What did you do in the Apiary today?

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Hi Ely,
Some say it smells like almond and I agree. It's supposed to be connoisseur's honey. I do have it in my honey which is received well.
 
Thought there was a swarm but I think it was the bees at one hive seeing off their virgin queen as she went out into the sunshine. Was about 10am ish.

Lots of them swirled in the air, then sat on the front of the hive and then went in.
 
Removed 6 QCs from a TBH which I has AS'd last week and placed in incubator.

Inspected all others - no QCs.

Very pleased that a small nuc which survived the winter with 1.5 frames of bees has grown a lot helped by a frame of hatching brood. Now on three frames.!

Now the rain has stopped, bees busy on hawthorn...
 
Became innovative ... Swarm high in a tree with loads of ivy hanging ..in a school playing field. Bees well out of my reach but I 'borrowed' 6 skipping ropes and a bat, tied all together to make a long rope with heavy end. Threw it over the branch and by using both ends, pulled the branch very low. Boxed!
Other two calls out today, 1 tree bumbles, 1 honey bees under hung tiles.. No chance.
 
I tried out my solar extractor that I made out of an old recycling box and some insulation - it worked beautifully! Now I need some ideas about what to make with the wax.
 
Watching wind and rain and waiting to see Noah passing by.. I think they said, for now fallen in a day as 2 month average and still falling. Horror weather. In neighbouring Serbia they say on news - biblical floods ( saw some bridge carried by the water, some people died.. horror..).
Food consumption in a approx. 2 days 1,5kg at scale weight ( apiary nearby, I don't have a scale). Relative cold, around 10 celsius.
 
Inspected the rest of the hives at the association apiary - mine doing well - added a super. One of the 'rescue' nucs from last year doing pretty well in a WBC, still haven't finished drawing comb in the BB but hive is overflowing with bees - the other one not going anywhere really, only four frames BIAS no other frames drawn. Have to go and see my queen breeder at the end of this month so she may be adorning the gatepost if she doesn't shape it!!.
The three nucs I hived yesterday evening are going great guns as well.
 
Watching wind and rain and waiting to see Noah passing by.. I think they said, for now fallen in a day as 2 month average and still falling. Horror weather. In neighbouring Serbia they say on news - biblical floods ( saw some bridge carried by the water, some people died.. horror..).
Food consumption in a approx. 2 days 1,5kg at scale weight ( apiary nearby, I don't have a scale). Relative cold, around 10 celsius.

Stay safe.
 
2012 Buckie is being superseded. One sealed cell found. Tut Tut....how did I miss that last time.
AS'd one of the colonies that had just finished a Bailey comb change. 6 sealed swarm cells and more being made. My fault as didn't look in last week when I took the bottom box off....it was windy and cold and I thought they'd be OK having so much to catch up having drawn a whole 14 x 12 box. Very lucky queen was still there....phew!!!
Other Bailey is OK.
Nuc with virgin queen run in 11 days ago? Who knows?
 
Checked Ynystawe hives after work, all packed with bees and stores but no swarm cells (yet) hopefully they will start filling the supers.
 
Watched them bring out the dead from hive 2 and take in pollen and nectar at both hives. Stayed away from the compost heap I learned my lesson.
 
Hah! A rare day of triumph. Arranged new out apiary at lunchtime. (Marriott hotels came up trumps!! Who'd have thought). By 6pm had collected a swarm to put in it. Plus hive 1 must have put in 12 solid hours on the hawthorn. It can't last.....
 
Watch the bees working hawthorn in the warm humid conditions .
Honeybees working hawthorn is a rarity around these parts !
Mild Winter, wet summer , I don't know but the May Flowers are profuse And the aroma is rivalling elder flower.
VM


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
 
collected a swarm and placed it in my out apiary. Checked the other swarm I collected and they are coming along nicely. Happy days
 
Watching wind and rain and waiting to see Noah passing by.. I think they said, for now fallen in a day as 2 month average and still falling. Horror weather. In neighbouring Serbia they say on news - biblical floods ( saw some bridge carried by the water, some people died.. horror..).
Food consumption in a approx. 2 days 1,5kg at scale weight ( apiary nearby, I don't have a scale). Relative cold, around 10 celsius.

Stay safe.

:iagree:
 
I thought I was going to have a night off the "bees", and have a quiet night in with SHMBO, it was a late night last night hiving swarms!

Got home from work, quick check at the Apiary No.2 and one bee, either became agressive, or it paniced and got stuck on my fleece jacket/t-shirt and stung, and then pulled away, and was pinging me with no stinger! Either I got in it's flight path, need to make a mental note of this!

On the way home neighbour spotted me, and told me I had a job waiting at home, a large swarm in the hedge, not my bees, surely, deny everything, they've already swarmed on the 24th April, 9th, 10th and 12th May!

and was it a large swarm, prime or cast it was large, too many bees did not fit in my swarm box, I had to improvise and use another box, it was very late on, and not all the bees went into second box, so I've left over night, and have most of them, took to Apiary No.2, there were so many bees, had to add a super.

So I started this year with 1 colony, then added two nucs, put into nationals, and now I have FIVE nationals full of bees!

Must unite these.....back two three.

So again, another late night, and finish at 10pm!
 
Just heading off to work at 1 45 today found a large swarm in a 3 year old pear tree 3 feet up,never dealt with a swarm before but with sheet and new hive I managed to shake them in.Just checked them and 5 frames of bees seem happy through perspex crown board.Had a few bees checking out a bait hive at the side of the house so maybe the swarm were meant to go there before I intervened,have to check in the morning if it was one of my hive that swarmed.
Started the week with 2 nationals,4 days later I have 3 colonies and 3 polynuc
Have to say enjoyed the adrenalin rush of capturing the swarm
Going to read up on combining
 

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