What did you do in the Apiary today?

[Erichalfbee]

Went to check my failed 'Wally'. Sigh. What a palaver.

 

[Brigsy]

Yep!

 

[Tremyfro]

I did 'nowt'......raining but some bees out and about. Should have been inspecting but too wet. Hopefully they are not planning any getaways.

 

[Glenviewbee]

Am sweating on getting into my 2 remaining non-swarm prep hives (as of 9 May) but weather has been so sh1te I haven't been able to open up. Fingers crossed for a window of opportunity tomorrow

 

[Tonyatcwfarm]

Ran through the supers,no colony required a second but still hopeful they will all fill 1 before the end of the month
Still resisted the urge to go through the BBs
This year Im trying to leave the brood checks till june unless one swarms,then ill be in like Flynn.Iv got at least 10 bait hives dotted around so im fairly confident of catching them if one goes rogue
The 3 frame swarm i got Wed is drawing out foundation well while the large prime from Thursday has drawn out 4 brood and 6 super frames and queen is laying well already,nice and calm as i checked them

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Still resisted the urge to go through the BBs
This year Im trying to leave the brood checks till june unless one swarms,then ill be in like Flynn.Iv got at least 10 bait hives dotted around so im fairly confident of catching them if one goes rogue

Yeah, right

 

[Erichalfbee]

One of my colonies have eaten a super and a half in a week of rain

 

[Helen]

Got a call from a new beekeeper. They knew of a swarm, and wanted some help to get it. They've not done it before. Got caught up in a train break down on the way home, so got to the swarm at past 9pm. Nice big swarm, at head height on a small cherry tree branch. Showed the new beekeeper how to collect it. Nice calm bees - which was good as one got in through some huge rips in my face veil which I hadn't noticed. Allowed me to remove the suit with her inside it without panicking and stinging me.

So all in all, successful evening.

 

[lilybetbee]

Quite warm but wet in the morning, decided to take the opportunity to inspect once the rain stopped.
Both queens installed last week released from their cages and now laying.

 

[thenovice]

I ran around in despair! I had in total 5 spare brood boxes. 2 newly made up ones, 1 with old comb I need to melt and 2 still in flat pack. on Monday I needed 1 to start a demaree so I put it out on the driveway next to the one with old comb to bring to the apiary. I get a swarm call so go and collect that one first. on the way back, the old comb box has been occupied by another swarm. by then it is too late to go to the apiary so I shake the second swarm in the new box. the next day I drive with the 2 swarms, a freshly made up box for the demaree to my apiary where I have a spare hive. arriving there, i find the spare hive to be taken over by a swarm. so the demaree box gets used for the swarm. I go home and make the last box up for the demaree and notice a lot of activity around the old comb again. next day, you guess it, a huge swarm again. I usually welcome them but this is getting a bit too much to handle . left the bees in the old comb box and did the demaree instead before one of mine swarms...

 

[philipm]

inspected hives, new queen I installed doing well.I intended doing a split on one hive before I go on holiday but they should be ok until I come back plenty of bees but no sign of any queen cells. Bees all over the Sycamore today they are filling the supers well if this carries on I may even have a honey crop this year!!

 

[colinc]

Will be hoping to get in the hives this evening. I have realised that I messed up my new AS method at the weekend by slightly confusing 2 methods. Forecast is for a dry and warmer day between showery days tomorrow so Sod's law says I need to fix tonight or my bees will be leaving en masse tomorrow. Oh joy. You live and learn.


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[yeogi75]

collected six queen cells for transplanting this morning, thought I will get done before the rain came, well one hive had some problems with a bit of cross coomb and had to sort out as I left it a few days ago when it started to rain, guess what the same happened, well it rained and these hives are hot because they are in a vulnerable spot, and leaving them that way, put all the kit in car chucking it down, get home sort the queens out put on suit ouch tree stings to right hand, bees in suit arm first this year, got to wait now so I can sort home hive mating nucs out.

 

[Monsieur Abeille]

Interesting day. Started off by chasing a swarm across a couple of fields before they settled up high in a tree trunk. Its a bolshy colony so I'm not losing any sleep over their loss.

Planning to do my harvest tomorrow, so this afternoon was earmarked for laying of clearer boards. Of course today is the first day for forty days and forty nights that we've had rain, and it is bucketing down, so I enlisted Madame Abeille who is always willing to help out once every five years or so.

Having sorted the supers yesterday leaving the ones ready to go on top, the plan was for me to lift up the supers to go, and her to slip in the clearer board before the bees have cottoned onto the fact they were getting wet.

Plan worked perfectly for two out of three colonies. The last one is very grumpy - doubly more so as they lost their queen today (see para 1) and of course its raining.

This one had two (very heavy) supers to be lifted, and as I heaved them up it transpired that the bees had attached three frames from the next super, thus we had frames and very angry bees everywhere.

After a certain amount of panic and tactical withdrawing of Mme A, (verifying that ladies jeans are no match for a mean bee's stinger) I managed to get the loosened frames back in with the board and the full frames back on top.

We were pursued even in the rain and gathered half a dozen stings each (and I managed to get through all of last year without one!). Still job done, and Mme A may be more supportive if I decide to sell up.

 

[madasafish]

Watched the rain.

 

[JohnRB]

 

[colinc]

Yes. Rain here too


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[OXFORDBEE]

Busy making up kit. When the weather turns there could be a good nectar flow....

 

[Erichalfbee]

I planned to watch the rain.....but hey ho it never materialised despite huge swathes of blue over most of Wales on the BBC weather last night.
Nothing to do in apiary till Friday when suitably armoured I have to go into hellish hive AS. No help as poor Stan had a hernia op today and is now lounging on the sofa full of morphine.....poor lamb ......

 

[colinc]

I planned to watch the rain.....but hey ho it never materialised despite huge swathes of blue over most of Wales on the BBC weather last night.

Nothing to do in apiary till Friday when suitably armoured I have to go into hellish hive AS. No help as poor Stan had a hernia op today and is now lounging on the sofa full of morphine.....poor lamb ......

Wish you and Stan the best for your respective trials. I need to get into my big hive as soon as possible to check on QCs I want to give them a daughter off my other hive not let them raise their own. I hope they aren't waiting to swarm as soon as the sun arrives.


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