What did you do in the Apiary today?

[victor meldrew]

Been dry?

Yep I live in West Lancashire!
Not a drop of rain in over 3 weeks. Masses of dandelion but pollinators showing no interest ! Too dry I suspect ?

 

[Erichalfbee]

Ah thanks. On top or underneath?

I don't suppose it matters but I like to put boxes to be drawn on top. The wax gets drawn faster

 

[Erichalfbee]

Yep I live in West Lancashire!
Not a drop of rain in over 3 weeks. Masses of dandelion but pollinators showing no interest ! Too dry I suspect ?

No rain here for weeks and the surrounding fields are like this
Thankfully we are on clay and the bees are piling the nectar in.

 

[E&MBees]

An exciting afternoon. Bees were on double brood box with super. Had planned to demarree them. Reasonable amount of laying space but discovered multiple qc’s, not yet sealed. Found queen (marked) eventually and transferred her to a nuc. Will check the hive later in the week and remove all but the best queen cells. I took Wally Shaw’s queen cell and swarming leaflets with me just in case, so glad I did.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Take the half brood away.

Extract it and (if you treated with it on) keep it and feed it back to them in the autumn

Ah thanks. On top or underneath?

On top of the brood box, underneath the supers already on.

 

[Nannysbees]

Very windy today just had a quick peep in our split hive, doing nicely and the queen is laying

 

[Boston Bees]

First swarm cells of the year seen today in a B+1/2 colony (moving away from this format this season). Queen not immediately obvious (22 frames she could be on - another reason I am moving away from B+1/2), so carried out an NBU/Apiarist style split. Two frames of BIAS with no queen cells on, w/nurse bees attached, put in nuc box, placed on original location to catch flyers - filled out with frame of stores and three foundation/foundationless. Original hive moved to new location in apiary. Queen cells not cut down. Will inspect in 7 days and reduce queen cells (in whichever box the queen isn't!) down to one. First time trying this split format, so will be interesting.

 

[Moobee]

Extract it and (if you treated with it on) keep it and feed it back to them in the autumn

On top of the brood box, underneath the supers already on.

Thanks. Can I freeze the frames instead of extracting? Taking potentially the easiest route.....

 

[Erichalfbee]

Thanks. Can I freeze the frames instead of extracting? Taking potentially the easiest route.....

Yes

 

[Ian123]

Made a colony q~less for first batch of grafts this week I was holding back because of the cold nights. I lost a few cells last year to a period of cold when the cells had gone into the Nucs love the colour of this pollen

 

[The Poot]

Went through two on brood and a half, got the queens into the brood boxes and fitted excluders. Finally this will be the end of brood and a half for me. Loads of brood to emerge in the halves, no drones to get stuck in the excluders thankfully.
Third one was given a different stand, new Abelo floor, new lower brood box (transferring frames from rotting one). Found a lot of drone brood - two frames, both sides, solid. Last week there was loads of worker brood in the upper box, so will have to check in a few days if the queen has failed. With all the disturbance the bees were more than a little feisty at the end, so upper box not gone through, ending with five determined to see me off.

 

[victor meldrew]

No rain here for weeks and the surrounding fields are like this
Thankfully we are on clay and the bees are piling the nectar in.

Bed maps show my area to be under laid by between 30’ and 80’ of clay .
Unfortunately the top soil is quite thin, meaning it floods readily, the subsoil being impervious! it dries out rapidly!
my bees have been working fruit trees, they being deep rooted haven’t been effected by the mini drought !

 

[Boston Bees]

Went through two on brood and a half, got the queens into the brood boxes and fitted excluders. Finally this will be the end of brood and a half for me. Loads of brood to emerge in the halves, no drones to get stuck in the excluders thankfully.

Same exercise ongoing for me! Never again ..... Sadly I do have some drones so have put some holes in the supers for them to escape from.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Sunday is Carreg range day - quie a few hives up there now so, as it's a day of rest it's take it easy and enjoy, once the livestock at home was sorted, flashed up a fried egg sandwich and wrapped it in foil for later, flask of hot water and I'm made.
Did half the hives in the morning, most now on multiple supers (some on three or four including Demarree's on two green queens who are working like trains - then lunch in the sun overlooking the whole valley before sorting the rest out.


I always keep a stack of supers topped with spare queen excluder and an old roof up there during the season to save having to load up a full lot every trip. I lifted up the roof over the stack to find a newly started wasp nest - found a few this year in silly places - last week in an empty nuc!!
And before anyone says anything - the roof is off an old scrapped Dadant, never meant to be put on a hive unless it's a dire emergency - hence the lack of Kingspan and the presence of those damned vents and battens!!

 

[jeff33]

No rain here for weeks and the surrounding fields are like this
Thankfully we are on clay and the bees are piling the nectar in.

Same here, the dandelion is everywhere but it's getting really dry with another dry week ahead. Could have done with a bit of rain this week for the hawthorn.
I of my hive is replacing the queen but unfortunately it is from the apiary I don't want any mating from. I made a 3 frame nuc with the Qc and moved it to my mating apiary. We will see if they make another attempt to replace her.

 

[Alistair]

Evening Folks new bee here
After moving my hive to my new apiary last light and that kind of alerted me that something was not quite right , while blocking up i saw only two bees and when we unblocked it we stepped back and nothing. I did a very nervous first inspection today and was sadden by its state.
They were a strong colony the super had no action in it at all only a couple of bees they had stuck the frames a little bit down. the queen excluder was stuck down and the brood box the frames were well and truly stuck down. once i had freed them i had brown comb it looks as if its been in a fire and in the first frame an area that had no comb about the size of a closed fist i have that in a couple of frames i got honey in a couple and then white lava but i could not see the queen. they have shrunk in size as well. I have got bees that are very lax for a better word as well as bees with very small wings a but could not see any mites on them. I am just about to order some apiguard for them.
Any thoughts as to what is happening please .
the good thing i suppose is no queen cups or cells and i did not get stung. also my smoker burnt its fuel very quickly

 

[jeff33]

Evening Folks new bee here
After moving my hive to my new apiary last light and that kind of alerted me that something was not quite right , while blocking up i saw only two bees and when we unblocked it we stepped back and nothing. I did a very nervous first inspection today and was sadden by its state.
They were a strong colony the super had no action in it at all only a couple of bees they had stuck the frames a little bit down. the queen excluder was stuck down and the brood box the frames were well and truly stuck down. once i had freed them i had brown comb it looks as if its been in a fire and in the first frame an area that had no comb about the size of a closed fist i have that in a couple of frames i got honey in a couple and then white lava but i could not see the queen. they have shrunk in size as well. I have got bees that are very lax for a better word as well as bees with very small wings a but could not see any mites on them. I am just about to order some apiguard for them.
Any thoughts as to what is happening please .
the good thing i suppose is no queen cups or cells and i did not get stung. also my smoker burnt its fuel very quickly

When were they very strong,last year? First inspection? Did you overwintered them with the super and the queen excluder? Without sounding too mean, sounds like a really poorly managed hive that didn't get the attention it needed to go into the winter. Are you able to differentiate worker brood from drone brood?

 

[Alistair]

When were they very strong,last year? First inspection? Did you overwintered them with the super and the queen excluder? Without sounding too mean, sounds like a really poorly managed hive that didn't get the attention it needed to go into the winter. Are you able to differentiate worker brood from drone brood?

yes they were over wintered with the super on and the queen excluder and they were strong up to the last inspection which was done with the association. They are in a deep commerical brood box and had over three brood frames full of food I was advised that was enough. I could not get regular access to the old apiary site due to it being locked and not knowing where the key holder lived locked this only became a problem last month when i decided to move it.
I have old open drone cells the colour of the comb but the larva is worker,

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Did you treat them for varroa last autumn? or when were they last treated. The 'small wings' you report sounds like Deformed Wing Virus to me - a sure sign of Varoosis

 

[Alistair]

can not remember exactly when but it was when the association treated their hives and it was Apiguard just about to order some, also have feed then today with bee patty and fondant