What beekeeping related activities did you do recently?

[slowworm]

I overwintered 4 hives and 3 seem very active, ones a bit quiet but still has bees with pollen going in.

I've been away a lot this year so not done as much as I would have liked. I had a quick look at my best, double brood hive, and the top brood box had 7 full frames of brood and it still had plenty of stores. There was some nectar in the empty cells so I added a super.

Plenty of dandelions around us but it's been windy and not that hot, so not many of our honey bees on them. It was also a wet autumn so the bees struggled a bit to get enough stores capped for winter her. It's then been a bit warm and wet, so the bees have eaten a fair bit. I've put some fondant on as a precaution and the active hives have used it up.

I wouldn't mind building up a bit and selling honey etc but haven't got the time at the moment.

 

[Woody girl]

I overwintered 4 hives and 3 seem very active, ones a bit quiet but still has bees with pollen going in.

I've been away a lot this year so not done as much as I would have liked. I had a quick look at my best, double brood hive, and the top brood box had 7 full frames of brood and it still had plenty of stores. There was some nectar in the empty cells so I added a super.

Plenty of dandelions around us but it's been windy and not that hot, so not many of our honey bees on them. It was also a wet autumn so the bees struggled a bit to get enough stores capped for winter her. It's then been a bit warm and wet, so the bees have eaten a fair bit. I've put some fondant on as a precaution and the active hives have used it up.

I wouldn't mind building up a bit and selling honey etc but haven't got the time at the moment.

Glad yours seem ok. Just been into town to try and buy honey and the "imported " honey is £1 more for a half pound jar than I was paying for a 1lb jar.
I wish I had room for a hive or two, but the garden is much too small. Such a shame. I'd realy love to keep bees.

 

[slowworm]

Over the last month or two our hives have brought large amounts of an orangy pollen in, any ideas? I have an idea and I don't think it's from your usual late season flowers.

 

[Falstaff]

Curious, I see others have noticed this in the past. There are some flowers that fit the bill but the volumes suggest a much larger source. That leave fields and largish trees. Given how the hot weather and limited pollen sources, I'm wondering if its rust fungus from trees?
Apparently noted as a bee substitute they can collect when pollen sources are low.
Source: Beekeeping forum - In a short article by W. H. Lang. written in 1901 observations on how honey bees use rust fungus as a pollen substitute are described.

Have you started feeding yet, I'm about to start but know I'm a bit late.

 

[slowworm]

I though it might be pollen from forage maize. I know it's wind pollinated but for the first time since we've had bees there's fields all around us planted with it and the pollen started to appear when the maize tassels opened, the maize tassels here also seems to be reddish. In previous years I've not noticed anything in such volume at this time of year.

I don't tend to feed my bees much, I have one nuc that I've fed to get them to draw out a few frames. The other colonies have got a decent amount of honey stored and we should get a decent amount of ivy now it's rained.

 

[Falstaff]

Sounds likely. I need to feed mine, there's a real shortage of anything suitable for bees to feed on around me.

 

[William_Montgomery]

Our colonies have had hard time. The wasp attacks have been savage this year.

 

[Falstaff]

I've been quite amused watching the wasps hovering unsuccessfully around the little entrance. Its the size of a wine cork or two and filled with bees, so the wasps then just cast around the ground underneath for hive cast-outs.
I'd be move concerned about hornets if they came around, because they can take bees on the wing.

 

[HorseGuy]

I like to buy the most local honey I can find so that I can start eating it in the spring time together with essential oils which boost the immune system. This helps to reduce hay fever symptoms.

A few weeks ago I discovered there are some bee hives kept just a few hundred yards away from our field so I'm over the moon now. It's literally close enough for me to look across the valley and see he flowers that the bees are feeding from.

After speaking to the guy who owns them I was able to buy several pots of honey from him for just this purpose. I was even able to specify the exact time of year that the honey I bought was made so that the pollen used is the same as what I am allergic to.

Amazing! What a lucky find.

 

[slowworm]

Sounds likely. I need to feed mine, there's a real shortage of anything suitable for bees to feed on around me.

Normally we're ok here, plenty of brambles, knapweed and even the flowering eucalyptus we have produces a good crop of nectar. But this year everything was early and then dried up. The hives have plenty of spare stores but some colonies decided to start swarm preps when I wouldn't expect so I've had to split a couple.

 

[slowworm]

Our colonies have had hard time. The wasp attacks have been savage this year.

Even with a small entrance block? I'd still like to try an underfloor entrance to reduce wasp attacks, even though my bees are quite defensive.

 

[William_Montgomery]

Even with a small entrance block? I'd still like to try an underfloor entrance to reduce wasp attacks, even though my bees are quite defensive.

Yeah, we blocked the entrance down to a small hole. But a couple of the colonies were quite weak and took a hammering. We seem to have had an awful lot of wasps' nests in close proximity this year.