What beekeeping related activities did you do recently?

[Woody girl]

I got mugged over and beaten senseless by ONE wild Bee in a Hive located in an old Tree I was taking photos of.

Most aggressive anti-paparazzi treatment ever. Followed me for a good 40 metres whilst kicking my bottom.

Oh dear, thats not funny, but the way you put it is.
Sorry, had to have a giggle to myself with the mental picture it gave me. Hope the broken bones and bruising is settling nicely.


Edit
I knew I shouldn't have laughed.. decided to give the bike a going over with the rag and polish this afternoon straight after posting this,... and as I took the cover off, several bees flew out and have made it impossible to work on it.
They were building a nest under the cover.!
Sorry bees, you have to go!

 

[Broch]

We now regularly get nests of Tree Bumble Bees (Bombus hypnorum) - in nest boxes, behind timber cladding etc. Unlike most of our long-term resident bumbles these newcomers are quite feisty and not afraid to act aggressively if you get too close.

 

[SaraR]

I have one hive that’s been booming all year (it’s on double brood) and one single brood hive that’s plodding a long. On the weekend, the big one got to donate some frames to make up two new colonies and then I used a spare full super to feed the new hives. Very rough and ready but will hopefully do the trick. The weather is all over the place here at the moment, so these were mainly to give the big colony some space and to hopefully act as an insurance policy for winter. Since the full super was castellated and had frames without spacers (I usually have Hoffman spacing for everything) and I had to swap some over to a non-castellated super to feed both nucs, I have now set myself up for a right mess when it comes to dealing with those later in the year. Oh well.

 

[Kadushu]

I recently put up 2 new solitary bee boxes. Every year I add one or 2 more and try different designs. Currently there are 9 in total, all being used by bees.

 

[slowworm]

I have now set myself up for a right mess when it comes to dealing with those later in the year. Oh well.

I think that sums up my bee keeping. At with a few years expereience I now know I shouldn't do something as it will be a pain to sort out later, but...

 

[SaraR]

I think that sums up my bee keeping. At with a few years expereience I now know I shouldn't do something as it will be a pain to sort out later, but...

I'm hoping to rectify it in a few weeks by swapping them back again. But yeah, it happens more often than I'd like, usually because the weather is less than ideal or I don't have the right gear to hand. All part of the fun!

 

[Allison McKenzie]

We have discovered a bees hive in our bird box. They sit there buzzing. Not really sure what to do with them.

 

[Broch]

We have discovered a bees hive in our bird box. They sit there buzzing. Not really sure what to do with them.

That will be tree bumble bee most likely, a relative newcomer to the UK but now well into Scotland. A nest box is a common abode for them. As long as they are not a nuisance I'd leave them there. You don't really have much choice unless you were planning on exterminating them

They are usually gone by the end of July.

 

[Allison McKenzie]

That will be tree bumble bee most likely, a relative newcomer to the UK but now well into Scotland. A nest box is a common abode for them. As long as they are not a nuisance I'd leave them there. You don't really have much choice unless you were planning on exterminating them

They are usually gone by the end of July.

Thanks. Will do

 

[slowworm]

Bee behind the ear, bee behind the ear..... squish!

Only the 2nd time I've had a bee inside my suit whilst inspecting a hive but an interesting experience.

 

[Broch]

A few years ago, when I still had bees, we went to a neighbour bee-keeper to collect a swarm. Somehow, one managed to get inside the missus' suit and into her hair and stung her - then a whole mass of them found their way in - it was a scary moment to say the least!

 

[Robson Valley]

You have to come and watch. The grape flower clusters are just about to open. That brings every bumble bee in the neighborhood. They are so busy, you can stand within 2' of them and be ignored. We have several species both big and little. Yellows, blacks and oranges.

I see the bees flying less than 5' off the ground, where ever they go.
This means that they have to negotiate the north fence which is open 1.5" wire mesh. Apparently, they can't see it until they are less than 8" from the fence.
Their little brains first tell them that it's solid but worth a closer investigation.
A few figure out that they can fly between the wires.
Most go up, up, up until they clear the top of the fence!
This all happens in slow motion so you can see the pattern repeat itself, all day long.

Gotta love pollinated grape vines.

 

[SaraR]

Yesterday, we made the most of the hot weather and got the extractor out. We got about 30 kg this year, which is more than enough for us and more than I expected, seeing as only two hives made it through last Easter.

We could taken more, but I've left one super on each hive to help them through winter.

I had to leave a second super on the big hive as they were super busy bringing in the nectar, so will need to take that off before bedding them down for winter.

The extraction went really smoothly and was surprisingly easy this year The cleanup afterwards though...

 

[MrEd]

Extracted 2.5 supers and got 40lbs of honey. Little less than I was expecting for 2.5 supers but some wasn’t capped or was over the 20% water mark when I tested it. Got 2 more to do from another couple of hives still

also got some apiguard on 2 of them once I had the supers off

 

[slowworm]

Well, it's that time of year again for me to go through our hives for their first inspection. 1st one has done rather well, brood across both brood boxes, plenty of stores left and needed supering right away. Also got my first sting of the year.

Need to go through the rest over the weekend, there's a strong smell of dandelions coming from some of the others. Plenty of pollen of all sorts going in as well.

How's everyone else done?

 

[TeeDee]

Quick Bee keeping related question.

When it comes to siting a Hive ,are there any locations that are unhelpful/unsupportive to Bee's?

I have a couple of locations that are somewhat under tree canopy and close to moving water - River and Stream

I was wondering if Bee's have a preference for possibly very open easy to find Hive Locations??

< But then again - they are Bee's.. and even a Lions rib cage was considered suitable - still, worth me asking >

 

[SaraR]

Quick Bee keeping related question.

When it comes to siting a Hive ,are there any locations that are unhelpful/unsupportive to Bee's?

I have a couple of locations that are somewhat under tree canopy and close to moving water - River and Stream

I was wondering if Bee's have a preference for possibly very open easy to find Hive Locations??

< But then again - they are Bee's.. and even a Lions rib cage was considered suitable - still, worth me asking >

You want to avoid very damp and very windy places, but they need access to water and a bit of air movement helps move the moisture away. Definitely make sure htey are out of the way of any potential flooding! They want sun some of the day, but can cope with full sun and full shade too, although you’ll probably take a hit on the productivity of the hive and they might not do as well as they would in a more suitable location. You don’t want branches to fall onto the hives during winter storms (ask me how I know), and avoiding siting them right under trees will remove that risk. You also want to avoid danger from animals (two- and four-legged ones).

Another important consideration is your access to work the hives and to transport equipment and hive parts to and from the site. Carrying full honey supers across rough ground gets old very quickly…

 

[SaraR]

Quick Bee keeping related question.

When it comes to siting a Hive ,are there any locations that are unhelpful/unsupportive to Bee's?

I have a couple of locations that are somewhat under tree canopy and close to moving water - River and Stream

I was wondering if Bee's have a preference for possibly very open easy to find Hive Locations??

< But then again - they are Bee's.. and even a Lions rib cage was considered suitable - still, worth me asking >

Also, they need enough forage in the area to sustain all bees (and other similar pollenators) in that area throughout the season.

In the wild they would live in hollows in trees, so they'll find their way to most openings you provide them with. They've got pheromones to guide them home when they're close enough to not navigate by the sun or local landmarks.

You can get drifting where bees from one hive end up in the one nextdoor. In Eastern Europe they decorate their hives and apparently the bees can use the markings to identify the right hive. (I'm sure, it smelling right helps too.) I just angle the hives slightly differently and that seems to work.

Mine have to go pretty much straight up and over a trellis and they have no issues with that from what I can see.

 

[slowworm]

As Sara says, you don't want dampness. Mine are in fairly windy locations which the bees seem fine with but it makes inspections harder. You can add some protection.

On my course they said the ideal spot would be in the sun but with midday shade. As it's often recommended to have insulation in the roof shade is less important.

I would also be aware of bee lines. For example, they drink large amounts of water but they like it as warm as possible. So they may ignore your stream and river and seek out patio pots, outdoor taps next to back doors etc. A steady stream of bees at head height can be a bit of a hazard.

 

[swyn]

I went for a cuppa with my old mate who is still a keen bee keeper. He had just celebrated his 80th Birthday.
He wasn’t at home but his wife made me a brew and told me where he was.
Now he’s registered blind but he had two 70 year old helpers and all three of them were catching a swarm up a ladder in an apple tree in the village!
S