What did you do in the Apiary today?

[Newbeeneil]

You know you're having a pretty ordinary day in the apiary when you find a queen 6 feet up a tree trunk after having gone through a bunch of hives. Braula Christmas decorated and all. Anyhow, better than finding her crawling up the vehicle window on the way home I guess.

Would it be possible to use that picture for teaching purposes antipodes? Many in the UK have never seen Braula since we started treating for varroa.

 

[Moobee]

Went to the out apiary to do the OA vape - two hives had no bees - these were down to a cupful a few weeks ago so didnt expect anything better. The rest look ok and were clustered under the fondant.
One needs requeening in spring as they ended the summer a bit feisty and they've chased and stung the landowners when the weather was a bit warmer recently. Luckily they are very understanding!

 

[BeeKeyPlayer]

Great picture of a Braula

Great picture of two... braulae? bee lice

 

[Anduril]

Great picture of two... braulae? bee lice

Flies

 

[BeeKeyPlayer]

Flies

Yes, they are flies. The Wiki entry is: Braula coeca, the bee louse, is a species of bee louse in the family Braulidae

I guess they are called lice because they are flies that can't fly.

 

[warsaw_hive]

But bees are never fully domesticated, and some of us find that we are uneasy with keeping wild animals for human amusement.

Despite how often we hear the phrase ‘greedy beekeepers’, for some of us, it’s the honey that makes beekeeping right.

Thanks for an interesting post, the morality of beekeeping is something I struggle with at times, so I'll be mulling over your quote for a bit.

 

[warsaw_hive]

You know you're having a pretty ordinary day in the apiary when you find a queen 6 feet up a tree trunk after having gone through a bunch of hives. Braula Christmas decorated and all. Anyhow, better than finding her crawling up the vehicle window on the way home I guess.

@oxnatbees Have you seen this?

 

[Anduril]

Yes, they are flies. The Wiki entry is: Braula coeca, the bee louse, is a species of bee louse in the family Braulidae

I guess they are called lice because they are flies that can't fly.

https://www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/animals-...-diseases/other-pests-and-diseases/braula-fly
Well that's Wiki for you!

 

[Goran]

..

 

[Antipodes]

Would it be possible to use that picture for teaching purposes antipodes? Many in the UK have never seen Braula since we started treating for varroa.

Yes, not a problem.

 

[JamezF]

..View attachment 38297

That does look cold. Amazing to think that only a short while ago you were harvesting outdoor tomatoes.

Meanwhile, some parts of the UK are forecast to reach 13°C this weekend!

James

 

[Gilberdyke John]

That does look cold. Amazing to think that only a short while ago you were harvesting outdoor tomatoes.

Meanwhile, some parts of the UK are forecast to reach 13°C this weekend!

James

My tv forecast was for heavy rain all day today . The lakes in the grips are filling up again.

 

[JamezF]

My tv forecast was for heavy rain all day today . The lakes in the grips are filling up again.

We're not short of rain either. It's barely got light here so far today.

James

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

We're not short of rain either. It's barely got light here so far today.

James

same here

 

[Wilco]

Another market today, this one was moved indoors due to the weather so was lovely and toasty! Also bumped into a fellow forumite- it was great to put a face to the name and chat about bees.

Very different clientèle today, 2 cash transactions and 23 card. Honey still the main seller but beeswax wrap making kits featured highly unlike the other day.

 

[BeeKeyPlayer]

My wife and daughter walked the dogs near some of my hives yesterday and saw the bees flying in the sunshine. In my smartass way, I thought I'd show off a new word I'd found. I said, That's apricity - the bees making the most of winter sunshine.

My daughter said, Yes! How did you know that word? I came across a chat about it yesterday on Instagram.

It's obviously something that's out there just now. I certainly wasn't on Insta.

 

[JamezF]

My wife and daughter walked the dogs near some of my hives yesterday and saw the bees flying in the sunshine. In my smartass way, I thought I'd show off a new word I'd found. I said, That's apricity - the bees making the most of winter sunshine.

My daughter said, Yes! How did you know that word? I came across a chat about it yesterday on Instagram.

It's obviously something that's out there just now. I certainly wasn't on Insta.

I think it's fun to discover there's a word for something you're familiar with. "Petrichor" has always been one of my favourites.

James

 

[StephenT]

Another market today, this one was moved indoors due to the weather so was lovely and toasty! Also bumped into a fellow forumite- it was great to put a face to the name and chat about bees.

Very different clientèle today, 2 cash transactions and 23 card. Honey still the main seller but beeswax wrap making kits featured highly unlike the other day.

Great to meet you Will and loved your market stall. Would have chatted longer if I didn’t have to get back to yet another Teams call.

 

[Wilco]

Great to meet you Will and loved your market stall. Would have chatted longer if I didn’t have to get back to yet another Teams call.

Likewise. Really glad you liked the stall and hopefully it gave you some ideas too! We can catch up another time now we know where to find each other. Hope the Teams call was successful!

 

[Garry R]

Great to meet you Will and loved your market stall. Would have chatted longer if I didn’t have to get back to yet another Teams call.

It is amazing how things can change in hours!! We did an evening - day fayre in November. Friday night was mostly honey and very few wax things at about 10:1 takings ratio. Saturday it was more like 5:1 so you just never know. Just do cash only as it's not worth a card reader for the very few stalls we do in a year and people seem understand the need to take cash for a fair. Those who had a card reader struggled to get a signal at times - especially the ladies beside us who were Guide dogs for the bling Charity. Shame but we live in a crap area for phone signals etc.