What did you do in the Apiary today?

[JamezF]

Inspected the colonies in the apiary I've been setting up with a local charity this afternoon. All three were swarms this Spring. Two had "lost" their queens which I was half-expecting after a couple of inspections having given them time to settle in. I half-suspect that one never even had a queen as it was donated by someone locally who had no more kit to house swarms after a "difficult" extraction from a pergola.

The third colony seems to be doing well, if a little low on stores. It re-queened a few weeks back and we found the new queen, checked she was laying and marked her. They are incredibly docile. We used a "crown of thorns" to trap the queen to mark her and skewered a worker with one of the prongs. Even then they were totally unstressed. Not a single bee flew off the combs whilst we went through the hive (twice, because we missed the queen the first time through). I didn't actually pick up the smoker for the entire inspection. If they're still low on food at the next inspection I will probably have to start feeding them, but they're so laid back that they could be a definite target for grafting queens next year.

James

 

[TomH]

Does anyone know what this insect is hiding in the bottom of the cell? It’s a brood frame of eggs/young larvae, with the bees brushed off.

 

[Newbeeneil]

Interesting. I haven’t a clue but would love to know.
It doesn’t look like it could fly with those dumpy little wings but why have them if they are not for flight?

 

[The Poot]

Well spotted Tom! It looks like a louse of some kind, I’ll try to look it up. It’s probably up to no good in there!

 

[TomH]

I thought that too. Initially I thought it was an ant until i saw the wings, it’s about the same size.

I was actually having my first go at grafting, so had a little clip on lens on my phone, don’t think I would have spotted it otherwise.

 

[Malcolm B.]

It looks as though it was munching on an egg!
I've clipped and enlarged the image - so that may help someone with identificationn

 

[Anduril]

Anthocoris sp. - arthropodafotos.de.
Could be this

 

[Malcolm B.]

Anthocoris sp. - arthropodafotos.de.
Could be this

I think you have got it identified.

 

[Anduril]

From a UK site
https://www.naturespot.org.uk/species/common-flower-bug

 

[TomH]

Wow that was quick. Thank you. I agree it does look like the picture on that link.

Surprised to find it in the hive. Wonder if it is munching on the eggs?

 

[Nannysbees]

Just love it

 

[StephenT]

Checked a couple of hives yesterday and moved a nuc to a dummied down 8 frame hive, adding a frame of stores and a frame of emerging brood. One for the new allotment apiary when we get it properly set up. Booked the club extraction room for a week Friday as expect to have about 16 supers to extract and would rather do that with a big electric spinner in a proper room rather than mess up the kitchen again.

 

[Curly green finger's]

This morning I’ve closed up three mini nucs and put them in the workshop with fondant as they are getting hammered by wasps , tomorrow all mini nucs are being put into 6 frame nucs with one extra frame of capped brood and I’ll shake some bees in to strengthen them and feed.
Starting to clear the last of the spring honey from the colony’s at the out out apiarys , clearers gone on for some summer honey .
Moved more colony’s to the heather.
Checked a nuced up mini unite with a big drone layer colony my future breeder queen is happy .
Getting ready for a few shows and fairs we have some of our black girls going and different types of honey .

 

[Erichalfbee]

Is

Getting ready for a few shows and fairs

Let us know where. I’m sure you’d get a few forumites stopping by to say hello.

 

[North London Bee Man]

Quite a long inspection today to try and get a few things in order - I probably deserved the sting I got to tell me to get on with it! Finally swapped out one of the short frames from the bait hive that they'd built "creatively" on the bottom of and made inspections tricky. Just 2 left now. Also moved a few super frames about to leave the capped ones in the top box above my newly made clearer board so will be taking off tomorrow for the first go at extracting.

 

[Swarm]

First honey, nothing like it.

 

[Kaz]

Put on my big girl pants (and 3 pairs of trousers, a t shirt and 2 sweatshirts, 2 pairs of gloves (covered in Bee-Quick), and even a woolly hat) and went to inspect the bees from hell. As anticipated they tried to kill me, but didn't manage to get me through the layers. Phew. Now I need to grasp the nettle and requeen them - all 4 colonies. Last chance saloon

 

[gregior]

Today in the apiary I fed hangry bees.

 

[Newbeeneil]

Today in the apiary I fed hangry bees.

Is that hungry or angry?

 

[Newbeeneil]

Interesting day, I have/had a nuc that housed the spawn of the devil…. They were little b****es and would fly up and sting if I so much as cracked the roof of their box!
Last Monday I went in and caged the queen then on Thursday I swapped the caged queen for a protected ripe queen cell.
I opened them up this evening to see if the queen had emerged to find wonderful calm ladies. I checked the cell and found the the virgin had emerged so put down the crown board without a single bee moving off the top bars!!!!!
Fingers crossed the sun comes out and she gets mated!