What did you do in the Apiary today?

[Robbo8916]

Well, they are at it again!

Sat and watched the entrances for a while and the bees have found the balsam! Yippee!

However when I went through the brood box, spotted my (very well marked I must say) Queen, eggs, brood in all stages, lovely laying pattern. I found TWO sealed and charged swarm cells.

I took them down to buy myself a couple of days. One had a large lavae in it, one had a pupa. The bees grabbed that before I had chance and flew away with it.

They have three undrawn frames of foundation! So why the hell are they still trying to swarm?

Anyway checked the nuc, they are beautiful calm bees as they used to be. No smoke required, very chilled, slowly mooching around the frames. Queen seen, looks like the brood I gave them did give them the required boost in numbers. Working away nicely.

So what are my options with the main hive? They are on 8 frames in total. 4 brood and the others of pollen and stores/unripened nectar.

I did consider using the hard working nuc bees as frame drawers, and then switching them for foundation when drawn. One frame at a time, giving the lazy main hive bees somewhere to store and for the queen to lay?

Or do I just swap the foundation for brand new and put it in between brood frames? Or between brood and stores? (The foundation has been in there for months untouched)

I am starting to question things........

 

[Brigsy]

Obviously, I'm not to be trusted, but I have been moving my undrawn foundation frames during flows, between the edge of the brood nest and the stores to get them drawn out.

 

[Robbo8916]

Obviously, I'm not to be trusted, but I have been moving my undrawn foundation frames during flows, between the edge of the brood nest and the stores to get them drawn out.

I think I might do that. Will nip back down in a bit and do a quick switcheroo.

I really should have known better than to think my first year was going to be easy!

 

[Erichalfbee]

My replacement LASI queen is laying ...... hooray
My mad hive split looks like it has no queen so test frame in....I rather hope there isn't one so can unite back to the queen right half

Obviously, I'm not to be trusted, but I have been moving my undrawn foundation frames during flows, between the edge of the brood nest and the stores to get them drawn out.

Good way to do it. When the supers are off, if your colony is strong you can put a frame of foundation in the middle of the brood nest where it will be drawn and laid up with winter bees. You can repeat once or twice without problem usually.

 

[Swarm]

They have three undrawn frames of foundation! So why the hell are they still trying to swarm?

Anyway checked the nuc, they are beautiful calm bees as they used to be. No smoke required, very chilled, slowly mooching around the frames. Queen seen, looks like the brood I gave them did give them the required boost in numbers. Working away nicely.

So what are my options with the main hive? They are on 8 frames in total. 4 brood and the others of pollen and stores/unripened nectar.

I did consider using the hard working nuc bees as frame drawers, and then switching them for foundation when drawn. One frame at a time, giving the lazy main hive bees somewhere to store and for the queen to lay?

Or do I just swap the foundation for brand new and put it in between brood frames? Or between brood and stores? (The foundation has been in there for months untouched)

I am starting to question things........

It's your first year and you have limited drawn comb. Conditions not favourable for wax production as there is no flow to speak of. Maybe better to dummy them down. They are not lazy they are just a nucleus being asked to do a lot

 

[TryingToLetThemBee]

Well, they are at it again!

Sat and watched the entrances for a while and the bees have found the balsam! Yippee!

However when I went through the brood box, spotted my (very well marked I must say) Queen, eggs, brood in all stages, lovely laying pattern. I found TWO sealed and charged swarm cells.

I took them down to buy myself a couple of days. One had a large lavae in it, one had a pupa. The bees grabbed that before I had chance and flew away with it.

They have three undrawn frames of foundation! So why the hell are they still trying to swarm?

Anyway checked the nuc, they are beautiful calm bees as they used to be. No smoke required, very chilled, slowly mooching around the frames. Queen seen, looks like the brood I gave them did give them the required boost in numbers. Working away nicely.

So what are my options with the main hive? They are on 8 frames in total. 4 brood and the others of pollen and stores/unripened nectar.

I did consider using the hard working nuc bees as frame drawers, and then switching them for foundation when drawn. One frame at a time, giving the lazy main hive bees somewhere to store and for the queen to lay?

Or do I just swap the foundation for brand new and put it in between brood frames? Or between brood and stores? (The foundation has been in there for months untouched)

I am starting to question things........

Sounds a lot like supersedure to me.

 

[Robbo8916]

It's your first year and you have limited drawn comb. Conditions not favourable for wax production as there is no flow to speak of. Maybe better to dummy them down. They are not lazy they are just a nucleus being asked to do a lot

We are just coming into a massive balsam flow. Seen the first girls coming back ghosted today.

So I will switch the frame round and see in a few days how they are getting on.

With regards to supersedure, I have had this discussion a couple of times. Is it maybe that as she is a new queen her pheromones haven't been spread properly? One of the cells had a white pupa in it.

 

[TryingToLetThemBee]

We are just coming into a massive balsam flow. Seen the first girls coming back ghosted today.

So I will switch the frame round and see in a few days how they are getting on.

With regards to supersedure, I have had this discussion a couple of times. Is it maybe that as she is a new queen her pheromones haven't been spread properly? One of the cells had a white pupa in it.

Yes that can happen. It's a judgment call.

 

[Erichalfbee]

In the garden an hour ago.......
A bait hive on the potting shed roof is being mightily investigated.
Late dinner today as had to look into all the colonies.....I popped up to the greenhouse to get some basil and I can hear a real low buzz buzz buzz.
Investigating the hedge.......there is a swarm hanging.
OK dinner abandoned and swarm is knocked into a nuc box....for now.
I can't stop thinking I should have just left them to hive themselves on the roof.

 

[TryingToLetThemBee]

In the garden an hour ago.......
A bait hive on the potting shed roof is being mightily investigated.
Late dinner today as had to look into all the colonies.....I popped up to the greenhouse to get some basil and I can hear a real low buzz buzz buzz.
Investigating the hedge.......there is a swarm hanging.
OK dinner abandoned and swarm is knocked into a nuc box....for now.
I can't stop thinking I should have just left them to hive themselves on the roof.

I hate whomever it is that took the two swarms I have almost had in the last ten days.

Elsewhere, found a feral colony in more or less the first likely tree I looked. Will keep a close eye.

 

[Erichalfbee]

I hate whomever it is that took the two swarms I have almost had in the last ten days.

Phew............... not me,then

 

[Tim.S]

Spent a very sweaty hour or so rearranging frames to get them all capped for removal next month. Nice thing was the bees were absolute pussycats - hardly used any smoke. Early next week I will be prepping some nucs for the imminent arrival of some of hivemakers finest. Looking forward to their arrival in deepest Sussex!

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

JBM when do you stop lifting frames in a Demaree? My strongest has brood on about 16 frames, 9 down 7 up. As I lifted 4 today it struck me they'll be foragers about 1 Sept. ie just mouths to feed. It seems like time to let them shrink the brood nest. Have you stopped lifting by now?

All depends on the colony - some I just Demarree then leave all the brood emerge and the brood becomes a super (I may do a bit of shuffling around to get most of the older frames in the top box) you just have to gauge how well the queen is laying - I'm moving two, three or even four frames per week up into the top box on a few of mine still and no sign of brood reducing in the bottom box. I'm starting to stop now on all but the strongest queens.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

In the garden an hour ago.......
A bait hive on the potting shed roof is being mightily investigated.
Late dinner today as had to look into all the colonies.....I popped up to the greenhouse to get some basil and I can hear a real low buzz buzz buzz.
Investigating the hedge.......there is a swarm hanging.
OK dinner abandoned and swarm is knocked into a nuc box....for now.
I can't stop thinking I should have just left them to hive themselves on the roof.

And who says swarming season is over?

Association apiary this morning, quick inspections in the fog and mizzle (not been done for a fortnight) one hive swarmed in the last week, shook out a nuc from a failed mating, hived another one (from same Demarree) as the beginner who booked it isn't quite ready for it. Demarree'd my hive down there mated a month ago and going like a train - bursting with bees.
Afternoon drive to Builth Wells to stage my Honey show entries then back home to inspect half a dozen hives - was going to leave them 'til tomorrow as they were only done just over a week ago and I thught not much has gone on since then......wrong! groaning with honey - not long mated queen supered last week begging for a second, two hives united with not that strong nucs a few weeks ago, needing more space for bees and stores - one already laid up seven frames and a nuc hived ten days or so ago drawn out all the foundation and waiting impatiently for a super. So much for a lazy Sunday afternoon!!

 

[nantmoel]

Not really in the Apiary, but I was working out the garage and over the past few days some big hornets(I think they are) have been buzzing around, this one came into the garage and hit a spiders web, I manage to take this picture just as the spider grabbed it as it fell to the floor.

 

[B+.]

Phew............... not me,then

Ditto.
I received a call yesterday and almost didn't go because I had other plans. It turns out to have been a huge prime swarm (not seen the queen yet but judging by the size) which couldn't all get into my 6-frame langstroth swarm box. It was 10pm by the time I could wrap them in a sheet and leave.
There are still quite a (phew) big swarms around this year.

 

[Tremyfro]

Glad that was in your shed not mine! See the size of the stinger!
Stood watching and listening to the bees in the Bee Yard earlier.....wonderful after sitting in the clouds for 3 days! Flying strongly today.

 

[Beeline]

Nothing can prepare you for the despair as one of your main colonies (2016 queen) decides to swarm and then lands into a tree 10m up and sits there the whole day looking down at you as you sprint around setting up more bait hives in case they decide to stay, only for them to depart at 5pm and rest up in the neighbours oak tree, even higher than before.

I was hoping to catch a prime swarm this season, not loose one!!! Damn enormous they were too.

Foolishly I thought that being on double brood and 3 supers, they were fine for space as they were drawing and filling super #3. This recent surge in honeyflow caught me unawares. They made no dent in the supers for their departure - there was enough stores in the brood to send them on their way.

 

[Hivemaker.]

Glad that was in your shed not mine! See the size of the stinger!

It is a Horntail/wood wasp, sometimes called a Larch wasp, and it is not a stinger but an ovipositor, which is for laying eggs into the timber, see a lot of them during saw milling operations.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

It is a Horntail/wood wasp, sometimes called a Larch wasp, and it is not a stinger but an ovipositor, which is for laying eggs into the timber, see a lot of them during saw milling operations.