What did you do in the Apiary today?

[VEG]

Do you use new queens every year?

 

[Haughton Honey]

Do you use new queens every year?

Who me?

Nope. If I did then I'd need about 50 a year!

I have 'native/feral' dark bees in some apiaries and Buckfast-type or Buckfast X in others.

 

[VEG]

Thought as much lol

 

[Haughton Honey]

Thought as much lol

But the Buckfast/native crosses are pussycats and very productive......if that's what your getting at.

Italian/native crosses however.........

 

[Skyhook]

Are we talking Norton here? I've been trying to contact him via email and pm but no luck. I semi-ordered a queen a while back and hoping to complete- is he just too busy to check messages at the moment, or has anyone got a better way of contacting him they could pm me?

Cheers

 

[beeboybee]

after many sightings finally plucked up the courage to mark the queen.... very exiting and big step!!!!!

 

[MuswellMetro]

well having kept the gas central heating on all night to keep a new queen warm that arrived wednesday i found her quite distressed, so decided to go with keeping the attendants in the cage

off i go to the apiary cold spitting rain and windy but the beginners want to watch as i requeen, first a talk of how to always keep your zip done up and H&S as these bees are a bit nasty and that why i need to requeen

but could not find the old Q which is an unmarked short scrub queen, girls getting getting quite cross by now being hawiian italian/ feral crosses so not the calmest bees

split them into two nuc and take a break for 20min

going back 20min later found the queen but by this time it is spitting rain from a large thunder cloud and the second intrusion into the nest means the girls to say the least are about 13 on a scale of 1 to 10 and i got stung on the eyelid:::::::::yep i forget to re zip the veil fully up

so now typing in monocular vision ( but as least i have an excuse not to watch eurovision song with my wife and go to the pub )contest

 

[VEG]

did you sort them out though?

 

[tonybloke]

made up a load more frames this morning.
went to the Waveney Beekeeping Group demo this afternoon, nice folk ( and nice cakes)

 

[MuswellMetro]

did you sort them out though?

yep put her in,but as they were aggressive i don't think she will succeed anyway the swelling doesn't start immediately

normally we do not get bad crosses and mainly rely on local crosses and have no problem with Italian strain of bee, but this year there has been several supesedures queens going to scale 9 or 10 on nastyness.

Another beekeeper on a nearby site has ended up in hospital four week running and we have mover her bees away from the garden

we have culled two other hives out of 12 on the apiary (all autumn 2010 supersedures)

this hive had a 2010 Hawaiian queen that superseded in autumn 2010, three others also did the same, so that was money down the drain ,shame though, as they are no longer imported

The local bees are mainly italians brown bees with yellow banded drones but we are seeing darker drones, possible pure carnolions queens and packages from Gloucestershire

i would prefer local bees but it is how to get out of this cycle of drones

 

[Tom Bick]

MM it’s a problem in Greater London or even the South East so many strains of bee and a growing number of beekeepers understandably as I was one going for a bee that is sold on certain characteristics but never told that its not always like that.
A superseded queen in September can result in a dangerous hive in the early spring with little options how to resolve the situation.

 

[victor meldrew]

Sat watching the wind driven rain lashing down .
Switched the central heating on . Bah! Humbug

John Wilkinson

 

[tonybloke]

glad to hear it's still grim oop north! LOL

 

[Tom Bick]

I never thought I would think this but what I would give for to watch it lashing it down right now, and even if this required I have to light the fire.

 

[tonybloke]

thunderstorm here this evening, OH has lit the woodburner!

 

[Lance Hutchings]

Spent the afternoon at S Gloucs bee keepers assoc apiary. Weve now been split into 4 groups and each group given 2 hives... very educational sorting out hive that needed a lot of attention too Now all sorted and looking forward to going back to continue the work

 

[YorkshireBees]

Battled the wind to check some of my hives and remove 4 supers + 2 deep for extraction.

Then spent the whole afternoon / evening extracting 50kg (110lbs) of honey!

Absolutely shattered but very happy!

 

[drstitson]

yesterday - checked through my dadant - doing well despite a slow start - now 7 good frames of brood, some drone brood and no queen cups/cells.
still not putting anything into the super - shame as the acacia flow has been going for a week.
Considering doing an AS on tuesday as will be away for 11 days and don't want OH to have to deal with her first swarm alone (although queen is clipped don't fancy her chances on ground in vicinity of hive due to the assorted free range livestock!!!

today - picked up a box of kittens at the gate when heading to shop this morning - first of the new season: 3x 4-5 weekers - 2 tabby, 1 grey - 1F,2M - all long haired. Mary, Mungo and Midge.

 

[Poly Hive]

Watching the rain here too.

About to make some cheer me up soup, chicken noodle with extra chicken and noodles... along with a massive chunk of home made brown bread.

PH

 

[YorkshireBees]

Cool and drizzlling here, will try and get a couple of the extracted supers back on hives as I don't have to disturb the bees too much to add a super on top!