edge of the whole brood box, skipped over a few top bars and would only eventually go down inside the box when I took out a frame and herded her into the dark. till took a few minutes for her to go right down!

 

[DerbyBee]

Inspected them today and looking good. 7 frames of brood, a few play cups dotted about. 1 super full just needs capping so I gave them another.

 

[Gilberdyke John]

Had a wander down to the apiary. The weather has turned cloudy and cool but bees still flying. Sadly the dandelion sea next door is now a sea of dandelion clocks.

 

[Tom Jay]

Well yesterday in that warm still sunshine:

My first slow inspection with no worries about chilling brood. First sighting of an emergency queen emerged September and mated just in time before the exile of drones. She is huge! And almost black end to end, no stripes! She's my 'Queen of Spades'. She has five frames of brood. I remember reading about emergency queen production being a dodgy thing to do, and I'm smiling! I marked her, first time I've done that alone. Such a pleasure. This being the North, there's none of that wing-clipping goes on in these parts ...

Another thing I did to her hive and one other: Swap around the outer and the next-to-outer frames at both ends of the eleven. The outer ones were unsurprisingly not fully drawn, while the next-to-outer ones were stores, no brood. So no upset doing the swap, and I guess the theory is an easy expansion of the brood nest.

It was a pleasure to feel the weight of the stores frames, so very soon after that period of starvation warning in the North this Spring. The difference a few great days can make!

 

[Roola]

Went back and knocked down final QC from a couple of AS. Bit deflated with the crop from the **** this year.... not looking great at all.

 

[denise washington]

checked my 3 hives not happy with one queens laying more drone than workers so think I need a new queen

 

[sahtlinurk]

took down a bait hive with new dwellers inside. dark looking bees. wondering were did they come from.

 

[Brigsy]

Did my second inspection today and first solo effort. All well behaved and drawing out the super I added last week. I think I either have wild comb fiends or something is up with my bee space.

When I got to the supers over the main brood nest (I'm trying brood and a half) the supers were glued down to the brood frames. When I separated them I looked down the gap and the queen was prancing about in the messy area.

Made life a bit tricky as the wild comb was being filled with nectar, so didn't want to squash her in the goo.

Then under the brood frames was wild comb presumably for drone cells. Think I'm going to have to get someone from my association to have a look.

 

[Obee1]

Did my second inspection today and first solo effort. All well behaved and drawing out the super I added last week. I think I either have wild comb fiends or something is up with my bee space.

When I got to the supers over the main brood nest (I'm trying brood and a half) the supers were glued down to the brood frames. When I separated them I looked down the gap and the queen was prancing about in the messy area.

Made life a bit tricky as the wild comb was being filled with nectar, so didn't want to squash her in the goo.

Then under the brood frames was wild comb presumably for drone cells. Think I'm going to have to get someone from my association to have a look.

If you put one shorter frame in the brood box queen will lay drones underneath - at least you can lift it out to inspect withou tearing the brood open.