What did you do in the Apiary today?

[Newbeeneil]

Busy day today,
Vaped 32 colonies for the 3rd time in 7 apiaries and changed the Apiguard on 17 colonies in 3 apiaries.
Inspected a couple of nucs that are a bit weak and put fondant on them.
Bought 120kg of sugar and made up the syrup ready for delivery to the association apiary tomorrow morning.
Now time for a sit down with a drink!

 

[Angry_Mob]

I finished my third round of treatments this afternoon as well. Finished painting my bee container last night so that's another job off the list.

Plan is to add QX and a few supers tomorrow to three or four hives and see if I can gather some ivy honey.

 

[Markthebuilder]

Collected a tiny swarm from hedge, bees seam very dark and small, hopefully there is a mated queen in there.

 

[DaveG23]

Feeders on and a load of syrup for 2 hives in my garden, 1 had some stores in the BB and the other had been left with a 1/4 super of uncapped honey, but they were all up really earlier today to greet me at the back door and generally acting like nuisance wasps, I took that as a sign they were panicking about winter coming in and complaining that some beek had knicked their winter honey.

The nucs in the garden are still packed with honey so will monitor them.

At my other site where they are all on commercial, a very lazy day for the ladies, they have already packed the brood boxes with honey, so they can't be arsed to do too much.

 

[pargyle]

Collected a tiny swarm from hedge, bees seam very dark and small, hopefully there is a mated queen in there.

Wow that's late ... they look healthy though .... with luck you'll get them through winter in a nuc ....

 

[Erichalfbee]

Collected a tiny swarm from hedge, bees seam very dark and small, hopefully there is a mated queen in there.

Pop them into a poly nuc dummied down, give them a frame of stores and an empty drawn frame, then hopefully they will be fine. You’ll be as pleased as Punch if they make it through.

 

[pete darbyshire]

Just about finished making this as a bit of fun for next year. Basically a long(ish) hive with 14x12 frames. Transitioning in older age when lifting supers may be a problem and also working at waist height may be more comfortable, Made from cheap timber - reckon less than £50 includingroof and floor hinges, roof material, glue , some screws, coach bolts dowels, insulation and weatherproofing. Will let you know how it goes in 2022.View attachment 28369View attachment 28370

Ive done the same, for the same reason. Cedar-cellotex-aluminium coated plastic sandwich. insulated roof, mesh floor that I can insulate, various entrances and dividers and queen excluders. I can add honey supas if needed. They take 30 national brood frames.

 

[pargyle]

Ive done the same, for the same reason. Cedar-cellotex-aluminium coated plastic sandwich. insulated roof, mesh floor that I can insulate, various entrances and dividers and queen excluders. I can add honey supas if needed. They take 30 national brood frames.View attachment 28403View attachment 28404View attachment 28408View attachment 28405View attachment 28407View attachment 28406

Good job ... I reckon the bees are going to love those ....

 

[Erichalfbee]

Good job ... I reckon the bees are going to love those ....

Yes aren’t they beautiful?
The insulation makes them just perfect.

 

[elainemary]

Been a hectic few days finishing extracting and putting my stand together for Heptonstall hexagonal chapel local food fair today. I’m one of 9 local producers, first time I’ve done it so fingers crossed for a good day. Made some boards to educate about bees and forage

 

[GuyNir]

Been a hectic few days finishing extracting and putting my stand together for Heptonstall hexagonal chapel local food fair today. I’m one of 9 local producers, first time I’ve done it so fingers crossed for a good day. Made some boards to educate about bees and forage

Looks absolutely amazing. No doubt you’ll do well!

 

[pargyle]

Ive done the same, for the same reason. Cedar-cellotex-aluminium coated plastic sandwich. insulated roof, mesh floor that I can insulate, various entrances and dividers and queen excluders. I can add honey supas if needed. They take 30 national brood frames.View attachment 28403View attachment 28404View attachment 28408View attachment 28405View attachment 28407View attachment 28406

Just one thing ...close up those ventilation holes in the crownboards - you don't need them and if you look you will see that the bees are already blocking the mesh up with propolis - tells you something if you need any convincing.

 

[Markthebuilder]

Pop them into a poly nuc dummied down, give them a frame of stores and an empty drawn frame, then hopefully they will be fine. You’ll be as pleased as Punch if they make it through.

Do I need to dummie it down strait away or make sure I do it before the weather turns colder.
I currently have them closed up apart from V/floor with some ultra bee and candy poll in there.

 

[drex]

The idea of dummies is just to give them the space they occupy with perhaps one empty frame added. More empties can be added as they expand. This way they are not wasting energy on warming, what Finman calls, " vain" space

 

[Wilco]

Finally got a chance to get to the heather site. Was testing it this year, took my favourite colony and one that was chancing it as to whether they'd bring anything in. The latter have filled their BB nicely and shrunk down ready for winter but nothing up top. My favourite hive have got three full supers and are busy packing the brood box... Not convinced it's all heather but it's pretty gelatinous! Rhombus board on and that's probably the last bit of honey for the year. Sadly looks like they're planning to supercede her, was going to chance it by nucing her but she'd wandered off by the time I found the queen cage and couldn't find her with another three passes. My favourite queen, she and the split from her this spring have done the best out of all my hives-- Buckfast, AMM, etc. and she was a random swarm I got in a cardboard box in the garden last year!

Not quite apiary but knocked three of these up from some old pallets and skip dived 75mm PIR too.

 

[Erichalfbee]

Been a hectic few days finishing extracting and putting my stand together for Heptonstall hexagonal chapel local food fair today. I’m one of 9 local producers, first time I’ve done it so fingers crossed for a good day. Made some boards to educate about bees and forage

Is that a crystal container in a box ?

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

well I would have had a mooch around the BBKA apiary as I've popped over to the dark side for a couple of days, but they must have known I was coming because there's a bloody great chain and padlock on the gate!
They've spent a bit of money there over lockdown extending the front and remodelling the new conference suite!

 

[elainemary]

Is that a crystal container in a box ?
View attachment 28424

Hi yes. Available in gold or purple - thought purple worked for heather & added the sticker. Sold out in 1/2 hour. The tasting of slivers of cut comb cracked it. Just lovely to see people’s expressions as the comb melted in an explosion of sweetness. Need to do MUCH more next year!

 

[Erichalfbee]

Hi yes. Available in gold or purple - thought purple worked for heather & added the sticker. Sold out in 1/2 hour. The tasting of slivers of cut comb cracked it. Just lovely to see people’s expressions as the comb melted in an explosion of sweetness. Need to do MUCH more next year!

I do mine in crystal containers. Just never thought to put it into a box. How much did you sell them for?

 

[elainemary]

I do mine in crystal containers. Just never thought to put it into a box. How much did you sell them for?

£8. c 160g. Didn’t know quite how to pitch it but googled chain honey and other heather honey producers but the people that bought decided purely on taste.