What did you do in the Apiary today?

[Curly green finger's]

I have a colony with only sealed and older larvae, I found them like that on Monday. I decided to have a look for the queen on Tuesday with no luck, she is not marked but I normally spot her easy enough. The bees were way too content to be queenless so I'll have another look over the weekend.

I've had a double brood on 18 frames of brood throw cells up i couldnt find the queen today.
On a better note Jon's queen's are laying they look lovely can't wait to see the workers.

 

[Curly green finger's]

Interesting day. I picked up a new queen from a guy who supplied me with a lovely queen last year. Went home to set her up in a 3 frame nuc.
Before I could do that I got a phone call from the secretary of the county BKA to say he'd had a call from a couple from my village who had been bought a Queen with attendants by their sons for the husbands 60th. Unfortunately they don't have any other bees!!!!
I popped round to see them and they were very genuine people who have been trying to get on a bee keeping course all year and their sons had jumped the gun by buying them a hive and queen not realising they needed a workforce!!!
I took their queen and made up one nuc for me and one for them which they can have when it's filled the nuc and hopefully they have got on a course.


Edit, just noticed I've become a Queen Bee.

Yep from now on you will have to many queen's.

 

[Erichalfbee]

I've had a double brood on 18 frames of brood through cells up i couldnt find the queen today.
On a better note Jon's queen's are laying they look lovely can't wait to see the workers.

How many frames have they laid up?

 

[Swn58]

Yesterday I created two new nucs for my new apiary on my partners allotment site. I took on two new allotments there, as she had given me my marching orders from hers. Never mind aye! The other hives will be moved over in late autumn
On my allotment apiary it's been total madness. I had made seven splits , with good queen cells, in early May. Not good though! I could blame the weather....but really blame my timing.
I went there today to sort everything out, after weeks of observing. Five queen-less nucs, had hatched QC's in all of them, but no signs of any new queens.
Amazingly, last week, there was suddenly sealed brood and larva in various stages in one nuc. I could not see a queen though. Unbelievable really, as I go there every week....often more! Maybe I didn't look at that nuc????
Today, the decision was was to move the good Q+ nuc into a full hive. Then the next move was to put punctured paper down, between two brood boxes, with the Q+ below.
Then I had to move the other queen-less nuc occupants into that upper brood-box. The reasoning behind this? Given the time, as in major honey flow there, I did not wish to lose thousands of bees at this time! It was better to amalgamate the failed nucs. As they had no queens , I assumed they would not fight. They were incredibly well behaved and did not fight.
The postscript to this 'wittering' (JBM) is that I found an actual queen in one nuke She was small, most likely unmated, so I've left them. As with most years, I'm completely confused by the timing of everything. Them bees seem to have their own timing agenda!

 

[Michael Palmer]

Had a good day. Re-established 4 cell builders after harvesting their round of ripe queen cells. Enough cells for the 128 mating nucs we caught yesterday...104 queens/128 mating nucs. Then we made 34 nucleus colonies from strong brood factories. They're getting too strong so we're beginning the brood harvest to make nucs for wintering. Strong factories are giving 3 frames of brood and a frame or two of honey. Still leaving them very strong...just below swarming pitch with an oncoming flow. Today's work takes us to 138 nucs made with a goal of somewhere around 375. Not too bad a day with temperature of 59˚F. Only one colony really protested to my work. The daughter of breeder queen # 70. Oh yeah...I remember her mother. I eliminated her from the program when I felt her ugly temper...she was still in her isolated breeding box. This one will get requeened in July after 20 stings on my arms.

 

[Curly green finger's]

How many frames have they laid up?

I didn't look through them I was adding emerging brood to boost them further, no need really as they are drawing comb and there are enough bees in each.
All I can say is I saw eggs, only like a newly laying queen would do.
It's only been a few days since intro.

 

[Curly green finger's]

Had a good day. Re-established 4 cell builders after harvesting their round of ripe queen cells. Enough cells for the 128 mating nucs we caught yesterday...104 queens/128 mating nucs. Then we made 34 nucleus colonies from strong brood factories. They're getting too strong so we're beginning the brood harvest to make nucs for wintering. Strong factories are giving 3 frames of brood and a frame or two of honey. Still leaving them very strong...just below swarming pitch with an oncoming flow. Today's work takes us to 138 nucs made with a goal of somewhere around 375. Not too bad a day with temperature of 59˚F. Only one colony really protested to my work. The daughter of breeder queen # 70. Oh yeah...I remember her mother. I eliminated her from the program when I felt her ugly temper...she was still in her isolated breeding box. This one will get requeened in July after 20 stings on my arms.

Now that's how to read your bees!

 

[Erichalfbee]

I didn't look through them I was adding emerging brood to boost them further, no need really as they are drawing comb and there are enough bees in each.
All I can say is I saw eggs, only like a newly laying queen would do.
It's only been a few days since intro.

Ah. So you added another frame of emerging brood to the one and two you already had in there?
Looking into mine at the weekend. Don’t need increase so they simply went in to replace nuc’d queens from a split

 

[Curly green finger's]

Ah. So you added another frame of emerging brood to the one and two you already had in there?
Looking into mine at the weekend. Don’t need increase so they simply went in to replace nuc’d queens from a split

Aye had to split a double yesterday.
Plans for today 22 colonys at 5 different apiarys after finishing of making 5 hives I started on Saturday ( only 50 odd frames to make, roofs, floors.
I've made some frames since Christmas .

 

[pargyle]

Aye had to split a double yesterday.
Plans for today 22 colonys at 5 different apiarys after finishing of making 5 hives I started on Saturday ( only 50 odd frames to make, roofs, floors.
I've made some frames since Christmas .

Why are you splitting doubles at this time of the year ? Surely these are your production colonies that you want to see your crop from ... a double will produce more honey than two singles ? Or - have you given up on a crop in favour of just adding to your colony numbers ? I suppose you can do the same as last year and buy in honey to sell to keep your customers supplied ....

 

[Curly green finger's]

Why are you splitting doubles at this time of the year ? Surely these are your production colonies that you want to see your crop from ... a double will produce more honey than two singles ? Or - have you given up on a crop in favour of just adding to your colony numbers ? I suppose you can do the same as last year and buy in honey to sell to keep your customers supplied ....

For mated queen's I haven't given up on no crop what?.

 

[Erichalfbee]

Why are you splitting doubles at this time of the year ? Surely these are your production colonies that you want to see your crop from ... a double will produce more honey than two singles ? Or - have you given up on a crop in favour of just adding to your colony numbers ? I suppose you can do the same as last year and buy in honey to sell to keep your customers supplied ....

I suppose a lot of people buy in honey to sell on. Folk are always asking here. Curly was looking for 500lbs earlier this year.
I buy in a bucket of heather either from JBM or Protheroe to sell at Conwy but I always say it’s not mine. Always.
I once had the most sublime bucket from mbc but it was bloody expensive

 

[Swarm]

Adding frames to the mating nucs for expansion. BIAS and gorgeous queens seen. Dropped by my friend's house for a bee chat and to take a look at his mini nuc. Yes they did appear to be flying with purpose so fingers crossed.
All we need now is a flow.

 

[drdrday]

FINALLY, after the third hunt I managed to find and mark the elusive queen (now named Erica), in one of the swarms I caught at the end of May. Considering they were only a tiny swarm and still on just four frames, she was incredibly good at hiding! I went over each frame twice last week!

The other swarm is now filling their 6 frame nuc, with 4 1/2 frames of brood, so 'Daisy' seems to be laying well.

 

[pargyle]

For mated queen's I haven't given up on no crop what?.

I'm not understanding ... are you saying you had a double brood that you split into two and added a mated queen from somewhere or was it as I understood - splitting the hive and letting the queenless half make a new queen ? Either way - as I said - you would get a bigger crop if you had left them as a double brood rather than two singles - even with a mated queen.

 

[BigAshW]

Have five virgins arriving tomorrow so I've converted some old nuc boxes into two and three frame mating nucs.

Went to the apiary today and pulled a frame of brood and bees for each nuc and brought them home. Will introduce the virgins when they arrive tomorrow.

 

[Curly green finger's]

I'm not understanding ... are you saying you had a double brood that you split into two and added a mated queen from somewhere or was it as I understood - splitting the hive and letting the queenless half make a new queen ? Either way - as I said - you would get a bigger crop if you had left them as a double brood rather than two singles - even with a mated queen.

I'm actually to tired to reply but I've made use of the splits enough said!

 

[BugsInABox]

Have five virgins arriving tomorrow so I've converted some old nuc boxes into two and three frame mating nucs.

Went to the apiary today and pulled a frame of brood and bees for each nuc and brought them home. Will introduce the virgins when they arrive tomorrow.

Only on a bee forum.

 

[spiderplantman]

Good day: local EHO phoned to say they can’t be bothered to come out and do a hygiene inspection for our extraction and jarring process because “5 hives is too small and off our radar, we trust you to get on with it and be good”.

Bad day: email notification of EFB with 3km of apiary.

 

[B+.]

I usually have problems getting bees to accept grafts after mid-summer. This year is quite different. The late start is keeping them interested.
This colony has 60 grafts (36 from NL-55-35-15-2020 & 24 from NL-55-35-31-2020) which are destined to be inseminated with drone semen from The NL.