What did you do in the Apiary today?

[pargyle]

Landowner messaged me to ask if I'd like to help save a tree dwelling colony on his friend's farm that were left exposed after an Ash had been felled due to die back. While cutting the trunk into logs, the tree surgeon had cut the nest in half. Bill was rightly annoyed that the bees had been overlooked as there was a fairly large hole being used as an entrance and there must have been a lot of bee traffic yesterday as the weather was gorgeous. They were a nice, calm colony and are now tucked up in a nuc with a feed on top. Only one comb of brood which we secured in a frame and we made up the rest with spare frames containing a decent amount of stores.
Nice laid back, dark queen strolling over the comb, I marked her and let her toddle down a seam before closing up.

Amazing what they can put up with ! Good job Steve..

 

[Moobee]

Checked on the nuc that had a sealed QC four weeks ago and a new queen is wandering around and laid up a couple of frames of brood so looking ok.
One of the mini mating nucs has also produced a nice dark queen - eggs but no brood & a lack of space as the nuc is rammed with bees. Moved them to a BS 6 frame nuc with 3 frames (stuffed the other half with wool) & managed to cut out the eggs & stores and put them in a frame with elastic bands and added some drawn comb with a block of fondant on top. They’re fairly small & the wasps are still about so reluctant to give them syrup.