What did you do in the Apiary today?

[Moobee]

The hive I put onto double brood as they were pretty full last week, has thrown up multiple charged QCs anyway, so put the queen and 5 frames of brood & stores into a nuc to go to the out apiary.
Added another super to each hive, the flow is on!
One hive busy requeening so left them alone.
Nucs in out apiary doing well, except one QC in a 2 x 3 frame nuc failed, so I shook out those three frames of bees and merged the nuc into 1 x 6 frame. Spotted the VQ on the other side striding around quite purposefully so closed them up gently.

 

[Wilco]

Checked a few last night and today, looks like a couple of failed queens in splits so will give another week before uniting. Starting to need to assemble more kit!

Opportunity at work to help setup some hives but sadly looks like it will come under the work hours side of things rather than being able to invoice them but it's a good cause and hopefully it's at least some publicity.

Took apart a pallet the other night and made two aaarghs (what I call the bigger version of an eke that I put my PIR blocks in) and the frames for two UFEs although have somehow messed up the 8mm slot so it's too big. Not sure how but I'm sure I can fix it with some tinkering.

Seven more to check tomorrow.

 

[StephenT]

Noticed that the bees weren't shifting nectar up in hive 1 and then saw that they had pretty much filled super 3 in 5 days. Stuck another super on and hopefully extract the top one shortly and stick that back on. Best spring flow we've had. Checked the Demaree and noticed eggs and small larvae in the top box. Obviously missed a queen cell the week after putting it together. Found a lovely fat queen so nuc'd the old queen and merged it back to double brood and 4 supers.

 

[W0otz]

Rhombus clearer in under 2 supers, will take them off tomorrow, extract them and get them back on the hive. 3rd super down isn't quite ready yet but not too far off - will make it the top super over the extracted ones so as they clean them up they'll hopefully move the honey up and finish capping it. Bottom super they haven't even started drawing.

 

[Curly green finger's]

Bugger some of my virgins have emerged a day early and 4 are dead but 8 have survived I’m wondering if having the incubator at 35c makes them emerge earlier?
12 emerging tomorrow and I’ve just put another 8 10/11 day old cells in the incubator, going out to check on my grafts from earlier on in the week then workshop untill about 8pm

 

[Nannysbees]

Took the feeder off the hive with a queen cell in.
Put the swarm in a hive and added a feeder, couldn't find a queen or eggs!!!!
Added two new queens to the last two hives, shook every frame, luckily, we found over tten emergency capped cells, definitely would have missed them without shaking!!!!
Quite a few frames in the supers capped but not enough to extract yet. All four hives problematic at the moment

 

[Erichalfbee]

All four hives problematic at the moment

Awful when that happens. Some years you get that and others every one’s a winner.
One year I lost swarms and virgins didn’t get mated or disappeared. Dreadful.
Hope it all works out.

 

[Wilco]

Checked the rest of the colonies and just picked up a swarm from my old primary school. Just happened to be passing and it seemed rude not to... A few stragglers left.

Beekeeping auction due in the village hall across the road from there tomorrow which I sadly can't make. World bee day tomorrow.

 

[Parsonage Bees]

Nuced both queens in out apiary. Bit of a surprise with the second one. Early swarm cells. Maybe I should have added 2 supers last week. Running out of supers.

 

[The Poot]

Inspected H1 - nuc‘d the queen and left one almost capped cell, Only found the one, shaking the bees off the frames and a couple of rudimentary queen cells, that were unoccupied.
I think this may be a supercedure, but having nuc‘d the queen I can see how she performs and can unite if things go bad in the hive.

This year I started with two. One huge colony with four supers has swarmed twice. I lost one and hived one.
So now have four colonies and have two virgin queens, one queen cell and only one currently laying queen - and she’s now in a nuc.!
Doesn‘t bode well for honey harvest as workforces will dwindle and there’s so much forage out there!

 

[alancooper]

Carried out a vertical split of a productive double brood box colony with a local black queen. She is in her third year. The split was to develop emergency Q cells from eggs in the top box with the Q in the bottom box separated by two supers.This is the first time I have tried to do it. I usually graft. I plan to harvest Q cells to an incubator then return the colony to honey production. It was straightforward but I think I enjoy grafting more.

 

[Curly green finger's]

Carried out a vertical split of a productive double brood box colony with a local black queen. She is in her third year. The split was to develop emergency Q cells from eggs in the top box with the Q in the bottom box separated by two supers.This is the first time I have tried to do it. I usually graft. I plan to harvest Q cells to an incubator then return the colony to honey production. It was straightforward but I think I enjoy grafting more.

It’s also easier grafting that is cutting out cells isn’t Fun on big colony’s .

 

[W0otz]

Busy day today. Removed the supers above the clearer board first thing and extracted them, 18kg settling and will probably jar tomorrow. Inspected the 3 home hives and put the supers back on.

Rinsed the extractor and cappings using the same water, checked the gravity (1.107, ~14% abv potential) pitched yeast and filled a demijohn.

Melted and filtered the cappings wax.

Then off to the out apiary to inspect the 3 hives there - split I took from home 2 weeks ago and hived 1 week ago now needs a super. Added 2 to keep ahead of them.
Unite-that-went-wrong had thrown up a few more emergency cells, tore them down. One I chose last Sunday should emerge soon.
The only hive that I overwintered there has been slow to build up but has suddenly taken off. Half drawn and filled a super in the last week and the queen has gone into laying overdrive with eggs all over the place. In 3 weeks time when they all emerge the hive is going to explode - hopefully timed right for lime and blackberry. Picture of the queen below.

 

[Newbeeneil]

Inspected a hive that I had nuced the queen from 9 days ago (tied up for the last couple of days due to grandkids so missed the 7 day inspection)
As I opened up the hive I saw a virgin emerging followed by two others as I went through the hive. I released and caged 4 others and saw two cells that were recently opened as workers were cleaning them.
What happens when there are multiple virgins running around? Will the swarm or fight?

 

[JamezF]

What happens when there are multiple virgins running around? Will the swarm or fight?

I read this in a Harry Hill accent.

James

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

get them all released - they'll usually then fight it out

 

[Newbeeneil]

get them all released - they'll usually then fight it out

That’s what I thought.

 

[Goran]

Poor bees, every rain stop they are charging out in search of some nectar may left.. I only hope they gather for themselves in such conditions, if not I have ready fondants to help them survive.. Never were such empty hives, also strength of colonies went down.. Heard already of some report deaths of colonies due to starvation.. I know some beeks around hurried to extract the misery they had and I doubt they substitute that with feeding.. We are greedy beasts as someone would say..

 

[madasafish]

Bugger some of my virgins have emerged a day early and 4 are dead but 8 have survived I’m wondering if having the incubator at 35c makes them emerge earlier?
12 emerging tomorrow and I’ve just put another 8 10/11 day old cells in the incubator, going out to check on my grafts from earlier on in the week then workshop untill about 8pm

Same here, 34.5C gives longer timing .

 

[Curly green finger's]

Same here, 34.5C gives longer timing

Thanks for that