What did you do in the Apiary today?

[Moobee]

Counted up the mite drop from last week's OA vape. To make it easier, I take a photo of each board and blow it up on the laptop. 129 and 186 on two of the hives but one was very low at 31 after 5 days. These are my darkest bees. Consume the least fondant over winter and are very productive honey-wise. Hmmmmmmm....
Re-vaped them all and will add more fondant in about a week if we get more rain. Still so mild here, they are flying any day the sun is out.

 

[Newbeeneil]

Spent this morning at the village hub with a stall selling honey to the locals. Only sold about £300 of stock but it was fun and got to spread the word about local honey.
I had one woman who came because she had been told I have honey from multiple sources and her dad loves honey on yogurt and fruit. She wanted to collect local honeys and give them to him for Christmas with a map with all the locations. She bought 9 of the 12 I had for sale!
I was also offered a couple of new potential sites for apiaries which I had to decline as I already have 7 within about a mile of the centre of the village!

 

[Swarm]

Counted up the mite drop from last week's OA vape. To make it easier, I take a photo of each board and blow it up on the laptop. 129 and 186 on two of the hives but one was very low at 31 after 5 days. These are my darkest bees. Consume the least fondant over winter and are very productive honey-wise. Hmmmmmmm....
Re-vaped them all and will add more fondant in about a week if we get more rain. Still so mild here, they are flying any day the sun is out.

Something to record in your notes, with potential requeen of high count colonies from your low count colonies.

 

[Moobee]

Something to record in your notes, with potential requeen of high count colonies from your low count colonies.

Always make lots of notes so was thinking that might be the plan in Spring.

 

[StephenT]

Weighed the hives and they've consumed 5 and 6lbs respectively in the last 4 weeks. Ivy was over a few weeks back and plenty of bees and still brood present judging by the inspection boards. Both got well over 30lbs still. Still foraging and bringing back some pollen.

 

[blackcloud]

Oa vaped 15 colonies.
Couldnt get the lid off a polynuc to put the vaping eke on.- not in the mood
Didnt have the special extensions for the gas vap either.
Took a gamble and tried without.
No melt -great success.

 

[Henna]

My newly pimped up bee-mobile. Took the photos in the garden and got vinyls printed and applied locally. Feel passionate about getting the message across about planting more for our bees!

really a great message

 

[Swarm]

Took the nucs I've been painting back to the farm for storage. Bitterly cold, temps scraping two degrees, still not able to heft but I can move a bit easier now so listened to the bees instead. One or two returning.

 

[JamezF]

It's certainly rather bracing out there at the moment. Temperatures here got down to almost -6°C overnight and just scraped a high of 3° today, but it's back down below freezing again already. I've got a small construction project I'm working on and using metal tools is no fun at all. I had to keep coming in to warm my hands up.

James

 

[Goran]

Done OA trickle today.. Still we are alive, but is too early to think about.. In April we count the dead.. Mostly on 5-6 seams, but this also can be misleading ( for good or bad).. It is wet and muddy.. Cold ( 3 till 8C). But still we had no strong frost.. On Sunday they say will start real cold with some snow and afterward minus temps..

 

[beeker]

Had a heft, and all seems ok. Then sat for a while watching a young Otter enjoy playing on the ice.
The pleasures of having an apiary at work.

 

[jinks]

Cleared snow

 

[Erichalfbee]

Cleared snow

Very pretty. Little here. Haven’t ventured out if the house. Tucked up under a duvet in the living room with “girl flu”

 

[madasafish]

Cleared snow

Reminds me of Torphins

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

due to the cold snap, took the opportunity to rearrange some hives at the home apiary. They are still pretty bleedin heavy!

 

[Garry R]

Reminds me of Torphins

And Oldmeldrun, Inverurie and Insch!!!

 

[pargyle]

Very cold down here last night for the Costa del Fareham ... minus 4 degrees this morning which is about as cold as it gets. Temperature rose a little and we got horrible sleety rain. Bees well tucked up and no inclination to venture out in this weather.

I've 'lost' one colony .. they were a late swarm and the queen never really got going. I should have combined them with another colony but big softie that I and ever the optimist I always hope they will get their act together but they rarely do if it's late in the season.

It was a bit odd - when I opened them up there was not a single bee in there, dead or alive. Plenty of stores and even uncapped honey/nectar in some cells, Two small patches of brood (obviously dead now) but not a single bee anywhere. No signs of robbing but I had noticed last weeked that there were some bees going backwards and forwards to the hive next to it which is a really strong colony.

I suspect the colony dwindled and what was left absconded to the colony next door. No signs of any disease. Although there were only a couple of patches of capped brood about the size of my hand they were a good tight pattern.

No signs of wax moth (there was whopping big wood spider under the mesh floor ! So I gave the frames a blast of sulphur to be sure and closed it up.

 

[Moobee]

Morning all! Very cold one today, currently -1 which is unheard of this close to the sea - hefted hives and added some more fondant this morning. Checked all the varroa boards - this hive has a pleasingly low drop after vaping but noticed quite a few bits of dead bee and i hope i'm wrong but does some of the detritus look like mouse droppings???
They shouldn't be able to get in as I have an UnderFloor Entrance on this hive so mouseguards aren't needed....

 

[Sutty]

I can't see a convincing mouse dropping on there.

 

[Swarm]

There are quite a few droppings, I wouldn't worry, it's probably having a snack on dead bees. Not much sign of wax detritus so doubtful if there is anything inside but if you can look under the OMF, you can check for signs of wax from damaged combs.
I still think there is no problem though