What did you do in the Apiary today?

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Thats a great way to spread disease. I completely agree that they should be burned. You have no way of knowing what nasties they're carrying.

I hope the offender is caught and given a swift kick up the derriere

I thought you were referring to the offender in the first sentence!!

Probably the same kind of eejit who leaves all the extraction kit out in the garden 'for the bees to clean'!
 
Sometimes the old queen remains in the hive, still laying... and the bees swarm with a young virgin queen that emerges.

That would explain the last swarm I collected. Huge (by my standards), but no eggs for weeks, and the queen was unmarked. I know that doesn't necessarily prove anything but I am sure she was a virgin.

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Day off - no apiary work but had to remove a sting from my baby daughters finger. Stung in the car - no idea where bee came from but bizarrely both children stung in just over a week (having never been stung before). Babies are tough little things though cried for ten minutes then fine despite a swollen finger.
 
Second dose from the vaporiser. Lots of discarded wax bits on the tray from the hive with the nadired super so clearly moving the remnants around as expected :)
 
Extracted the last 200lbs of honey into buckets. I'm now fresh out of buckets ..... so if anyone knows of a decent supplier selling food grade buckets with lids I will be interested to know :)
 
I extracted 10lb of my first spring honey today which take my grand total to 22lb from my first full year of keeping bees, the hive has had its ups and downs with swarming and repeated Queen cells being made but i managed to hang onto the 2015 Queen in the end, i also fed them 4kg of thymol syrup in a empty super and stuck the cosy back on for good measure as the nights are becoming cold, i will gas them tomorrow for the second time.
 
Extracted the last 200lbs of honey into buckets. I'm now fresh out of buckets ..... so if anyone knows of a decent supplier selling food grade buckets with lids I will be interested to know :)

Paynes were the cheapest
 
Extracted the last 200lbs of honey into buckets. I'm now fresh out of buckets ..... so if anyone knows of a decent supplier selling food grade buckets with lids I will be interested to know :)

Cheapest I found in August from the beekeeping suppliers for 30lb buckets was Abelo but they are taller than Maisemore's or C Wynne Jones. I'm going to have to modify the warming cabinet.........

Edit - Paynes are about £1 a unit cheaper than Abelo.
 
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Harvested three queens for the last three nucs that hadn't mated properly. An additional nuc had laying workers but was also small, so not worth the risk of wasting a good queen on that, the other three were thinking of the laying workers taking over, so they should be fine. Killed one virgin in one of the nucs too, all to often if laying workers havent started i find that theres usually an unmated virgin running around but she's missed her mating flights for carious reasons but it does hold off the start of laying workers, if you can spot her and then give her the hive tool test!!
Thats it for the year know!! just monitoring hive weights and vaping!!
 
I get my buckets from local baker. 30 p each. Buckets which jam, custard etc came in. You will obviously need a baker who makes the goods on the premises as well as selling them. He is also my source of fondant
 
Not strictly in the apiary - but I noticed that the plague of wasps seemed to be a lot less today. About 200 yards from the house I found this....

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I'm guessing a local fox has dug them up. Pretty brave fox!
 
Extracted the last 200lbs of honey into buckets. I'm now fresh out of buckets ..... so if anyone knows of a decent supplier selling food grade buckets with lids I will be interested to know :)

Try your local home brew shop.

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I thought badger at first but I'm pretty sure we don't have any locally. We're right in the city and whilst I see plenty of foxes I've never seen a badger round here. I tend to be out and about at all hours so I get to see most of what goes on.

I'd be chuffed if it was a badger though.
 
I thought badger at first but I'm pretty sure we don't have any locally. We're right in the city and whilst I see plenty of foxes I've never seen a badger round here. I tend to be out and about at all hours so I get to see most of what goes on.

I'd be chuffed if it was a badger though.

We have a lot of badgers. They dig up wasps' nests : OK
They use our garden as a toilet: liveable with.
They dig holes in our lawn searching for worms: and in our flower beds. And in our veggie garden.
PIA..

Edit: they also eat bird food...
 
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