I have been busy making splits and taking a few tons of honey off hives. We will soon be moving 50 hives back from the heather, then we will be getting everything ready for winter.
What beekeeping related activities did you do recently?
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I have been busy making splits and taking a few tons of honey off hives. We will soon be moving 50 hives back from the heather, then we will be getting everything ready for winter.
Agriculture Canada claims that 50% of Canadian bee hives succumbed in this winter past. So the market for locally produced honey is very strong and inventory is very low.
I won't buy in a grocery store what I can buy locally.
I won't buy in a grocery store what I can buy locally.
Not many supers on so far but this weekend has been a lot of swarm management. Got two landing in the garden, one didn’t want to stay and the other one’s queen got damaged, but they’re now happily looking after a donated frame of brood.
Need to do second stage AS on one hive tomorrow and check the others and add supers (I assume) to most of them. This is the time of year I need to remind myself that I do like beekeeping, really, I do. (I just don’t like dealing with swarms.)
Yesterday was the last practical session of the beginners’ course that I organise, so now I’ll have a bit more time and mental space for my own bees.
Oh and I need to order more brood boxes and foundation. Of course I do.
I'm still out of the game, hopefully going through immunization soon so I can keep bees again. Roll on next season!!
Beekeepers 'run out of equipment' as swarms rise
Experts say a long, cold spring before warmer weather means larger swarms are searching for hives.
www.bbc.co.uk
I saw that as well. Not sure I agree with it as round here it seems to be the fact we've had a decent amount of rain and then several weeks of fine weather so there's plenty of nectar about. The bees have been out every day gathering rather than spending a fair bit of time stuck in the hive on a rainy day which would be more a more typical spring.
Beekeepers 'run out of equipment' as swarms rise
Experts say a long, cold spring before warmer weather means larger swarms are searching for hives.www.bbc.co.uk
I also think every year I've kept bees has been called a particularly swarmy year...
I am so close to buying a bee vac. Swarms are driving me mad at the moment and they’re not even my bees…
6th super added to one of my double brood hives. I've not really though of a step ladder as an essential bee keeping item until now, I might need planning permission if I add many more. Thankfully the bees are capping up some of the supers so I'll be able to take my first ever spring harvest.
Oh wow! Well done you (and your bees of course). I'm worried that my dubble brood might swarm while I'm out of commission, but most others are working on their second or third super if that.
Step ladders are great for swarms by the way.
Started the setup up my new apiary site today, after continual issues at the old one that culminated ted in the loss of all colonies.
So starting again at my wife’s cousins farm, 20 mins from me. This is the first of 2 sites on the property, another 3 hives to go in, but this was all I got cleaned and scorched today.
About 5m in from the forest edge (Hazel coppice and mixed native), in a clearing (which we enlarged), a forest pond (quite large) some 50m away, and in the other direction their massive orchard and soft fruit plantation…. Will see how it works.
Second site will be the other side of the farm out in the open in the fields when I have built back up, will be more of an out apiaryto start swarm catches in etc.
Bees going in (in nucs) on Sunday - just got to drive to Scotland to get them (cut outs from langstroths) from a friend
So starting again at my wife’s cousins farm, 20 mins from me. This is the first of 2 sites on the property, another 3 hives to go in, but this was all I got cleaned and scorched today.
About 5m in from the forest edge (Hazel coppice and mixed native), in a clearing (which we enlarged), a forest pond (quite large) some 50m away, and in the other direction their massive orchard and soft fruit plantation…. Will see how it works.
Second site will be the other side of the farm out in the open in the fields when I have built back up, will be more of an out apiaryto start swarm catches in etc.
Bees going in (in nucs) on Sunday - just got to drive to Scotland to get them (cut outs from langstroths) from a friend
I thought you only had to move them a couple of miles to a new site.Bees going in (in nucs) on Sunday - just got to drive to Scotland to get them (cut outs from langstroths) from a friend
Good luck with the move, I was a bit nervous taking a single nuc just 10 miles.
I'm pleased it's done so well but my favourite hive has a small, dark, queen ticking along nicely and just filling their 2nd super. Much easier to inspect and if it swarmed far more manageable.
4 or 5 nucs 600 milesI thought you only had to move them a couple of miles to a new site.
Good luck with the move, I was a bit nervous taking a single nuc just 10 miles.
It’ll be interesting to hear how they do in such a different part of the country once you’ve had them for a while.4 or 5 nucs 600 miles
I’m always impressed by people who take their bees to the heather far away from home. Not something I’d like to do, I feel bad enough driving them a 15 min down the road.
Have you got some ideas for spacers or something to keep the bottoms of the frames from banging against eachother?
Are you going to have them in your car with travel screens on or are you putting them on a pick-up bed or trailer?
Yay eggs!!!! The small split I took from one of my large colonies that wanted to swarm has a new laying queen. It's not always been easy to get new queens mated, I suspect all the wildlife about the place may view a young queen as a tasty morsel.
Said large colony has also been split and the 'swarm' has been drawing out new comb well in this fine weather. I've been trying foundationless frames for a few years (well a strip of foundation and two supports which you can just see at the top of the photo) and the bees do the rest. The photo shows nice fresh comb but also a bit of a problem as the bees sometimes don't draw brood cells across the whole frame. Sometimes they do, sometimes it's a third stores, a third worker brood and a third drone.
Said large colony has also been split and the 'swarm' has been drawing out new comb well in this fine weather. I've been trying foundationless frames for a few years (well a strip of foundation and two supports which you can just see at the top of the photo) and the bees do the rest. The photo shows nice fresh comb but also a bit of a problem as the bees sometimes don't draw brood cells across the whole frame. Sometimes they do, sometimes it's a third stores, a third worker brood and a third drone.
Yeah me to, I want to do cut comb some timeNice!
I’ve been meaning to try that for some of my supers.
So did the splits today, didn’t take photos as cutting them out of the langstroths and elastic banding them into national frames was messy!!
Got 4 nucs all with this years queens all sorted for the journey back.
Also for a bonus swarm that the bee chap I went to visit got called to, he let me collect it and house it - I didn’t have enough stuff with me for 5 nucs so have temporarily housed it in a small queen rearing nuc (using shallow frames) For the journey home.
Sounds like a lot of type 2 fun was being had!
We’ve just put a super full of empty frames on a double nuc box as I didn’t have enough with foundation ready and they needed the space.
Phew. 1300 miles later and the new apiary site is established.
Will leave the bees until the weekend then transfer to national hives
Will leave the bees until the weekend then transfer to national hives
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