What did you do in the Apiary today?

[lindsay s]

I went past a friend who’s into his 2nd year of beekeeping. He has just started extracting and was worried about some frames that had very runny honey. I tested them with my refractometer and some of his capped honey was reading as high 25% moisture content and it tasted pretty bland. It turned out that he had been emergency feeding syrup with a super still on his hive during a prolonged spell of poor weather. I suggested that might be the cause and he should keep it separate and feed it back to his bees.
This is nothing new for most of you out there, but it has got me thinking. Does anyone know the average water content of capped
sugar syrup?

 

[Superlativesoul]

Went to my apairy as the owner messaged me thinking my bees were swarming as some on a branch and bearding outside .
I went to investigate ,6 days ago I applied a tray of apiguard gel to the top of the frames in both hives side by side on a shared stand .Opening the roof I was surprised to see dead bees then removing a feeder in a super the sight before me was carnage ,dead bees everywhere on the top frames by the apiguard gel tray and in the tray .started to remove the bees and the btm of the brood box floor was filled with dead bees .Removed the brood box and cleared the dead bees .Reassemble the hive .the remaining bees were outside the box got them back in the hive .The feeder had not flooded the hive in fact none had been taken The apiguard gel tray was completely empty, when I used one last year on another colony still gel present .The bees were in good health prior to me putting the treatment on .
This was exactly what occurred on my second hive .
I phoned the local bee inspector for his thoughts and whether similar occurances in the country had been notified to bee base .Sent him pics and batch numbers of the gel .expiring 2026 .
I await his response but he is in Kent next week dealing with Asian Hornet
John.

 

[Superlativesoul]

Batch number of apiguard gel
John

 

[Erichalfbee]

Were they robbed?
Any bees dead outside the hive?
Do the survivors look ok?
Is the queen still there?
Are you saying both hives are like this?

 

[Wilco]

@Superlativesoul

I moved away from Apiguard as I found my bees didn't get on with it but experienced nothing like that. It's worth remembering that there are thousands up and down the country using Apiguard with no issues so whilst it's possible this is an adverse reaction or bad batch, there may be other explanations- robbing is certainly up there as Dani suggests.

I'm sorry for your loss. Might be worth getting them in a nuc box with surviving brood rather than expecting them to survive the winter in a full hive.

 

[mbc]

the result of my last graft of the season, wish they'd all been this good

 

[Superlativesoul]

Were they robbed?
Any bees dead outside the hive?
Do the survivors look ok?
Is the queen still there?
Are you saying both hives are like this?

Not robbed .No dead bees outside the hive. Survivors look okay
I believe queen lost in this hive .but put a frame of eggs in to check .
The other hive similar but caught the marked queen on the floor and put her back in the hive .
If no improvement next week will combine.
John

 

[Superlativesoul]

@Superlativesoul

I moved away from Apiguard as I found my bees didn't get on with it but experienced nothing like that. It's worth remembering that there are thousands up and down the country using Apiguard with no issues so whilst it's possible this is an adverse reaction or bad batch, there may be other explanations- robbing is certainly up there as Dani suggests.

I'm sorry for your loss. Might be worth getting them in a nuc box with surviving brood rather than expecting them to survive the winter in a full hive.

The hives are on underfloor entrances,which is a good deterrent to wasp invasion no dead wasps inside or outside the hive .There is more brood in one hive so going down the route of combining with newspaper
John.

 

[Erichalfbee]

Not robbed .No dead bees outside the hive. Survivors look okay
I believe queen lost in this hive .but put a frame of eggs in to check .
The other hive similar but caught the marked queen on the floor and put her back in the hive .
If no improvement next week will combine.
John

In any case , John, that's awful. I would have been in tears! Perhaps then the fumes were too much with the solid floor and the reduced entrance which you get with a UFE
I'm not making light of it but put an Instantvap on your Christmas list.

 

[Superlativesoul]

In any case , John, that's awful. I would have been in tears! Perhaps then the fumes were too much with the solid floor and the reduced entrance which you get with a UFE
I'm not making light of it but put an Instantvap on your Christmas list.

Thanks Dani I have a gas vape and my other colonies are treated with this .The floors have open mesh incorporated in them as well .Going to the apairy to vape today 4 cycles 5 days apart depending on mite drop .
Have a great weekend
John

 

[Parsonage Bees]

Batch number of apiguard gel
John

Bought a box from Thornes recently and they no longer need to take your details and the batch number at checkout. Change in regulations?
So there's a lack of traceability through the supply chain.

Haven't seen this. Thanks. Will check the rest of the box.

 

[The Poot]

Removed final super from one hive. Replenished fondants on three hives as it had all been consumed or stored during the last three days of rain. It’s pouring again this afternoon.
The MET office reckon a bit of the jet stream broke away and has got stuck South of the UK and is drawing rain into Southern England for something to do.

 

[Moobee]

Whizzed round the out apiaries with the InstaVap. What a brilliant bit of kit. Bees a bit stroppy and then it started to rain….,

 

[Macbear]

Having used Apiguard previously, I had hoped to buy this last time my local BK association had sales. They had none. So today, and with a lot of wariness, I used Formic Pro. First time, and reluctantly.
Still 7 frames of "unripe" honey in Sn4 supers even though I had nadired after extracting. I avoid extracting frames with a significant amount of uncapped comb. Extracted frames are put back, and the bees usually clean them up eagerly. I'm not keen to faff with extracting those few frames, and my freezer has insufficient capacity, so for the next 3 weeks those supers are above the crown board. [Cleared of bees, of course!]
I permanently dedicate the first super* to its hive - usually OSR and pollen stores suggest that it's more use to the colony than to me. Any thoughts about my nadiring those "unripe" supers with a QE between them and the BB? I don't have a problem with the Q accessing the dedicated super overwinter. There are a couple of frames in the BB and dedicated super which aren't being fully used, but I reckon there are enough stores to overwinter. I would like to see the bees remove the unripe honey so I can store the supers a.s.a.p..
Not keen to allow Q access to nadired supers as I suspect that they might become an extension to the BB.
Advice would be appreciated, thankyou.

* I blundered with one hive having a Dn4 BB as a super. It was a double BB colony over last winter, but as the nest concentrated in the other BB I deployed a QE. That will not be repeated in 2025! Too heavy...

 

[pargyle]

Having used Apiguard previously, I had hoped to buy this last time my local BK association had sales. They had none. So today, and with a lot of wariness, I used Formic Pro. First time, and reluctantly.
Still 7 frames of "unripe" honey in Sn4 supers even though I had nadired after extracting. I avoid extracting frames with a significant amount of uncapped comb. Extracted frames are put back, and the bees usually clean them up eagerly. I'm not keen to faff with extracting those few frames, and my freezer has insufficient capacity, so for the next 3 weeks those supers are above the crown board. [Cleared of bees, of course!]
I permanently dedicate the first super* to its hive - usually OSR and pollen stores suggest that it's more use to the colony than to me. Any thoughts about my nadiring those "unripe" supers with a QE between them and the BB? I don't have a problem with the Q accessing the dedicated super overwinter. There are a couple of frames in the BB and dedicated super which aren't being fully used, but I reckon there are enough stores to overwinter. I would like to see the bees remove the unripe honey so I can store the supers a.s.a.p..
Not keen to allow Q access to nadired supers as I suspect that they might become an extension to the BB.
Advice would be appreciated, thankyou.

* I blundered with one hive having a Dn4 BB as a super. It was a double BB colony over last winter, but as the nest concentrated in the other BB I deployed a QE. That will not be repeated in 2025! Too heavy...

If you are going to nadir a super you don't need a queen excluder between it and the brood box - you will be taking it off early in spring or pre-winter if it looks as though they have cleared the honey upwards (an easy check - you only have to tilt the brood box to look).

 

[TonyC]

Today, I removed formic pro from hives, put on some wet supers for clearing and added wasp out entrances, though there are few wasps about. Oh and fed a couple of small colonies. The bees are all over the ivy at the moment.

 

[Nannysbees]

@Superlativesoul

I moved away from Apiguard as I found my bees didn't get on with it but experienced nothing like that. It's worth remembering that there are thousands up and down the country using Apiguard with no issues so whilst it's possible this is an adverse reaction or bad batch, there may be other explanations- robbing is certainly up there as Dani suggests.

I'm sorry for your loss. Might be worth getting them in a nuc box with surviving brood rather than expecting them to survive the winter in a full hive.

Apiguard working by well for our colonies, no dead bees in the trays, quite a few varroa left in them though, first treatment over on the second now, varroa drop impressive

 

[Moobee]

Finished the vaping on all the hives and nucs at home today between the downpours. The bees were remarkably calm given the swirling dark clouds and threats of rain. My home bees do have a lovely temperament on the whole. One nuc showed some possible signs of hygienic behaviour - some brood uncapping evident.

 

[gregior]

FINALLY finished extracting after 4 weeks, 62 supers of honey and 5 supers of comb. Now onto the mountain of cappings . I have a Thornes 9 frame electric extractor which has performed admirably but it could be time for an upgrade next year.

 

[Wilco]

Another day, another market.

Managed to not bill one customer for three candles somehow. Thunderstorms around lunchtime put a bit of a dampener on things. Time to unload the car again now...