What did you do in the Apiary today?

[Newbeeneil]

No beekeeping as such - delivering bulk honey to a retailer and attending the PBKA bee auction. Mad prices, some colinies were going so cheap it was worth buying them, throwing the bees in the hedge and going away with a brand new Maisies nuc!!!

Ditto at the WSBKA auction last week, very disappointing prices.... one nuc of bees went for £45!

 

[thedozzer]

Spent an hour collecting the remaining bees from the tree, from yesterdays clumsy swarm collection, took the branches out the Nuc and sprayed the tree with air freshener to try and stop bees hanging round it, a few got caught by the hail storms today, the rest seem settled in the Nuc.

 

[B+.]

For the benefit of those new to grating: don't expect 100% success every time.

I Just collected my first batch of queen cells of 2019 from the cell raiser.
I used two colonies. The first was given two bars of 15 grafts and produced 22 sealed cells (11 on each bar). The second colony, which didn't appear to have quite as many workers, produced 21 sealed cells 14 on the top bar and 7 on the bottom. So, out of 60 grafts, I have transferred 43 into the incubator (72% success).
The reality is that this is just the first stage and, it is possible that, some may not emerge from their cell. Nevertheless, I am content with 72% from the first graft. The second graft is underway and I'll collect the sealed cells next weekend.
I have 2 Langstroth frames of drones in each drone mother to provide drones. These will be transferred above a queen excluder when sealed and marked so I can use them in instrumental insemination.

 

[oliver90owner]

Checked my colonies today to check which had swarmed. The culprit is a colony from a swarm captured last June which became a very large colony quickly.
Clearly of swarmy temperament and now appearing queenless. No eggs and no unsealed brood but with a lot of drones.
Need to provide a frame of young brood so I need the weather to warm up.
The bees were angry in the breeze today and 12C temperature.

I would likely take steps to reduce those swarm drones to a minimum....

 

[citrus]

Ditto at the WSBKA auction last week, very disappointing prices.... one nuc of bees went for £45!

so no buyers out there ...... ... or the bees not good pedigree ?

 

[colinc]

so no buyers out there ...... ... or the bees not good pedigree ?

With an auction it will always be supply and demand. Bet he wishes he had set a reserve price.


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[madasafish]

With an auction it will always be supply and demand. Bet he wishes he had set a reserve price.


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or maybe he's glad to get rid of a swarmy /nasty/ disease prone# colony at any price . better than wasting good petrol on them...

# delete or add as applicable

 

[Gilberdyke John]

or maybe he's glad to get rid of a swarmy /nasty/ disease prone# colony at any price . better than wasting good petrol on them...

# delete or add as applicable

The association auctions round here will not accept colonies for sale unless they have been recently inspected and certified healthy by a bee inspector.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

all colonies for sale at the PBKA and next week's Teifiside aunctions have to be inspected and assesed by the SBI just before the auction.
Most colonies there were sold by known beekeepers, the bees on frames went for an OK price, there was half a dozen or so in cardboard nucs on Lang and Smith frames (strange for that area) and will probably get shook into nucs and requeened (wouldn't be surprised if Ricky Wilson bought them to do just that with this year's first queens who are almost ready) they mostly went for 20 0dd quid a pop. all marked as 'Hybrid bees' this year which usually means yellow/stripey. Also a few 2019 (?) queens in the lots and suspect they were not imports but this year's first batch

 

[GuyNir]

Took advantage of ~20min of sunshine between showers today to check on a queen installed on Friday. Just pulled the cage to make sure she was indeed released, didn’t touch any frame. Will give it another week or so before checking frames for the queen or sign of her.
Lots or flying + orientation flights between showers today.

 

[masterBK]

Moved on three bars each of ten cupkit cells that were started in a swarmbox, one bar to each of three Demaree tops to get finished off (cells will be protected in hair roller cages at the weekend). As a confirmatory experiment (to something I reported in an earlier post) the cupkit brown cells added to the swarmbox contained what I estimated to be 3 day old eggs (ie soon to hatch). So 30 cells were introduced to the swarm box and resulted in 17 decent cells started = a conversion rate of 57% which is a little down on results from experiments in previous years (60% and 70% respectively) but quite acceptable considering the weather. Interestingly the "duds" were mainly at the ends of each of the bars suggesting the cluster had contracted away from them during the cold spell we just had (they had been kept in the dark in my unheated garage)

One bar of cells were also introduced into each of two large colonies (belonging to a friend) using cloake boards . Won't know the results of these til later in the week.

 

[simonforeman]

Turned out not a bad day to what the weather report said... 13degrees and no wind. My bees have used 2 liters of water out a new chicken drinker I set up for them near my home allotment.
They were going mad on it. Loads of bees out today.

 

[oliver90owner]

Turned out not a bad day to what the weather report said... 13degrees and no wind. My bees have used 2 liters of water out a new chicken drinker I set up for them near my home allotment.
They were going mad on it. Loads of bees out today.

Which means they are consuming their honey stores!

 

[pargyle]

Yesterday afternoon I built a mesh screen on the top of the small bit of low fence and the gate to my apiary to take it up to six feet high .. this is because 'er indoors had a bee land on her when she was planting out some bedding plants ....it didn't sting despite her tribal 'get rid of the bee' wardance ...

The rest of the apiary is fully enclosed between my workshop, greenhouse, a six foot wall and a six foot fence .. just a couple of metres of a low fence and a gate into the garden.

So, I've been drilling, sawing, hammering and painting within a foot of the nearest hive and in the flight path of two more. All when they were flying in their thousands ... Bees just didn't take any notice ...

I've had a very serious word with the one bee who caused me all this grief and she has apologised !

It's not just neighbours who can give you earache when you keep bees in the garden ...and it's not just reality you have to deal with .. perception is the problem.

 

[colinc]

If the offender was an interloper from your nearest beek neighbour, you may have dressed down your girls for no reason. That may make them defensive in the future [emoji6]


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[linoleum bonypart]

You seriously need to think about changing the wife.... Can't be allowing that behaviour to persist

 

[Ian123]

As finsky would say change those sensitive genes. Although I would not recommend squishing on the gate post

 

[Newbeeneil]

As finsky would say change those sensitive genes. Although I would not recommend squishing on the gate post

I think the local constabulary might have something to say about that!

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Shook out a colony with a duff queen at an out apiary this morning - almost all good new comb so brought the whole box home to sort out, left it at the top of the lawn whilst I had a cup of tea and sorted some emails - came back out - just as a swarm moved in to the now vacant hive.

 

[colinc]

Shook out a colony with a duff queen at an out apiary this morning - almost all good new comb so brought the whole box home to sort out, left it at the top of the lawn whilst I had a cup of tea and sorted some emails - came back out - just as a swarm moved in to the now vacant hive.

Perfect timing.

Rechecked hives today after swarm control measures on Saturday. Different hive trying it on today so another AS done. Proving to be a lively spring season.


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