What did you do in the Apiary today?

[victor meldrew]

Took the first honey of the year,only a few sealed frames the rest are still unsealed.

Why the hurry ?
If it was oil seed rape they would be full .
Blossom honey won’t be setting in the comb anytime soon .


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[philipm]

Why the hurry ?
If it was oil seed rape they would be full .
Blossom honey won’t be setting in the comb anytime soon .


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Had all but run out of last years supply needed some more for my toast in the morning.

 

[Podilia]

Bad weather almost every day: wind, rain, cold. This usually beautiful month is bad for nectar flow. I caught three swarms near my hives. Young unemployed bees are waitig for sunny hours to leave us. Many beekeepers say they don't have any drop of honey in the hives so have to feed. Mine are near canola oilseed rape and have managed to get something. Some guys say this is the classic british weather, but I said: hey, they have 25 Celsius and stores of honey now.

 

[Barbarian]

Early gap ??

After a long warm dry spell the bees are not zooming out of the hives.. I suspect a gap.

Have started to feed a couple of collected swarms which are in isolation at home.

I don't want them to starve.

 

[victor meldrew]

Had all but run out of last years supply needed some more for my toast in the morning.

Bees first , your needs second! Lol


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[G4WIL]

Last night I hived this beaut to give me my first colony after a five year hiatus!

Gottcha! Lol .


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[thedozzer]

Played musical hives.
Re Queened 2 main hives, moved Old Q's with frame of brood & stores into nucs.
But had to shake out drone layer first.
Only one nuc was untouched today!
Sit on hands and wait to see if they are accepted next.

 

[Angry_Mob]

Checked my first grafts, bit disappointed as only four have been drawn. Will try again soon.

Put clearer board on two hives this morning, removed two supers and both in warming cabinet now.

Went to the Orchard apiary, let bees out as I had shut in as farmer was spraying.

 

[Goran]

A bit of extracting.. a bit of sorting, fixing.. Few more days to go.. One queen from last year so far seems will go into jenter. One oldie goodie from other line is gone ( as farewell before her trip to skies she left full super of honey, till the end was class..) but there are some of her offsprings waiting for evaluation.. Lot of queens will fly out..
To not be deceived there are not many such frames, it is pretty catastrophic weather.. But bees shined.. If honeydew occur.. bees are more than ready.. If not.. easy sorting and preparing for.. next season..

 

[philipm]

Bees first , your needs second! Lol


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Don't worry they will definitely not starve have loads of stores but nothing much capped.Still busy on the things flowering with us.Huge chestnut tree in my neighbours yard has only just finished flowering.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

yesterday I Checked the more local hives, 'June' gap well under way with some colonies low on stores but not for long hopefully as evidence of a trickle of fresh nectar coming in and bramble flowers on the point of bursting open with the occasional clump actually flowering.
Confirmed the first two of my 2020 queens laying nicely but failed to spot them for marking.

 

[drex]

Quick inspections today, mainly checking for swarm cells. God, they were feisty. Must be because it has been so dry that little nectar is coming in. Plenty of honey in the supers, but little capped.

 

[Fritillary]

Grumpy! here too today. I'm assuming, and certainly hoping, since a couple are recently caught swarms, that it's just because of the dry weather and nectar shortage. Fed the newcomers.

 

[thedozzer]

Quick inspections today, mainly checking for swarm cells. God, they were feisty. Must be because it has been so dry that little nectar is coming in. Plenty of honey in the supers, but little capped.

Its quite windy today in Essex, well is in our bit and that seems to give them the hump some days.
Also no where near as much forage about as a few weeks ago so could be getting defensive of stores.
Seen a few bees flying round hives, but were looking for other entrances like they were trying to rob, and avoiding main entrance?

 

[For want of a better word]

Cut the grass in the meadow as the hives were beginning to disappear in the long grass, luckily the landowner has just bought a new ride on Kawasaki beast that allows a cut right up to the hive stands.... bees piling it in all day and took no notice of me or the red and black beast... earlier had taken off a super of nicely white capped honey from each of the dozen colonies in that apiary.... fitted queen excluders and another super on each to keep them busy over the weekend... brambles alongside the steam are just about to burst, masses of field lupins, foxglove and red campion in the field across the stream..... and it looks as though the clover is well on its way. Big patch of HB shooting up in the mine adit, hope the EA leave it alone!!

Yeghes da

 

[jeff33]

Checked on the mating nucs to see if the queens emerged. 5 out of 8 did bang on on time. The previous mated batch went into nucs. I haven't checked the honey yet, that will be next week's job.

 

[Vergilius]

Hived another swarm, meaning that, having had 0 colonies for six years, in the space of a week, I am back up to two once again!

 

[StephenT]

Just sat there with a pint (or three) in my garden watching them come and go. Love the way some of them seem to give their faces a quick clean before taking off.

 

[Tim.S]

Out apiary visits yesterday and after the stingfest of last week a very pleasant surprise, they were absolute pussycats. Still a small amount coming in down here on the south coast but the blackberries are on the cusp so no real gap here.

 

[masterBK]

Yesterday (29th May) went through all colonies, still no swarm cells and evidence of all queens present. However found a swarm in bait hive (probably incoming). What was unexpected was finding several 2020 queens in nuclei and Demaree tops (seperated off by split boards) had started laying. They were just day old larvae on the 8th May which means they were mated & laying in just 9 days after emergence. In two cases there were also day old larvae present bringing this down to 5 days after emergence (prior to this the earliest I have had a queen laying was 7 days after emergence). Normally expect 12 to 14 days or even longer. I also found that larvae in queen cells in other Demaree tops that were unsealed on the 22nd had emerged suggesting queens are emerging earlier than expected after 15 days. Probably down to the hot weather we have been having for the last few weeks.