What did you do in the Apiary today?

[alisonfosterbell]

Extracted 300lb this morning and was a bit worried the local hives had found a route into my extraction room so I sealed the door with gaffer tape when I left!
Jarred 100lb this evening and just as I was finishing I was visited by a Vespa Crabo.... beautiful thing. Trapped him in a jar to study him then released him into the darkness.

Edit. Just had to evict him again! Ten minutes after his first incursion.

Update! Just evicted him again from the upstairs bathroom!

Loads and loads of them here (Picardy, northern France ) plus the increasing numbers of marauding Asian hornet lurking in front of my hives, pouncing on the bees......

Extracted 300lb this morning and was a bit worried the local hives had found a route into my extraction room so I sealed the door with gaffer tape when I left!
Jarred 100lb this evening and just as I was finishing I was visited by a Vespa Crabo.... beautiful thing. Trapped him in a jar to study him then released him into the darkness.

Edit. Just had to evict him again! Ten minutes after his first incursion.

Update! Just evicted him again from the upstairs bathroom!

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

same here, can't recall the last time I had any kind of crop off balsam.
Probably because s far as the bees are concerned it's a pretty mediocre source of nectar so they prefer to work harder for other better quality of forage in the area.

 

[elainemary]

I’ve been v mindful today of hosepipe bans in areas of our country, whilst I walked round the heather moors. Normally I’d have to be careful where I trod, a ditch here and pool there for my boots to squelch into. No such luck despite the drizzle over the last 2 weeks. Heather looking brown in some areas but still some hope in others.

Looking back at my records I moved a hive just a mile directly onto the moor last year on the 8th and all my other hives whether at my home apiary near the Pennine way or down in the valley, the flow took place from 12th to 28th Aug .

High up on the tops it’s looking v similar timings this year. Will move a couple of colonies on Monday ready for a blast of warmth next week and leave the rest at home or down in the valley on the balsam

 

[Wilco]

I’ve been v mindful today of hosepipe bans in areas of our country, whilst I walked round the heather moors. Normally I’d have to be careful where I trod, a ditch here and pool there for my boots to squelch into. No such luck despite the drizzle over the last 2 weeks. Heather looking brown in some areas but still some hope in others.

Looking back at my records I moved a hive just a mile directly onto the moor last year on the 8th and all my other hives whether at my home apiary near the Pennine way or down in the valley, the flow took place from 12th to 28th Aug .

High up on the tops it’s looking v similar timings this year. Will move a couple of colonies on Monday ready for a blast of warmth next week and leave the rest at home or down in the valley on the balsam

Yep, think heather is a forlorn dream here this year too. Real shame.

 

[BeeKeyPlayer]

I started my move from 14x12s to standard Nationals yesterday. I had extracted some deep supers so I'd have drawn comb. I planned on placing one of each above the queen excluder and moving the queen up. Each was to contain some foundation and some drawn comb. Even though I took the usual precautions and kept the supers in the car until each was needed, I soon had a bout of robbing of biblical proportions. I should have stopped immediately it started, but I ploughed on for four hives. I'm dreading the carnage that has taken place. I don't suppose I can influence things now so I'll probably stay away for a few days. Maybe then there will be an urgent need to start feeding.

I'm relatively new in beekeeping - season 5. This is a classic instance of not really understanding something you've read about till you've experienced it.

 

[Delgirl]

All prepped ready for new long hive hopefully arriving next week. Used plastic pallets tenner each local supplier with leftover raised bed edging for the placement of feet.

 

[The Poot]

Checked remaining supers and was disappointed. Of five remaining, only three had seven or more frames capped. Two showed signs of being munched. I put clearers under one on each hive and will extract what I can, then juggle frames and extract remainder of capped ones. It looks like the bees will get to keep the rest, either nadired or fed back.
I really had expected to see at least four fully capped after such a good bramble flow, but it looks like the drought has stymied things.
Oh well, that’s beekeeping for you.

 

[blackcloud]

Uncapped
Extracted
Rinsed (breaking)
Repeat.

Rearranged frames a bit after chasing the extractor round the room.
Evasive bstd it was.

 

[Erichalfbee]

it looks like the drought has stymied things.
Oh well, that’s beekeeping for you.

I’m sitting 1500 km away from the apiary wondering exactly the same thing

 

[Erichalfbee]

Re queened a tricksy colony two weeks ago and checked a week later to see she was laying and she was.
Stan checked the supers today and reported that although the bees were calm lots were nasanoving ( sic) on the top bars.
I see that when colonies are queenless.
Grrrrr I need to get home and look

 

[Brian Bush]

Sat in the garden yesterday reading and dozing. Was aware of a number of bees passing by, not on their usual flight path. Just thought that they had found a new food source. About 4 pm I went indoors for about 15 mins and came out to a lot of bee noise and activity. A swarm had started to take up residence in an empty 2 storey poly NUC. I have checked this morning and they are foraging as though they have always been there.
This is the 3rd swarm that has taken up residence in empty hives this summer.

 

[Gilberdyke John]

On my way to check the horses I passed the evodia. Every flower was being worked on by bees.

 

[W0otz]

Began my "woodwork bleaching" routine. Vaped all 4 colonies with the gasvap. 2 colonies have got a drawn but empty super on still for space, which I left in place. 1 still has a super I'm waiting for them to finish off - removed it while vaping and then put back in place. Last colony is small and still in a nuc box.
Going for days 1, 6, 11 and 16 so round 2 on Saturday.

 

[Moobee]

Cleared 35lbs of honey from two supers as the cafe I supply to has run out. Nice golden colour with floral notes and at 18.5%

Checked on the hive with CBPV and cleaned the hive floor. A lot less dead bees. Removed wasp guard so the entrance doesn't get clogged up, added a super above the BB for more space and knocked down a couple of charged EQCs. If too late for re-queening, I have a spare in a nuc I can use.
Will clean the floor again in a couple of days to see if it's making a difference and keep my fingers crossed.

 

[Moobee]

On my way to check the horses I passed the evodia. Every flower was being worked on by bees.

I would love to have one of these in the garden but fear it wouldn't survive a winter by the coast

 

[JimBee463]

Inspected over the weekend, applied varroa strips, all looks good and not too many wasps around (i'm on a UFE which I've also reduced to about 3"/75mm wide).

 

[The Poot]

Removed two supers (one from each of two hives) and extracted two very different honeys. One super quite gloopy and dark, the other super had thin pale honey.
I regret not keeping them separate- I hope they won’t separate in the jars as some other honey has done recently.
It was horrible work in this heat!

 

[elainemary]

Re queened a tricksy colony two weeks ago and checked a week later to see she was laying and she was.
Stan checked the supers today and reported that although the bees were calm lots were nasanoving ( sic) on the top bars.
I see that when colonies are queenless.
Grrrrr I need to get home and look

That’s a good tip re nasanoving, my heart sank a couple of weeks ago when a colony with a prolific young queen hadn’t drawn any comb in the last warm spell, instantly knew something was wrong , next frame a supersedure cell and only sealed brood, damnnn

 

[Erichalfbee]

That’s a good tip re nasanoving, my heart sank a couple of weeks ago when a colony with a prolific young queen hadn’t drawn any comb in the last warm spell, instantly knew something was wrong , next frame a supersedure cell and only sealed brood, damnnn

Stan looked in today.
One capped queen cell which he took down, young larvae and eggs but couldn’t spot the queen.
Oh well. We shall see day after tomorrow

 

[Nannysbees]

Has everyone started to extract ?