What did you do in the Apiary today?

[dickndoris]

Varroa that is. The dribble method does the bee's;-)

 

[Erichalfbee]

Could do if your not far away.

Alas 200 + miles but how sweet to say you could.
I wonder if Lampeter BKA might think of buying one. They have shed loads of money !!!

When you've done mine on 18 December. I expect to have brood in a couple of months.

You're right...we're already into the second week of November....where HAS the year gone?

 

[enrico]

And then the wasps started coming. All of my hives are suddenly being plagued with them. Traps out again, glass in front of a single bee space but they still keep coming. Hate them. Give us a frost, a really really hard frost quickly....please!

 

[Erichalfbee]

And then the wasps started coming. All of my hives are suddenly being plagued with them.

I was hoping for a wasp-free year as there have been only a few; just shows we're not out of the woods yet.
I have two sentinel traps out still.

 

[JohnF]

Alloy inserts put into poly hives then oxalic with shiny new Sublimox. Expensive but very very easy and quick! Only varroa treatment from now on in.

I'm just about to order one, could please explain details of the Alloy inserts.
I guess it's for help getting the device in and out but not having it in my hand yet don't know.

 

[dickndoris]

Ok. The alloy inserts are od 9mm id 8mm or maybe a little less. I have poly hives so they melt easy. The inserts have been put into the rear of the floors as a permanent fixture. On the sublimox the outlet pipe is copper and very hot otherwise the oxalic would start to set on exit( I presume) so the alloy acts as a heat shield. On my few wood floors I just drilled a 7mm hole into the wood and no problems with the heat. You could of course just do it in the entrance but the alighting board may get in the way as you have to rotate the device 180'
Still not sure if putting it in the bottom is as effective as the top?
If using a small generator I would advise changing the cord for a longer Arctic flex rather than an extension lead with a plug on dragging through the grass. Keeps the generator away from hives as they do get a little pissed;-) Cheap off ebay for 10 mtr 1.5mm 3core. Also on ebay a cheap with filters re usable mask. 3m 7500 at the moment. Got one as filters are very cheap to buy. Very very important to use a good respirator. I belive HM uses a military one but I feel the neighbour's might get a wee bit spooked You would need some goggles too that seal and fit with respirator.
Hope this helps. A little at least.

 

[Erichalfbee]

Where are you folks buying your sublimox from, please?

 

[TryingToLetThemBee]

Where are you folks buying your sublimox from, please?

Sublimox and Spencer?

 

[Hivemaker.]

Where are you folks buying your sublimox from, please?

Mine came from here....http://www.icko-apiculture.com/en/sublimox.html

 

[dickndoris]

Mine came from here....http://www.icko-apiculture.com/en/sublimox.html

And mine frome here
http://www.eng-service.com/api caratt sublim apfPLUS.htm

These are the people that make it I was led to belive. Try and buy through association as the tax is a fair bit unless you can put it through a business?

 

[Headnavigator]

It's never too late for a bee-suit!

Went to check on the hens only to find mice nesting in the nest box (of course, where else?) Cleared that out, lovely little mice but really tiny; hmmm, bees, I thought, and cut a couple of strips of batten to make the hive entrances even smaller. A couple of bees came out slowly to have a look, that was all, I thought, until I went indoors and felt a sting right in my crotch! Never undressed so fast, couldn't find the sting, picked up my jeans to see if the sting was in there only to find the bee there looking at me!
Have to laugh, didn't expect to be caught this late in the season. Serves me right for washing and putting away my beesuit for the winter after I'd finished 'winterising' the bees on Sunday!
What a silly thing to do!

 

[Erichalfbee]

Karma for clearing out the mice

 

[TryingToLetThemBee]

I went indoors and felt a sting right in my crotch!

I got a light sting to the hand last night trying to save a bee stuck with wings in rainwater on the landing board. No good deed goes unpunished.

Hopefully both bees survived; certainly no stinger to be found.

That colony is taking syrup again with the warmer temps. I'm going to have a large spring crop of "Thyme honey" haha.

 

[beeno]

'April showers' here. Lots of orientation flights, drones still flying, lots of brooding going on. Begs the questions, will there be a broodless period for OA this year?

 

[enrico]

Went to check on the hens only to find mice nesting in the nest box (of course, where else?) Cleared that out, lovely little mice but really tiny; hmmm, bees, I thought, and cut a couple of strips of batten to make the hive entrances even smaller. A couple of bees came out slowly to have a look, that was all, I thought, until I went indoors and felt a sting right in my crotch! Never undressed so fast, couldn't find the sting, picked up my jeans to see if the sting was in there only to find the bee there looking at me!
Have to laugh, didn't expect to be caught this late in the season. Serves me right for washing and putting away my beesuit for the winter after I'd finished 'winterising' the bees on Sunday!
What a silly thing to do!

I could imagine this twice......once as a male and once as a female as you don't say which you are! Doubled the amusement though!

 

[Jimmys Mum]

..... Lots of orientation flights, drones still flying....

Glad it's not just me. Drones are flying freely in and out of 7 of my 11 hives in one apiary today. All new queens this year and no sign of anything amiss when I closed them up in September. Hopefully just a symptom of the prolonged season this year. Ho hum!

 

[beeno]

Glad it's not just me. Drones are flying freely in and out of 7 of my 11 hives in one apiary today. All new queens this year and no sign of anything amiss when I closed them up in September. Hopefully just a symptom of the prolonged season this year. Ho hum!

Well, one of mine is supposedly superceding, but has been doing so for coming up to 3mths now I think, but is brooding like mad including a patch of drone brood. Hey hoo.

 

[busybee53]

Put a lovely cage around one hive. Made by OH with chicken wire small enough to keep green woodpeckers out. It has a door easily removable to allow hefting and an easily removable roof in case the roof etc. needs removing.

2nd cage on the way.

 

[John Hammond]

I strapped mine down ready for the winter weather (wind)

 

[Laz]

I've just been outside, and there's a load of activity outside my hive, it looks like orientation flights from a new batch of ex-house bees, is this unusual? AFAIK they haven't been upset by anything, in fact a couple landed on me as I watched and were as nice as nine pence, could it just be high spirits, as the sun has come out after a long period of warm drizzly rain? Any way enjoyed seeing them.