Who's satisfied with the season so far?

[mjt68]

Mixed. Lots of swarms/increase/unites but never quite enough bees. Few angry hives and lots of stings, trouble with getting new gentler queens mated and no spring honey. But now the sun's shining and the white clover and wildflowers are out in the apiary they're absolutely piling it in!

 

[wessexmario]

The jury is still out on this year as my apiary was swarm mania over the last month, the hives are all settling down and I'm looking forward to the bramble flowering. There is masses of bramble in my area so hopefully the weather will hold for a good summer flow from that.

 

[Tom Jay]

Just my second year at it, and even the mistakes are so interesting! The big mistakes being a) delaying doing an artificial swarm and losing my bees to a nearby very high stone chimney stack, and b) thinking I had cut out all but one of her queen cells left but lo and behold a cast comes out, settles far too high in a tree for me to reach them, and totally ignore the bait hive [well, nuc box] which I set up to tempt them. Two days swinging in the wind and then they went off to I don't know where!

But successes:

My strongest colony of the four I over-wintered I have successfully artificially swarmed and they have a fourth super filling now with absolutely squadrons in and out the whole day I'm preparing a fifth - the weight of those boxes!

Two colonies that overwintered no bigger than nucs are doing well with excellent laying pattern and plenty of it, one has needed its second super.

So I'm excited and loving it and pleased! Tom.

 

[Stiffy]

Having a strange year. OSR was very poor and not worth bothering with but now its well over with, the bees are foraging well. In fact have some hives are doing very well with some on their 3rd super. If the weather holds it should be a good year
Many have tried to swarm but my best Buckies have not even thought about it...... tempting fate.
I have 3 hives of so called AMM at an out apiary, well away from my other hives and more importantly people which are building nicely. Will see how they get on as I was assured they are not as shixxy as my previous experience with this strain
S

 

[REDWOOD]

Always strive for better, never be content, and nothing much you can do about the weather

 

[Thymallus]

Record year for rape honey per hive for my Buckfast, usual crap amounts from my local bees....5 strong hives of local mongrels managed 14lbs in total.

 

[Stiffy]

Record year for rape honey per hive for my Buckfast, usual crap amounts from my local bees....5 strong hives of local mongrels managed 14lbs in total.

My best buckfast are the ones with 3 supers on at present, just checked 20 hives and some are going to need more supers soon. Bramble is in full flower here and flow starting.
S


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[Roola]

Thought i'd ask people's views although i know it is very dependent on local variances. I have colonies out in the countryside for the first time this year. Following what I believe to be a poor yield on the rape, i've seen very little if not no honey come in since. Do other people find that they get little else once the rape flow has finished? These are strong colonies... I guess I just expected to get at least a little extra honey from them this year... is it that much of a floral monoculture these days? Think i'll reduce the number in that apiary next year and move them back into town if that is anything to go by.

 

[BrianO]

is it that much of a floral monoculture these days? Think i'll reduce the number in that apiary next year and move them back into town if that is anything to go by.

That about sums it up, to look at the rural landscape is sad these days, vast fields of single crops, hedgerows often replaced with ditches.

Urban vs. Rural ... Urban for me unless in true varied countryside, with mature hedgerows small fields and areas of wild growth.