What did you do in the Apiary today?

[Parsonage Bees]

Continuing to weigh my colonies beyond just making sure they don't starve. This week one has regained the weight it had last October (with 2 extra supers, brood lighter than stores, incomplete supers?), the other gaining but still 20lb down.

 

[Moobee]

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 swarming! I stayed and watched for a bit just to make sure they weren’t……

 

[gwt_uk]

Inspected 2 Nucs. 1 coming along nicely at a steady rate. The other was very populous and had a number of charged Queen cells.

Also inspected two other colonies at another apiary. One quietly bumbling along and the other very busy and storing nectar in their super. There was a couple of Queen cups with eggs so will be keep an eye on that.

 

[The Poot]

Went through my four. Some nectar now being stored, but only the very beginnings of “stores” seen.
Three were calm and well tempered, one improved on last week. (That’s not hard).
One colony had a queen cell extending from the base of the foundation, which had shrunk or been chewed back; directly above the bottom bars. I couldn’t see in it so used the hive tool to open it a little. Alas, a little too much and I knackered it. It was charged.
It was the only cell, so I hunted for the queen, eventually finding her in the lower box. All good.
If it was a supersedure cell, I just gave the queen a stay of execution.

On finishing, I was followed by five or so from my psycho hive so I sat on a bench in the sun and waited for them to give up. They wouldn’t, so it was clap hands time.
A single bee attacked my OH and my poodley thing yesterday. My OH legged it and my dog swiped it off his face onto the ground (fortunately he has a thick woolly coat) and I managed to stamp on it. Hateful things when they go bad.
Looks like a requeening exercise is needed.

 

[JamezF]

It's been a busy bee-day. And no, I didn't misjudge the heat of last night's curry

From my home apiary I went to the one I look after for a local charity. Last inspected two weeks ago, skipping last Saturday because no self-respecting bee wasn't taking a duvet-day. They've built up astonishingly fast despite the miserable weather. We put another brood box on as they were covering all the frames.

Then another apiary on a local farm where there is a colony that I wanted to switch onto a new floor and to put them into a new brood box. They've been struggling a bit so far this year despite doing very well last year, but I think they'll pull through, especially if the weather stays as warm as it was today and there's plenty of forage.

James

 

[Swarm]

Set up an Amm colony with a screen board, three brood boxes and a couple of supers, nice big colony of beautiful bees.
Went through the rest and found them very well populated and behaving themselves. Had a little collection of bees on one frame lug, they refused to move despite my request and one gave me an injection of venom in my thumb before walking off intact, I thought that was cool.
Added some stores frames to a couple of single brood colonies who were dry as a chip and then moved on to the cider queen who has eluded me so far. Last visit, I split the broods with an excluder to isolate her in one box, the bees were horrible. Today I found eggs in the lower box so took it a few yards away to renew my search, the bees were still horrible. Found her three frames from the end, same big queen with a faded white mark and she played possum after I remarked her. Her colony has been gentle and a pleasure to work since 2021, even earlier this year.
Her sister on the Oak tree stand was on the first frame I lifted, head buried into a bit of a hole in the comb. Her colony produced eight supers last year and they are looking fine, even though some of those combs are looking worse for wear (ooer).
Not a lot happening in the supers just yet but fresh nectar dribbling in and they threaten a few days of warm weather so maybe the bees will get a bit of a break, at last.

 

[Do224]

They've built up astonishingly fast despite the miserable weather. We put another brood box on as they were covering all the frames.

What criteria do you use when deciding whether to go double brood, as opposed to qx and first super?

 

[Antipodes]

. I couldn’t see in it so used the hive tool to open it a little. Alas, a little too much and I knackered it

I did this the other day looking down the frame -saw an opened queen cell (as in after the queen had emerged) but it turned out it was a supercedure cell just about to be capped and totally full of grub and royal jelly. I was too lazy to check properly. That was a bad one as it was the only cell and it is getting quite late here now for queens to be made and then mate. I don't even know why I dug into it anyway.

 

[Erichalfbee]

Lovely sunny afternoon to go through the bees yesterday.
One failing queen with drone brood dotted about. The bees are replacing her happily but tin the meantime she is still there. This is a swarm we caught last year so who knows how old she is? There's been a bit of a brood break with low stores and rotten weather but everything picking up. The overwintered nuc with a queen from @Black Mountain Honey is doing really well and they are the non-stickiest bees I have ever had.....wonderful!
Weather set fair. Hawthorn out

 

[Do224]

are the non-stickiest bees I have ever had

What do you mean by stickiest?

 

[Erichalfbee]

What do you mean by stickiest?

Some bees make so much propolis it’s a pain to inspect.

 

[JamezF]

What criteria do you use when deciding whether to go double brood, as opposed to qx and first super?

Once the colony is covering all the frames in one box then I usually go to double brood. There are quite a few beeks around here who reckon brood-and-a-half is about right for this area, but we all know what madness that is, so I went with what seemed to be the next best option. I've found that they generally still have a lot of stores left in the Spring though, so this year I'm experimenting with dummying down the broods to nine frames over nine which I calculate to be a little larger in terms of brood area than brood-and-a-half, but less than 10% more.

James

 

[Swarm]

Once the colony is covering all the frames in one box then I usually go to double brood. There are quite a few beeks around here who reckon brood-and-a-half is about right for this area, but we all know what madness that is, so I went with what seemed to be the next best option. I've found that they generally still have a lot of stores left in the Spring though, so this year I'm experimenting with dummying down the broods to nine frames over nine which I calculate to be a little larger in terms of brood area than brood-and-a-half, but less than 10% more.

James

My double broods are all that size

 

[JamezF]

My double broods are all that size

Is that because you're not using nationals, or do you also dummy them down to nine-over-nine?

James

 

[SWEET]

wow, that's a next level setup, i take it you sell breeder queens?

Maybe in the future.

 

[Swarm]

Is that because you're not using nationals, or do you also dummy them down to nine-over-nine?

James

They've always been dummied. 18 frames gives them an ideal nest size and they over winter with no feeding.

 

[gregior]

Went to the apiary that was a disaster zone last visit with hungry bees and queens off lay. SO much better today,all queens laying well and they're piling in the nectar,added wet supers last week to stop them starving but some of these are now full so had to add 2nd supers. Only 1 out of 8 swarming super strong colony on 16 frames of brood and many cells,some sealed, did a shook swarm on it and will use it to populate an ampty hive at my new apiary site at a garden centre. They want to film it so that should make for an interesting video!

 

[gwt_uk]

Inspected a colony that I hadn’t checked last week due to the cool weather. Several sealed Queen cells but eggs present. Spotted the Queen after going through them twice - she had slimmed down quite a bit and was obviously getting ready to go when the weather improved! Put her in a Nuc and transported back to my garden.

 

[Sutty]

Went to the apiary that was a disaster zone last visit with hungry bees and queens off lay. SO much better today,all queens laying well and they're piling in the nectar,added wet supers last week to stop them starving but some of these are now full so had to add 2nd supers. Only 1 out of 8 swarming super strong colony on 16 frames of brood and many cells,some sealed, did a shook swarm on it and will use it to populate an ampty hive at my new apiary site at a garden centre. They want to film it so that should make for an interesting video!

I'm hoping by "shook swarm" in this context you mean something different to what I normally take it to mean?

 

[gregior]

I'm hoping by "shook swarm" in this context you mean something different to what I normally take it to mean?

original Q ,1 frame of brood and 8 frames of bees into a poly nuc taken to new location and added to empty hive.