What did you do in the Apiary today?

[FreeFall]

Nothing. Peeing down and blowing a hoolie all day, so sat indoors and read Fifty Years Among the Bees by Dr. C. C. Miller (1911).

 

[Chris Luck]

Continued bringing in the unexpected honey crop, not a good yield but at one point I didn't expect any with the weather we've had which was crap when the OSR was in flower.

Chris

 

[YorkshireBees]

Just off to take off 9 supers for extraction today!

 

[greengumbo]

Hello all !

Well I just cleared some small trees and bushes from my apiary to be. Just need to stick a big slab down and it will hopefully be ready to go.

Heard from my beekeeping mate that the nuc of bees I am getting has just hatched its queen so now all I need is a hive

(and some good weather)

GG

 

[Lindylou]

Did our second inspection. Pleased to find lots of eggs, larvae and sealed brood. Also fair amount of capped honey, so hopefully all is well. Also found that as previously mentioned on my previous thread about new foundation being eaten - well the little darlings have completely filled the gap with comb so I needn't have worried.

 

[TOBY-3652]

Picked up another swarm and seen the queen/// running out of equipment fast

 

[YorkshireBees]

Just finished extracting 8 supers (I said 9 earlier but one wasn't ready).
Now have another 55kg 122lbs of honey!

 

[Blue Spinnaker]

Can't believe it. Cast swarm from my hive today - I searched and searched for extra QCs and then took myself away for a few days while my new virgin did her duty, only to get a frantic phone call from my non-beekeeping o/h to say they're 20ft up the plum tree and what should he do

 

[beestie]

Well, Tuesday actually, but got distracted...

Nuc from a swarm 3 weeks ago - now all 5 frames full of beautifully constructed cells, classic brood pattern and perfect looking crescent stores above brood. New virgin queen mated and going like stink. Hastily made up new hive stand, roof, floor etc but not enough time to move them yet, and I'm aware that every day I leave them there now is a wasted potential bee day.

Hive that produced above swarm (my fault) still looking good, newly mated queen laying well and 2 supers 3/4 full; they are just starting to cap some of the honey; fingers crossed for extracting next week or 2 depending on weather

Even managed to remove dummy boards from the poor hive with old queen as she seems to be liking the weather and finally laying better - but her days are numbered; new racing queen arrives next week
OSR all but over here, but plenty of other flowers out, and with the coming rain and more cold weather I'm hoping they will last like the OSR did...

 

[meidel]

looked in my main colony which swarmed and then settled down to raise a virgin queen on 11th May. About 10 days ago there were 2 frames of eggs and larvae - hooray I thought.

When I looked this afternoon, they were starting to put stores in the second super, capping some of the first super but blow me down, I found 4 capped supercedure cells and a swarm cell, the last on the side of the frame. A queen had laid eggs in 3 frames, there was a frame of capped brood and a mix of young to older larvae in all 5 frames. Her maj was nowhere to be seen, mind you apart from pulling her out of a cell on 11th May I haven't see her since and it might not have been the same queen doing all this laying.

Clearly they haven't put aside all swarming instincts then!

 

[Mike a]

Only two swarm calls today, one was a fellow member of my association the other was the fastest swarm collection you could wish for. All done in less than a minute and I took my time.

20 or so bees hanging off the bottom of the seat of a garden chair, the main swarm hanging off of the back of the chair. Brushed off the bees from under the seat onto a frame then lifted the chair over the nuc and thumped it a few times put frames in carefully and replaced the roof before strapping it up ready to be collected earlier this evening.

http://youtu.be/bSMpgVGfJho

10 days on from collecting this swarm and then transferring them into a langstroth deep poly hive

They have drawn out all 10 frames and are rapidly filling the cells with pollen and nectar. The queen has laid across 5 frames and this hive is looking like it could well be ready to take to the heather in a 4-6 weeks time. Ack how depressing is that... already talking about taking hives to the heather... my apologies.

 

[tonybloke]

checked on the 2 parts of an A/S, queen has come back into lay, and laid up 2 frames, the other part had made 3 emergency q/c's, these were knocked down to leave the one cell I chose last week.

 

[tonybloke]

here's a photo of the http://www.beekeepingforum.co.uk/attachment.php?attachmentid=6648&stc=1&d=1339068420hives this morning (note the sunshine )

 

[beestie]

nice....
Do you always leave entrance reducers on?

 

[John R]

Going out to the shed to knock up some stands for my hives, fed up of rain and can't beat an afternoon in the shed faffing about with a few bits of wood and a hammer.! Who knows they may even be fit for use afterwards?

 

[george]

In Suffolk yesterday helping a friend out . Bit of a bonus , 2 swarms set up home in old hives stacked in a quiet corner . Moved them in to my own hives and will move them the 100 odd miles back home when its colder .
I have 2 nucs which are bursting and need to go into a full hive but my weather station says its raining cats and dogs , which it only does when its really grim outside . So no beekeeping again today , tmrw looks good but the osteopath beckons !

G

 

[Queens59]

Watched the rain beating down on the swarm in the tree - they don't seem to be getting any smaller - or making wax. I think they have forgotten they are a swarm!!

 

[meidel]

watched the rain beating down

was mightily depressed yesterday when found Qcs in main colony which I thought had settled down to raising their virgin ... oh yeah already told you that yesterday - haven't quite got over it obviously

 

[tonybloke]

nice....
Do you always leave entrance reducers on?

giving it a go on them all this year, after all, bees don't normally open up the entrance of a feral colony in the summer to one as large as a full size entrance on a national floor.

tried it on a couple of hives last year, they seemed to be less defensive, as well.

(the large number of bees on the left hand hive is because I'd only just put it back together after a full inspection)

 

[circe]

put fishing net over polynuc hive and weighted down with brieze blocks - all hives strapped down well.