What did you do in the Apiary today?

[Dusty Rhodes]

Got stung on my ring finger today, good job I took my engagement ring off before, just got to hope the swelling goes down before the wedding next week!

Congratulations on the upcoming nuptials.

Will you be having the traditional Bridal March by Wagner and Mendelssohn's wedding March - or will you go for something by Bee- thoven?

Dusty.

 

[johnmcc]

Just had a swarm - must have missed a Q cell 2 weeks ago (my fault - haven't looked since then). Fortunately swarmed on an old incinerater 6 feet from the original hive. A friend wants the swarm but not yet (dammit!) so I knocked up a temporary home for them from a couple of supers, one with frames in, and tipped them in. I'll either donate them to my friend or I'll unite them with my weaker colony. Either way they're in the lash-up hive for a week or two.

 

[tonybloke]

just got to hope the swelling goes down before the wedding next week!

erm, swelling of certain parts of the anatomy is traditional on wedding nights!!

 

[chalkie]

Nice and sunny here today with temperature around 16c-18c, checked on the swarm i caught last week, i'd put them in a hive with 10 frames of foundation and 1 of stores and fed just over 2 ltr of syrup, suprised to see 5 frames drawn out 4 of which are full of eggs the other they have started to store in, tons of bright yellow pollen going in, not sure if i should feed another 2ltr, also spotted and marked the queen, she's a huge black thing now sporting a lovely pinkish spot.

 

[drstitson]

"Just had a swarm - must have missed a Q cell 2 weeks ago"

prime swarm will leave at day 8.

plenty of time for them to have made preps without you "missing" any cells.

 

[psafloyd]

Well, last night, but I nobly just got round to looking at the vids on YT.

http://youtu.be/CuechQymzVc

http://youtu.be/q5hpT8jJBRg

http://youtu.be/ISw3pOz8AEA

 

[YorkshireBees]

Nice and sunny here today with temperature around 16c-18c, checked on the swarm i caught last week, i'd put them in a hive with 10 frames of foundation and 1 of stores and fed just over 2 ltr of syrup, suprised to see 5 frames drawn out 4 of which are full of eggs the other they have started to store in, tons of bright yellow pollen going in, not sure if i should feed another 2ltr, also spotted and marked the queen, she's a huge black thing now sporting a lovely pinkish spot.

Depends on what you want from them? Personally I have a good flow from the OSR so no need to feed any of my colonies, however if you want to guarantee a fast buildup you could feed them some more until at least they have drawn out most / all the frames. Just monitor to make sure they don't fill all the lovely new comb with stores!

 

[YorkshireBees]

Just called at one of my out apiaries for a 'quick' check on 3 colonies!

2hrs later I have confirmed that the two polyhives have probably swarmed as suspected but are still full of bees and now have a big fat QC each!

Onto the 3 I wanted to check and a mixed bag, 2 still building up (one of which doesn't have a load of stores but enough for now). The 3rd I had to demaree after finding no space left for the Queen to lay and the start of QC's.

My 1hr lunch just became 3hrs so I will have to stay later at work to make up for it!

I now have almost every variation from a colony with 1 super that they are barely touching to a hive with 3 supers being filled at double speed!

Taking copious notes so that I can select my breeder colonies!

 

[Snail368]

Lovely warm day here. Lot of bee activity from 8am this morning, all day and still busy! OSR and apple blossom being harvested by bees. Not much pollen seen going into hives this pm (more this morning) so assume a lot of nectar being taken in.

Need a lot more days like this to get a harvest off the OSR though!

Drones flying strongly (again) today.

 

[MuswellMetro]

just got in after moving an association hive 5 miles in the rain, well that what itold the wife, i may have return via the Maid of Muswell Pub

all went well, closed them down at 8:00 in the rain, double strapped up

we are moving them 5 miles for three weeks then back to a training apiary within a mile of the first apiary..city bees going onto OSR for ther first time. will have to keep an eye on them as they may decide to swarm...18c predicted tomorrow

 

[Erichalfbee]

Yesterday was a fine sunny day,nearly 15˚
There were quite a few bees fanning with nasanov glands up at the entrance of the parent colony I ASd.
Queen should have emerged Sat/Sun. I hope she was out getting mated as we have three weeks of rain forecast

 

[Shabro]

Collected my first swarm, with help from a more experienced beek, put them straight into a Nuc hive with one drawn comb and the rest new foundation.

 

[drstitson]

got home at 8pm to be confronted by a nice swarm hanging in a buddleia at eye level in front of me as i parked the car. quickly housed in a handy 14x12 poly nuc then quick check of hives, snelgrove ASd the culprit as it started to rain again and blow up and then retired to knock up some frames for the swarm to get working on.
nuc will get moved in early hours when set off for work.

 

[dc197]

I picked up my clipped queen from the floor in front of the nuc she was in. Evidently a failed attempt to swarm.
What luck that I spotted the bees in a ball and saw her paint spot.

 

[MuswellMetro]

checked my requeen Nucs splits from last Wednesday...phew queens all there with their yellow spots, no larva yet, to overcast to confirm eggs

Then went on to an association hive i donated eggs to....again success, laying queen and larva and some capped brood...how the H*&(L did she mate in temps of 13c

ok so now a spare re queen nuc split to use else where

condensed a poor hive knocked over by sheep last winter into a Nuc box, to see if they improve...surprisingley only a little stores, so fed 1:1

checked the swarm nucs, no eggs yet as i always add a little drawn comb to bring old queen into lay, but it has been cold, cells being polished though on some, dont normally feed swarm but decided to be kind as i had the syrup out

My top demarre that i put above a split board, seemed agressive roaring and Q- then i got drenched, but decided to combine with newspaer to another hive

got realy wet so went home, the other apiaries will have to wait

Ordered some invert syrup, if the weather goes on like this then they will need it in the june gap

 

[Mike a]

Fantastic picture Dr

Had some fun today in the apiary but forgot to take my camera.

The weather has been horrid for the last 2-3 weeks so as today was the first nice day I thought it wise to check the hives. Thankfully I did as I found lots of sealed queen cells in two hives, went through both colonies and found both the old queens so A/S them both (moved queens) into new hives to simulate they had swarmed as I had a couple of spare nuc's on me, also transferred 3 more frames with some brood and the bees covering it making sure none of the transferred frames had a queencell.

Found one drone laying queen so removed her before pinching one of the frames with two nice looking sealed queen cells and a large amount of sealed brood and donated it to this hive.

At the start of the year I set up a bait hive with several drawn combs and today I found it has a nice gentle colony in it, they have obviously been in there for over a week as there is a nice patch of sealed brood across the middle of 3 frames surrounded by lots more eggs and larvae. After going through all my other hives they are all queen right with lots of eggs and brood in all stages so the swarm wasn't one of mine.

Just need a few weeks of reasonable weather now so the virgins can emerge and get out and mate.

 

[drstitson]

OH has just had a cast fly over her - lost sight after falling over in the field.

presumably a swarm heading off proper will be aiming direct for chosen location???? (if indeed they have one already - mating casts obviously don't).

 

[YorkshireBees]

Just finished my latest batch on new frames, approx 100 or so.

Making plans for tomorrow (weather dependent) to demaree 4 more hives.

 

[Mike a]

Forgot to add.

Some of you may remember I posted this picture last year when a non bee keeping friend of mine came to help me inspect my hives. Long story but before I realised what he was doing he had moved the nuc by lifting it from the roof, the nuc then fell to the floor leaving him holding the roof with the combs hanging down. The nuc had attracted a passing swarm by accidence which is why it didn't have any frames it in as I was using it as a rubbish bin. He then turned the roof over and put it on the floor as the bees were getting increasingly angry. I watched powerless to do anything as each comb slowly leant over sending a cloud of very angry bees into the air. He then refused to go near it again so I had to carefully pick it up whilst bracing the combs and put the nuc back together even though I had just had major back surgery to fuse two vertebrae.
(If you look really carefully at the picture you may be able to see thousands of bees above the roof)

Today I unscrewed both the sides walls of the roof and used a thin piece of wire like a cheese wire to carefully cut through the combs attached to the roof. It took some time as the combs were full of solid Ivy honey. Each comb was attached to both end walls of the nuc as I hoped so I could place another bottomless nuc on top with frames. In a couple of weeks time I hope I can find the queen in the top nuc and then place some QE between both halfs and wait another 3 weeks for the bees to all emerge before I can bodge up a crown board to turn it into a mid entrance hive (plugging up the bottom entrance) and fit a one way bee escape into the crown board to empty the bottom nuc before taking it away.

 

[Monsieur Abeille]

Got out to tidy up the apiary in preparation for an open session tomorrow. Bees seemed to take exception to the broom in front of their entrances. If they tidied up their own corpses it wouldn't be necessary so they've only themselves to blame.

Supers seem to be filling up nicely so instead of slapping on more fondant as I've been doing as far back as I can remember I may even give them all a second one tomorrow. Back to frame making then!

No one told me retirement would be so busy - barely had chance to log on here and as for keeping up with all the threads as I did in days of mooching at work - no chance!