What did you do in the Apiary today?

[madasafish]

Expensive ! You’re selling in the wrong market place Lol. Same as I , £5 per Lb for a few years now .



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Even I get more than that..You are underselling..

 

[Newbeeneil]

Yes the shenanigans we go through. Somebody told me this week that my honey was too expensive at £15 for a three pound tub! I wish they’d been with me !

The tub must account for about 10% of the price as well!

Let them by the Tesco syrup... it's all they deserve!

 

[G4WIL]

Even I get more than that..You are underselling..

We’re talking marketing! The area Erica and I live in people know how many blue beads make 5 .
People are canny . It’s no good charging £6.50 per 12 Oz jars and hiring storage for all your unsold honey .


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[shudderdun]

Searched and found four Queens from splits/swarmes etc, marked three Blue and one Orange as this Queen was from a prime swarm that arrived in my bait box last month, so I don't know this Queens history.
I bought a cylinder type marking tube, but I wasn't very successful in catching Q, I didn't want to stress her, so went back to the wooden/nail type Crown of Thorns, I was very gentle and all went well.
Despite the overcast day we are having here in the North West the bees were well behaved, just one sting and that was my fault for squashing a worker.
Can't belive how the shakes kick in when confronted with marking, deep breaths !!!

 

[simonforeman]

Home from work early afternoon so stopped off at out apiary to check all hives. All well and hive that was what I thought was queenless and planned to give a frame of eggs to has a large laying queen who has layed up most of the spare frame space. All others strong and bringing in slightly more nectar than yherd using which is good for the weather in the past week.

Home hives were strong and all good.

But there was a first for me...
Checking 1 hive and found a new unmarked queen (hadn't seen any QC last week) so thought they had swarmed, then on the next frame there was the old queen happily roaming around. Caught me out so back in tomorrow to put the old queen into a nuc.

 

[Swarm]

Searched and found four Queens from splits/swarmes etc, marked three Blue and one Orange as this Queen was from a prime swarm that arrived in my bait box last month, so I don't know this Queens history.
I bought a cylinder type marking tube, but I wasn't very successful in catching Q, I didn't want to stress her, so went back to the wooden/nail type Crown of Thorns, I was very gentle and all went well.
Despite the overcast day we are having here in the North West the bees were well behaved, just one sting and that was my fault for squashing a worker.
Can't belive how the shakes kick in when confronted with marking, deep breaths !!!

Place the tube over the queen and allow her to start climbing before putting the plunger in. Sometimes they oblige and you are done in no time but there are those who seem to prefer running in circles.

 

[beeno]

Place the tube over the queen and allow her to start climbing before putting the plunger in. Sometimes they oblige and you are done in no time but there are those who seem to prefer running in circles.

Most of them in my experience!

 

[shudderdun]

Thanks for the tip Steve, will give it a go next time, probably tomorrow at my out apiary, I hope to have a new hatched and laying Queen there !

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Miserable morning, but the afternoon was a little more promising so went to the McGann farm to check the bees, shook out a failed early supersedure - luckily I did belt and braces on this one and nuced the queen when I saw the QC, they quickle despatched her and traised a new queen which has successfully mated, so they now occcupy the shaken out hive. Supersedure must be word of the month at Ty Uchaf as the hive next door is also superseding and when I checked the next hive in line I discovered my old red queen gone and a new queen walking the frames, so she was swiftly marked. Then the rain came again........................

 

[DaveG23]

First swarm of the year headed my way today. Walking in the garden at 4 oclock around the hives today and I saw a lot of activity around a nuc that has been left as a bait hive. Suspected a swarm might be in the way and 30 mins late my wife came home from a walk to tell me a swarm was 20 metres along the road. They settled on a hedge in the neighbours field.

Called my father in law who at 84 still has a boyish enthusiasm about catching swarms and then watched the old pro in action. Nice and easy all settled in to a nuc. Will be sealed up first thing and moved to his apiary.

 

[tonyofarr]

After 4 days of thunder storms I actually managed to check some bees without getting wet. I finished up the day by checking my mating nucs and much to my surprise I have 9 mated queens that have just started to lay. I am amazed they managed to get mated at all because the weather has been awful for weeks.

 

[drex]

I looked yesterday. 4 out of my 5 are drone layers. never mind, plenty of time for another round.

 

[drdrday]

Checked both hives today, and finally spotted my new queen. I've left her unmarked for now, (probably to be regretted), in the hopes that I can get better at spotting queens even when they don't have huge blobs of paint on them.
It's exciting to see the first queen your bees have raised themselves!

 

[gregior]

Inspected my 8 at the home apiary today,all are strong,q+ and have low mite levels.They have managed to collect a little honey this week in-between the thunderstorms. Weather looks to be getting very good next week and with bramble,clover and willowherb all in flower i'm expecting a BIG flow to be starting.All hives supered up and ready to go!!

Oh yeah I saw a bee with just one big eye in the middle of it's head,needless to say it wasn't the best flier.

 

[Erichalfbee]

Two new queens into nucs
Took two frames of sealed brood from the top of a Demaree fir one nuc and thought I better look in the bottom. Emergency queen cells! They have always been a tetchy colony and I must have damaged the queen last time In my haste. So took that apart and left one QC
Another hive has one supersedure cell.
A challenging year

 

[G4WIL]

Two new queens into nucs

Took two frames of sealed brood from the top of a Demaree fir one nuc and thought I better look in the bottom. Emergency queen cells! They have always been a tetchy colony and I must have damaged the queen last time In my haste. So took that apart and left one QC

Another hive has one supersedure cell.

A challenging year

It’s all go -)


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[madasafish]

checked my first 5 mating nucs.
One had eggs, could not find queen (marked) one had queen , other three had no sign of queen.
Apalling weather in last three weeks - wind, rain and 12C max some days..
Never had such bad results..

Back to queen rearing - when hive queens restart laying ...brood breaks all round as no food coming in..

 

[Swarm]

Did a quick check on nucs and they are happily drawing out wax in the upper boxes.
Went through the splits looking for signs of laying. No sign of eggs in the first and the bees were quite grumpy in the now cold, windy conditions. Found the new queen in the next before I saw the eggs on the frame, marked her and moved on to the next. I gave these a frame of eggs from a decent queen but they managed to undermine my good work and raise another ginger thing. Their attitude hasn't changed, the same alarm pheromone and buzzing bees but I found the horrid little ginger creature and marked her ready for her imminent doom.
Can't be bothered with this lot any more, I'll just unite them with a decent black colony and have done with it.
Thankfully, black queens back in the area again and the buckfasteins are gone, bit of luck they never return.

 

[simonforeman]

Added 4 new queens to nucs and that was it......

 

[Angry_Mob]

Did the rounds, 2 hives with loaded/sealed queen cells,another one superseding (which is actually a 2018 Buckfast) and another one which appears to be queenless.

I have a frame with drawn queen cells taken from a Buckfast colony and put into a black colony; plan is to cut some of the queen cells out and place into the three problem hives which will hopefully alleviate some of his swarming tendency the black bees have.