What did you do in the Apiary today?

[madasafish]

After my fiasco using Nicot in bad weather, I reverted to grafting: 20 grafts to Cloake Board starter /finisher from my calmest and most productive hive. If I get a success rate of 40% I will be delighted.

As my eyesight is rubbish - I have varifocals -I used an Optivisor head band magnifier (x2.5) plus a high intensity LED light. plus an expensive (C £4 for 2) Chinese grafting tool slimmed down using wet and dry paper and softened using warmed water before each graft. Older comb, lots of Royal Jelly - easy.

 

[Moobee]

Inspected all but my home apiary today. I have one colony still in a Demaree, two supers in the middle and two on top. I'm going to take the top two off tomorrow and work my way down. Partly I'm doing it piecemeal because clearly at some point I had brainfade and put the Demaree board in with the entrance to the side rather than the front. So now I have lots of bees to train to look for the entrance on the correct face of the hive. I put a super and a clearer board into the stack of boxes and it's now so high that I can't see over it Lifting a full super to head height and putting it gently on top of the stack of boxes is not easy.

As it happens the hive next to it also has something of an orientation problem. The bees have managed to make a hole in the rim around the floor and appear to be using that as well as the main entrance. It's tempting to go back in the evening and screw a flat piece of timber over it rather than break the entire hive down to replace the floor at this stage of the season.

James

Blu-tac is helpful if you have any.

 

[Moobee]

Yes, that’s what I’m doing. I didn’t add attendants though. I caged her in the car after capturing her in my marking tube having put the fondant in the cage first. Popped her in my bee suit pocket whilst I drove to the other site. Found the other queen, squashed her and then hung the cage with the replacement queen in between the frames. For once, it was straight forward.

I did that last week - no problem at all - she's out & laying.

 

[Moobee]

Checked on the test frame this morning, think they are queenless!!

What gave it away?

 

[Nannysbees]

What gave it away?

Queen in the post

 

[Erichalfbee]

Pinched a failing queen and shook her colony out. Should have done it weeks ago. I wasn’t happy with how a few of the larvae looked but PHEW!

 

[Do224]

It’s what I would have done, without the feeding (as you gave them stores).
But that doesn’t mean it’s necessarily the right thing to do……..

. The two stores frames were only partially full…maybe half to two thirds. I can see from the debris under the OMF that they’ve already uncapped both of them. There was literally no other stores in the hive and they e got about six frames of foundation to draw now as well. To be honest, I was thinking that perhaps I wasn’t feeding them enough…

 

[E&MBees]

. The two stores frames were only partially full…maybe half to two thirds. I can see from the debris under the OMF that they’ve already uncapped both of them. There was literally no other stores in the hive and they e got about six frames of foundation to draw now as well. To be honest, I was thinking that perhaps I wasn’t feeding them enough…

Do you have any brambles coming out?

 

[gwt_uk]

20+ degrees here in the Lothians. Inspected 2 colonies. A Nuc from a split 3 weeks ago. New queen had emerged and has started laying. Found and marked her. Unfortunately I also found a couple of Queen cups with eggs! Have taken these down and will be back in next weekend to see what is going on!

Checked another colony that I thought had swarmed the previous week after finding a capped QC. I left the QC in place and marked the frame it was on. Today’s inspection revealed that the QC on the marked frame had been chewed out from the side and I noticed eggs. I likely missed another QC.

Place clearer boards on two colonies.
Still plenty fresh nectar coming in.

 

[emoclewbee]

Harvested spring honey this weekend.
Two hives should have virgins only just emerged. The rest are doing well, pretty big with the brood still expanding. Just waiting for the bramble to bloom and hoping for good weather.

 

[Do224]

Do you have any brambles coming out?

Nope, not yet…

There are a lot of brambles around here though so that’ll certainly help when they do flower

 

[Do224]

Inspected 2 colonies. A Nuc from a split 3 weeks ago. New queen had emerged and has started laying. Found and marked her. Unfortunately I also found a couple of Queen cups with eggs!

I feel your pain

Still plenty fresh nectar coming in.

Do you know what they’re foraging on?

 

[Curly green finger's]

Went upto north Shropshire today to help a mate inspect and mark a few queens, also we made a nuc up with a mated queen and a plan to hive up my nuc he had and two other nucs are going to need hiving up.
Good productive day in all and it’s nice to see another beekeeper finding his feet.

 

[gwt_uk]

I feel your pain

Do you know what they’re foraging on?

There are still large patches of OSR in bloom here so am guessing that is what they are on.

 

[Moobee]

Pinched a failing queen and shook her colony out. Should have done it weeks ago. I wasn’t happy with how a few of the larvae looked but PHEW!

Not pregnant?

 

[philipm]

Took off first honey of the year yesterday,the bees are bringing in loads at the moment. Still on the Hawthorn but some just starting on the Bramble.

 

[Niv]

All hives doing much better than last week. The one I gave some full super frames to have now built up more stores so that's good... or should have been... this is the hive that is 'grumpy' I keep giving them the benefit of the doubt but my patience is now wearing thin. I should have replaced the queen last season but I am a softy and don't like killing queens and they seemed to calm down , but they are worse than ever now so squish time is coming. Really pleased to have read the tip about obas oil so will give that a go to hopefully make things a bit easier !

 

[Goran]

.

 

[The Poot]

Checked on my bought in queen, tab removed on May 25th - she’s been accepted. I could find no eggs or brood but I did find her.
Colony temperament was chilled, so here’s hoping…

 

[Curly green finger's]

Come home and 6 queens have emerged in the incubator

I’m of out in the garden to charge some mini nucs tea and what ever else can wait ‍♂