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What is that strange yellow light coming from the sky??

Colonies with the varroa issue had second vapes yesterday between showers. Supers removed during treatment. I love this out apiaries owners, they invite me in for coffee when it's raining! The hive where the queen flew away last Tuesday is all good - she's come back and is laying (and is now...

That last one on eBay sold for £74!

I predict swarming will start in earnest on Tuesday. We are going camping for a couple of days and that’s what normally happens when I’m miles from home 🙄

That looks AMAZING! Want one!

I moved the entrance block round on one hive this morning to give them more room to get in. It’s actually been warm and sunny the last few days (& supposed to be carrying on like this) and there was such a logjam of bees trying to enter the hive yesterday afternoon, they looked like they were...

And more ‘once in a lifetime’ winter storms!

Well, the weather here has been warm today & apart from overnight storms tonight & occasional patchy rain tomorrow & Friday, is set to be the same for the next week so I would not have been surprised to find them charged on next inspection.

I think I had that in the back of my mind regarding a Demaree. There is forage - mostly hawthorn (they’re filling supers but not super fast) & weather is set to be patchy again for the next week.

No I don’t, but I’ve never seen so many play cups in one colony - on every frame, all round the edges. And this colony was swarmy last year.

Yes!

If they start charging the QCs, then they are already in swarm mode? There were a lot of play cups all round the edges of every frame. This colony was quite swarmy last year so I’m thinking I split them now and I can always reunite and have a spare queen for another colony if needed. But agree a...

Pre-emptive split. Catch them before they go into full swarm mode.

OA vaped the two nucs and hive in the out apiary and also had a new queen fly off! Wouldn’t normally poke around but they keep making charged QCs despite a new queen so only went in to knock them down. First frame gently out and she’s off! Hung around for a bit and closed up very slowly so...

My OH bought me a Flir 1 Pro for my birthday in December to fit my iPhone 11. We recently decided to upgrade our phones to the 15 which has a USB-C charger so is no longer compatible with the Flir (lightning connector)…. doh! 😩 Ordered a Lightning to USB-C connector from Amazon but it doesn’t...

Cleaning up a nuc this morning. I love this photo - in case any more proof is needed that bees don't like having a draughty bottom! I'm saving it to send to the next person who tells me that they must have ventilation.....

Think the research indicated that the larger the original cell, the larger the egg the queen laid & subsequently a bigger queen. It was then cited that larger queens have more space for the ovaries to develop & hence possibly more eggs. But then it also depends on how well she mates...

Thanks both. That’s what I had thought, but wanted to double check.

Popped to the out apiary to check on the split I had added one of @Black Mountain Honey queens to. She’s started to lay as (quite a few eggs) so also took the opportunity to clip her. Nice looking big queen but spotted a few varroa on bees - I guess as the nuc has been broodless for a week...

Hi all. I have a new queen arriving this morning to make up a nuc but the weather here is chilly to say the least (max 11 degrees today, currently only 8). How long can I keep the queen in her cage and not perform the split? I'm thinking that it's too cold to be shaking bees into boxes but is it...