Worst Start to a Season I Can Remember ??

[Roola]

Think I'd agree with you to some extent. Not been a massively positive start to 2015. Even sited next to two rape fields, mine have brought in minimal quantities.... Then to add insult to injury they have all been desperately trying to swarm, been flat out with that with little payback!! Hoping both the swarming and weather start to settle down, have people found this year to be particularly swarming than normal?

 

[Bosleeu]

Think I'd agree with you to some extent. Not been a massively positive start to 2015. Even sited next to two rape fields, mine have brought in minimal quantities.... Then to add insult to injury they have all been desperately trying to swarm, been flat out with that with little payback!! Hoping both the swarming and weather start to settle down, have people found this year to be particularly swarming than normal?

Me too, apart from one colony that weirdly ended up with six supers (they seemed to need new space every week almost, but now have an incredible amount of uncapped stores). The rest are all on one and maybe a second super, but all has come to a halt at the moment. One colony needed food last week. They have all now started eating their stores apart from the big one that seems to be out rain or shine and finding a little bit of food.

My worry is that by the time we get a week or two of good weather, the spring bloom will be over and there won't be much around around here till much later. I am hoping for a bit of lime if we can get some heat later.

Every season is so different.

Staying positive in 2013 there was almost no flow till end June around here when the Sweet Chestnuts all seemed to produce and we had a whole season and more worth of honey in a few weeks. You just never know.

Ps: not much swarming only had to do one AS so far. I tried to requeen only from queens that didn't swarm at all last year and it appears to have paid of.

 

[BrianO]

Weather here to improve by Friday, winds originating in the Bloody Artic !
7 degrees this AM and windy.

Glass half Full = To be 16 degrees Friday, fact that we have had ( and will for next few days ) a wet spell means soil is well soaked which in turn , especially in Urban areas with the profusion of blooming exotics will mean good forage and nectar flow.

Glass Half empty = It will be 16 Degrees Friday and back to 10 saturday with wind and rain ( joking !!! )

 

[Erichalfbee]

There is still time for spring honey...if the sun comes out and stays out and the air warms up!

Beekeepers are ever optimists
On a bright side. Our resident Blue Tits are bringing in the mealworms we put out for the nestlings; only five eggs laid this year...maybe they know something. The Nuthatches and the Sparrows on the nest cams are nearly fledged and our Kite pair are busy feeding chick/s we haven't managed to see yet. She's sitting tight this morning in the rain and her mate has refused to come down for the day old chicks I throw out for them.

 

[madasafish]

Beekeepers are ever optimists
On a bright side. Our resident Blue Tits are bringing in the mealworms we put out for the nestlings; only five eggs laid this year...maybe they know something. The Nuthatches and the Sparrows on the nest cams are nearly fledged and our Kite pair are busy feeding chick/s we haven't managed to see yet. She's sitting tight this morning in the rain and her mate has refused to come down for the day old chicks I throw out for them.

Robins have raised first set of young and blackbirds are on their second lot of eggs. Magpies ate the first hatchlings - nest now cordonned off with wire mesh.

 

[Firefly]

It's only 2 or 3 years since we were feeding bees all summer and people were telling me I was lucky to have got any successful matings at all

It's not like last year, but I suspect few years are!

I agree with this though:

an incredible amount of uncapped stores

I wonder if they are having to spread out the nectar across a lot of cells to evaporate the moisture in the cooler weather; they will concentrate it back into fewer cells before capping of course

 

[jonnybeegood]

It's only 2 or 3 years since we were feeding bees all summer and people were telling me I was lucky to have got any successful matings at all

It's not like last year, but I suspect few years are!

I agree with this though:

I wonder if they are having to spread out the nectar across a lot of cells to evaporate the moisture in the cooler weather; they will concentrate it back into fewer cells before capping of course

maybe this is why there is so much swarming because the stores are so spread out trying to remove the moisture content, because the temps are cold, that they don't have much room to lay so are swarming sooner?

 

[madasafish]

maybe this is why there is so much swarming because the stores are so spread out trying to remove the moisture content, because the temps are cold, that they don't have much room to lay so are swarming sooner?

Our local Association apiary has lots of QCs..no full supers tho.

On the other hand, when inspecting I have adjusted frames so bees have room to expand and stores are at edges. And added supers before strictly needed (with LOTS of overlapping insulation to avoid chill). And no QCs.

But that may just be the difference between National Brood and half/Double Brood and Lang Jumbo . (You don't have to lift a brood box to inspect a Lang jumbo - ideal for my back)

Edit: or maybe my bees don't swarm. Or pigs fly.

 

[beecology]

all looked promising when the bees got off to a flyer and built up brilliantly - however the weather, or rather lack of good weather, has put pay to an early season crop - just hope things pick up for later on.

Interesting to note some people describing bad tempered bees - obviously a lot of frustrated colonies out there being held back

 

[jonnybeegood]

all looked promising when the bees got off to a flyer and built up brilliantly - however the weather, or rather lack of good weather, has put pay to an early season crop - just hope things pick up for later on.

Interesting to note some people describing bad tempered bees - obviously a lot of frustrated colonies out there being held back

I wonder if some people are requeening for the wrong reasons if a lot of people are finding theyre angry & it is for reasons due to weather/held back etc is there any need to requeen?

 

[madasafish]

all looked promising when the bees got off to a flyer and built up brilliantly - however the weather, or rather lack of good weather, has put pay to an early season crop - just hope things pick up for later on.

Interesting to note some people describing bad tempered bees - obviously a lot of frustrated colonies out there being held back

I had a normally good tempered Q+ colony have a go at me. I decided it might be teh weather.. and noted it on my inspection notes. Next inspection - on a warmer day - they were fine.

So yes weather I suspect in some cases. My two Q- colonies on the other hand were evil..

 

[BILL.HEARD]

All rape around this area is over, fields are now green, very little honey this year from the rape, bees are not happy to be opened.

 

[Firefly]

All rape around this area is over, fields are now green, very little honey this year from the rape, bees are not happy to be opened.

Early/poor crops are turning even here. I'm hoping to get OSR honey off before heading for a week in France on 3 June. C'mon team

 

[einsteinagogo]

I had a normally good tempered Q+ colony have a go at me. I decided it might be teh weather.. and noted it on my inspection notes. Next inspection - on a warmer day - they were fine.

So yes weather I suspect in some cases. My two Q- colonies on the other hand were evil..

It's surprising how the weather makes a big difference, I was doing some deep inspections and manipulations (wow, those are big words), at the weekend, weather was very warm, massive flow on, bees boiling out of the hives, removed all entrances.

e.g. looking for queen cells,

and the bees were wonderfully well behaved, and they are on OSR.

 

[snelgrove]

It's surprising how the weather makes a big difference, I was doing some deep inspections and manipulations (wow, those are big words), at the weekend, weather was very warm, massive flow on, bees boiling out of the hives, removed all entrances.

e.g. looking for queen cells,

and the bees were wonderfully well behaved, and they are on OSR.

You must be in a different country, massive flow! Nothing like that here

 

[einsteinagogo]

You must be in a different country, massive flow! Nothing like that here

I came round the corner to the apiary, and the field was roaring with activity...

it was only for 3 hours! we had 20 degrees C for 3 hours, clear skies, very warm, and still, no wind. Busiest all year I'd seen the bees, I was surprised how many there were out...

today! (you'd think it was winter, not a single bee)

bees not out today at all today, rain, rain, wind, rain, wind, more wind, cold, probably all in eating what they collected!

 

[Fatbee]

Temps have been critical this year I've found on both what is coming in and temperament. So different day by day but I would say average spring for me, nowhere like that awful spring of 2012. Until today last few days have been good. It's a long season yet - don't get too down

 

[Luka22]

With the weather right now we even struggle to inspect the Hives, but our expectations are already low anyway. Might be a silly question, but is the weather causing the plants to produce less nectar or is it simply that the bees struggle to collect and even if hey have done so, they consume the nectar themselves when the weather is bad again and that is the reason why most of us seem to have a small harvest....

Our Bees are on OSR and Cherry/Apple, but the most we seem to have is 1 Hive with 3 Supers on (not full) and 2 Hives have not even been in their super.

 

[snelgrove]

The attached photo shows the weather here today, hope the forcasters are correct bout an improvement at end of week

 

[einsteinagogo]

The attached photo shows the weather here today, hope the forcasters are correct bout an improvement at end of week

snap!

Are you in my Apiary?