What did you do in the Apiary today?

[rdmw]

Checked last night after the windy night before. Hedge doing a fine job. The bees were fanning at the entrances at 8pm and hives roaring so suspect they found ivy in the last couple of warmer days.


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Queenless in October! Hello I did an end of season inspection today (14 degrees in bright sun) one of my hives is on double brood and has lots of beams and stores but no brood or eggs at all. The bees are quiet and easy to handle. There is no pollen. This hive had a 2017 Queen do bag well 6 weeks ago. Poor weather and work have prevented me looking in since. So either there is a non laying queen or they are queenless. What to do? I don’t really want to unite as I have two other colonies both on double brood so would end up with huge hives. I don’t have easy access to a new queen and am keen to maintain local stock rather than buy in a queen from far away.
Do I have any other option than to see how they overwinter and assess in the spring? Any advice welcome



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[Erichalfbee]

Queenless in October! Hello I did an end of season inspection today (14 degrees in bright sun) one of my hives is on double brood and has lots of beams and stores but no brood or eggs at all. The bees are quiet and easy to handle. There is no pollen. This hive had a 2017 Queen do bag well 6 weeks ago. Poor weather and work have prevented me looking in since. So either there is a non laying queen or they are queenless. What to do? I don’t really want to unite as I have two other colonies both on double brood so would end up with huge hives. I don’t have easy access to a new queen and am keen to maintain local stock rather than buy in a queen from far away.
Do I have any other option than to see how they overwinter and assess in the spring? Any advice welcome



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If they are quiet I bet there’s a queen. If no brood get in there and vape. You’ll never get a better time.

 

[For want of a better word]

Vaped 12 colonies with the Varomor... took minutes!!... cost pennies!

Yeghes da

 

[wightbees]

Vaped 12 colonies with the Varomor... took minutes!!... cost pennies!

Yeghes da

Like

 

[philipm]

Yes I have a hive that has requeened still not laying but the bees are really calm and bringing in loads of stores. So I'm sure they have a queen ,its a bit late to do anything about it now so will have to wait and see.

 

[madasafish]

Vaped 12 colonies with the Varomor... took minutes!!... cost pennies!

Yeghes da

Jail for you or a big fine

 

[Hivemaker.]

Fed fondant to 80 quad boxes and, 450 liters of syrup to the Paynes poly nucs, really like those built in feeders on those nucs.

 

[rdmw]

Thank you. Yes I have sublimated twice in the last fortnight. If there is a queen surely she must have run out of eggs? ? Poorly mated


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[jenkinsbrynmair]

either there is a non laying queen or they are queenless. What to do?

Nothing - queen may just have stopped laying for a while, they do that. As Erichalfbee, take this opportunity to OA vape them, then stop fiddling, too late to do anything now regardless.

 

[Eyeman]

Queenless in October! Hello I did an end of season inspection today (14 degrees in bright sun) one of my hives is on double brood and has lots of beams and stores but no brood or eggs at all. The bees are quiet and easy to handle. There is no pollen. This hive had a 2017 Queen do bag well 6 weeks ago. Poor weather and work have prevented me looking in since. So either there is a non laying queen or they are queenless. What to do? I don’t really want to unite as I have two other colonies both on double brood so would end up with huge hives. I don’t have easy access to a new queen and am keen to maintain local stock rather than buy in a queen from far away.
Do I have any other option than to see how they overwinter and assess in the spring? Any advice welcome



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For the rest of us who did our last inspection over a month ago there's no worries till spring when we discover a drone layer or a dead out.

 

[maddydog]

For the rest of us who did our last inspection over a month ago there's no worries till spring when we discover a drone layer or a dead out.

Other than move two crammed nucs into full sized hives I've only fed or vaped since the middle of September.

 

[Erichalfbee]

Was pondering that one myself. Is it any good?

It has all the usual stuff re disease, some rudimentary some in more detail as you might expect. Useful chapter on Varroa with lots of tables and graphs. No info on OAV and only some on the Asian hornet. Good overview on brood disease.
It has some interesting stuff at the back ....minutae really, how many mg of food a worker larvae need daily,Individual consumption for thermo regulation of an overwintering bee.....hello derek...bits and pieces.
I like it I'm glad it's in my library

 

[Millet]

For the rest of us who did our last inspection over a month ago there's no worries till spring when we discover a drone layer or a dead out.

the last time i stuck my ugly mug into any brood box was the 2nd September, the only time i have interfered since is to top feeders up, all that has stopped now and i will just let them get on with it till a warmish spring day, when i may have a quick look, not forgetting though i will gas them in late December but not open up and smash the brood nest/winter cluster to bits.

 

[For want of a better word]

Jail for you or a big fine

Quote:
Originally Posted by icanhopit View Post
Vaped 12 colonies with the Varomor... took minutes!!... cost pennies!

Yeghes da

Jail for you or a big fine

Apibioxall is a pain to dissolve in the ethanol....and it takes more time to fill out all the VMD forms with such long lot numbers than to treat the bees!!

Alternatively beekeepers could not bother to treat at all and risk having a dead colony by the Spring?

Nos da

Nos da

 

[Erichalfbee]

By comparison to beekeeping woodturning is a far more dire affliction ... not only are there bigger and better lathes, there's tools and tools and tools and attachments and attachments for tools and then there's timber ... try hiding a another great big lump of timber ... at least hives and hive parts largely look the same so you can convincingly say to the unitiated ... oh that's not new ... you saw it arrive last year..

Try that on with yet another lathe - different colour, different size, too heavy to lift on your own and as soon as there's another person around the suspicions grow ...

Sounds like you might be in more trouble than me, Phillip

 

[Beefriendly]

It has all the usual stuff re disease, some rudimentary some in more detail as you might expect.

Thanks...was hoping it had more. Sounds as though I'm already well covered, until something new comes along.

 

[colinc]

Queenless in October! Hello I did an end of season inspection today (14 degrees in bright sun) one of my hives is on double brood and has lots of beams and stores but no brood or eggs at all. The bees are quiet and easy to handle. There is no pollen. This hive had a 2017 Queen do bag well 6 weeks ago. Poor weather and work have prevented me looking in since. So either there is a non laying queen or they are queenless. What to do? I don’t really want to unite as I have two other colonies both on double brood so would end up with huge hives. I don’t have easy access to a new queen and am keen to maintain local stock rather than buy in a queen from far away.
Do I have any other option than to see how they overwinter and assess in the spring? Any advice welcome



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Haven’t opened a box since 19/9. That was late but weather was good for first time after 2 1/2 weeks. I wasn’t happy to leave from August to March. I will find out in March if any are queenless.


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[Goran]

We still have day temps over 20C, sunny and no wind, still no frost.. Like it is early September when climate was " normal". Some colonies still have patches of mainly capped brood on few frames.
Tomorrow will have the joy to strimm around the hives.. On Sunday forecast for sharp decrease of temps and colder period.
Nothing much till OA, peace on the apiary.. Maybe some bird deterents to place.
Already some beeks panicking.. even winter hasn't started.. Seems each season earlier and earlier. If I will panic such, I will quit beekeeping..

 

[Tremyfro]

Wasps are making a determined attack on one of the hives. I had put a feeder on it a couple of days ago and they were squeezing in around the edges of the super...little beasts. I stood next to the hive with my electric fly swatter whilst I pondered what to do. So I went to the kitchen...collected the cling film and wrapped the edges of the super with it.....they were very frustrated but gave up eventually.

 

[Erichalfbee]

All hives light so feeders back on
Grrrrrrrrrr