What did you do in the Apiary today?

[Dusty Rhodes]

When I got back to the van and looked in the mirror my face was bright red.
Too hot and humid for beekeeping

Horses sweat.

Gentlemen perspire.

Ladies just......glow.



Dusty

 

[Mrs Shoot]

Mrs shoot. Did the lady not want to keep the bees?


The lady who has the hives in the garden, who called us doesn't own the hives. She couldn't get hold of the lady who owns the hives, but the lady is halfway through a 2 week holiday. So with her not being back for another week and the owner of the house and garden not being able to get hold of her she phoned us (hubby is on the swarm collectors list), as she wanted to do the best for the bees, and knew they need to be collected in another hive, which she also doesn't have. Sad for the beekeeper, but the owner of the property has our number. Had the lady not been at home and seen them they could be anywhere now.

 

[Erichalfbee]

Good that they are safe

 

[Tremyfro]

Remarked my one remaining Buckie...last year's spot almost unspottable.
I pinched a frame of brood from them to put a new queen into a two frame nuc. All looks OK through the top tonight.
Horribly sticky hot day, I've got a cold. It's going to my chest like it always does. I'm running a fever and I nearly passed out after dealing with the new nuc. If I was a man I would have man flu. I'm really grumpy. I should be at Karol's talk but I'm watching the TT on the tele instead.

Some of these colds are ghastly....I don't want it....I hope you are soon on the mend, sipping lemon and honey with warm water helps the throat...I'm just 2 days post op....I feel like I've been stabbed in the stomach.....oh I guess that is what they did! Bl**dy hurts and especially hurts to cough. The anaesthetic makes me feel lousy. I bruise easily and have an enormous bruise covering the whole of the back of my hand from the cannula. Feeling woeful. My plan was to be better by Tuesday for the bees inspection. OH tells me there is paper all over the Bee Yard from the combine langstroth...so they are back together now. I watched from the kitchen window and saw fewer bees using the top entrance...I will close it off when they stop but it was a good idea to do the temporary swarm control vertically. Although now we have ended up with double brood...again!

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Ladies just......glow.

Dusty

Like a pig - or Rolf Harris in a Kindergarten

 

[Dusty Rhodes]

Like a pig - or Rolf Harris in a Kindergarten

Bet you wouldn't be saying that in the presence of Mrs Jenkinsbrynmair.

Dusty

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Bet you wouldn't be saying that in the presence of Mrs Jenkinsbrynmair.

Dusty

wanna bet?.........got the scars to prove it

 

[Dusty Rhodes]

Haven't done anything in my apiary today.
Leaving all that to Kaz.

But the garden on the converted ouziery we're staying in, has a vine shading it.
And the vine is totally full of honey bees, doing their thing.

It's wonderful, just dozing to the sound of their humming, and watching them just above my head.



Dusty.

 

[nantmoel]

Not in the apiary, but!

I visited a school in Aldershot where my daughter teaches to talk to three classes of thirty pupils about bees and beekeeping, even though they were only 5 years old they had loads of questions to ask me. I must say it was a pleasure being there, they were so well behaved, all sat on the floor and were all ears. They loved the feel of some wild honey comb I passed round. To finish off they all had a taste of some of our honey. I am now known as Mr Beekeeper!

 

[Karol]

I should have been there too!! didn't get the reminder and totally forgot to check last weekend when it was.
To be honest, didn't come in from the workshop/garden until gone seven earthing up my spuds and hoeing the onions as well as giving the first coat to a batch of floors.

So that's why I got off so lightly!

 

[Robbo8916]

Tree Bumbles?

Yep!

 

[taurus]

Having started with a double brood colony I was getting a bit worried that it was bursting with bees. They've got three supers on but every square inch of the hive is filled with bees.

No sign of swarming though, the queen is a year old so she seems to be keeping them in order. But I was finding the boxes too full to handle confidently.

So I've reduced them to 16 frames, 8 over 8, and put the other 5 frames of brood and nursing bees into a nuc hoping to raise a new queen. (The mathematicians will note that left one frame spare - which was loaded with honey so I've swiped that one off them.)

Looking forward to seeing if I'm lucky with raising a new queen.

(Should say how much I appreciate having a mentor to look over my shoulder as I learn what bees get up to.)

 

[Swarm]

Introducing a laying queen?

 

[Obee1]

I checked on my two superbee virgins that are in apidea in the back garden. They wee locked in until Sunday and the weather has been perfect for mating. Yesterday no eggs. Today there are eggs! The apidea only hold 3 frames each so are already running out of laying space. So I went to the front garden to nick some brood frames to make up some little 2 frame nucs for the newly mated superbee queens. Luckily my Bucky hive has supplied enough bees for a spare colony and three little spare nucs this year. I pinched the required frames from the spare colony and the old queens retirement nuc. I can't believe that even in retirement she has shown up all the other queens I have. Her nuc which she moved into just over a week ago was busting with bees and she has laid loads of eggs. Her bees are so calm they don't move onto the top bars when opened up.
Between my new superbees and the mated super virgins the four new nuc boxes I bought this week are already in use. No spares- again!

On Monday I hope to add some test frames to the colonies I think are queenless in order to prepare for the new queens being placed. Got caught out last year by sneaky virgins I didn't know were there. This time I'm checking first!

 

[linoleum bonypart]

First ever super of honey taken today.... All equipment washed and ready for extraction tomorrow.... Frames keeping warm in fridge

 

[Gilberdyke John]

First ever super of honey taken today.... All equipment washed and ready for extraction tomorrow.... Frames keeping warm in fridge

It'll taste fantastic!

 

[madasafish]

Requeened Q- hive using frame of brood/eggs and new queen and AirWick air freshener.

 

[Erichalfbee]

First ever super of honey taken today.... All equipment washed and ready for extraction tomorrow.... Frames keeping warm in fridge

Good one.....it's the best honey you will ever taste. Remember to keep a jar back from every year

 

[Obee1]

Requeened Q- hive using frame of brood/eggs and new queen and AirWick air freshener.

So did you use a push in cage, a travelling cage or just popped her in on her ownsome smelling of Airwick?

 

[B+.]

First ever super of honey taken today.... All equipment washed and ready for extraction tomorrow.... Frames keeping warm in fridge

There's nothing quite like your own honey...and the first is the sweetest of all. It almost makes you forget how sticky everything gets!