What did you do in the Apiary today?

[nantmoel]

Up at the crack of dawn to cut some lovely balsam comb for today's market ,got 15 pieces off 3 shallow frames,had sold them all within the 1st hour of the market! People were super impressed by the fact the comb was still warm from the hive.

Still a big balsam flow on round here.

What did you charge for it? Was it 8oz's

 

[gregior]

What did you charge for it? Was it 8oz's

They range from 8 oz up to 11oz I charge £6 each for 'em

 

[Swarm]

They range from 8 oz up to 11oz I charge £6 each for 'em

What? Six quid for 11ozs??

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

What? Six quid for 11ozs??

giving it away at that price

 

[gregior]

giving it away at that price

I tried selling it at £8 but it was very slow to sell,might try for £7 then

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

just aim for pieces between 7 and 9 ounces and carry on at six quid if you must - but try seven.

 

[Millet]

It was absolutely roasting hot so i decided to open up to check the 2 x supers in the hope of making a super up of fully capped frames to extract.
They are not quite ready yet with around 14 frames in the 2x supers full of honey but they are only around 60% capped three of them fully capped, i will have another look next week, hopefully i can borrow some from the bees and start gassing them when i take a good battery this time.

 

[Plenty of honey]

Had a delightful evening at the mating yard (this evening) Went through over a third of the Nuc boxes that were made a little over 3 weeks ago and given hatched virgin queens (daughters from Peter Littles first cross queens, that i grafted from) All looking rather good and i am so chuffed, This time last year the drones were mostly binned out and it had rained for the entire last week of August! Just shows how two years can be so different.
All the queens i saw were laying beautifully, plump and calm. Cant ask for any more than that. Colonies gaining weight too, and it looks like another 2 weeks of good weather still to come, then it should be the start of the Ivy.
Obviously i won't be able to start assessing them for various things until next year, but just please to get some of those genetics in to the system for next year. I am not trying to be a queen breeder, just trying to make good strong queens under the right conditions. Thats what is so important i reckon!!
Isn't it amazing how decent weather seems to energise the bees!!
Starting vaping next week. We have a good brood dip in all the production colonies. Perfect timing!!

 

[Erichalfbee]

Perfect timing!!

Isnt it just wonderful when everything comes together

 

[pargyle]

Isnt it just wonderful when everything comes together

Dunno ... Don't think I've ever managed to get to that Nirvana !!

 

[madasafish]

Isnt it just wonderful when everything comes together

You mean when a hive fits together? I think it's a miracle with my skill at woodworkk

 

[TryingToLetThemBee]

giving it away at that price

Agree.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Erichalfbee]

Dunno ... Don't think I've ever managed to get to that Nirvana !!

I can't believe that !
I'm sure you've turned the perfect piece of made the perfect cheese and eaten the perfect honey?

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

I can't believe that !
I'm sure you've turned the perfect piece of made the perfect cheese and eaten the perfect honey?

I've made a perfect hash of thing a few times

 

[Michael Palmer]

Dunno ... Don't think I've ever managed to get to that Nirvana !!

Look around you. You're in it.

 

[B+.]

Dunno ... Don't think I've ever managed to get to that Nirvana !!

Allow me to direct you http://www.nirvana.com/

 

[Robbo8916]

Woohoo!

So I have waited the necessary couple of weeks to see if the 'virgin' we found last time had started laying. Not only is she laying but laying beautifully. I think she may have been mated last time and just hadn't started laying yet. That colony also had FIVE capped frames of honey in their super. Yay!

Nuc is rammed full to bursting. Going to have to sort them out tomorrow somehow or another. Greg is going to come help me find and mark the new queen tomorrow. Will see about moving some frames around to give the nuc more room.

They are still going ballistic on the balsam and at the nuc they were queueing to get in!

 

[linoleum bonypart]

Sounds like you either need to rehive it or add another bb onto the nuc

 

[Erichalfbee]

I need to unite two pairs of colonies. One already done and was sorted this morning. I have been prevaricating over the other....The colony whose queen is doomed has been a bit aggressive but has produced well and survived last years varroa onslaught so the plan in the end was to unite after supers come off. This morning I spotted maybe thirty thrown-out worker pupae with deformed wings on the landing board.
Looking inside....not so much brood present, lots of nectar but no stored pollen. but I spotted the queen looking into cells. I think there is a relative pollen dearth as the other big colony seems to be similarly taking a bit of a brood break.
A sugar roll has six varroa...so not yet at breaking point for treating....especially as there is so little capped brood.
So.............maybe there is something exciting going on here. I think I will keep the queen.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Brucie bonus!!

decided to pop up and super a few of the home colonies during a thirty minute sanity break from work. an hour and a half later I got back to the treadmill
Checked half a dozen colonies and supered where necessary (took no time at all) then decided to have a look on another colony which was a Demarree some time ago to see whether they had drawn out the remaining brood frames swapped during a nuc removal, she is a green queen, prolific and gentle progeny so I've swiped a few nucs this year and plan more next.
I don't usually take down Demarrees until all the brood in the top brood box has emerged, this one was no exception so I was surprised to find some sealed brood on the third frame.................and the fourth, and the fifth and, well you get the picture, also larvae and eggs!and brood in the shallows!! 'Oh damn dearie me says I, must have let queenie up into the supers at some point'
Decided to rearrange everything and get all the brood down the bottom to at least salvage some of the honey (probably still nearly two supers sealed and ready for extraction, without unsealed and the brood frames) and sort out the double brood in the spring if needs be. Got to the bottom brood box and.....................nine frames BIAS!! so, sneaky bees, I have a skyscraper hive with two queens, now back with a Demarree board for two entrances which I hope to sort out in a fortnight. Lucky I built a few spare hive stands (and floors!!)