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Author Topic: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?  (Read 59873 times)

Offline Oldbeavo

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Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
« Reply #140 on: April 12, 2022, 05:49:11 pm »
Lesgold
Where are you in Australia? and what is the tree in the picture that is starting to flower?

Offline Lesgold

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Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
« Reply #141 on: April 12, 2022, 06:21:14 pm »
Hi Oldbeavo

I?m one the south coast of NSW. It?s a spotted gum. They flower about every 4 years. They produce an outstanding quality pollen and a beautiful honey. The trees will start releasing nectar when the nights get cold. The flow should last through until spring. I?ve actually enjoyed having a bit of a rest from the bees but unfortunately it will start ramping up in about a month. Looks like it will end up being one of those seasons where honey production is going to be quite good.

Offline .30WCF

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What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
« Reply #142 on: April 13, 2022, 04:16:38 pm »
Can?t get them in the box, cant shake em out.
 










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Offline beesnweeds

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Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
« Reply #143 on: April 13, 2022, 10:06:14 pm »
Can?t get them in the box, cant shake em out.

Put a piece of brood comb in a bucket or a frame of brood comb next to the swarm, the queen and workers will walk onto it.
Everyone loves a worker.... until its laying.

Offline Ben Framed

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Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
« Reply #144 on: April 13, 2022, 10:07:30 pm »
30 I?ll give you an A+ for effort!  :grin:
2 Chronicles 7:14
14 If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.

Offline .30WCF

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Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
« Reply #145 on: April 13, 2022, 10:12:53 pm »
They flew off while I was raising up the brood frame. Gone.


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Offline The15thMember

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Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
« Reply #146 on: April 13, 2022, 10:19:00 pm »
They flew off while I was raising up the brood frame. Gone.


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Oh!  So close!  And of course they couldn't have just gone for the box on the low stand!   

30 I?ll give you an A+ for effort!  :grin:
I agree, I couldn't even have attempted to do anything with a swarm that high.  I would have been calling our tree guy who is also a beekeeper for help with that one.   
I come from under the hill, and under the hills and over the hills my paths led.  And through the air, I am she that walks unseen.

Offline Brian MCquilkin

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Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
« Reply #147 on: April 16, 2022, 02:15:16 pm »
Checked all colonies after storms and wind to make sure lids and feed buckets were still on.
Despite my efforts the bees are doing great

Offline Bob Wilson

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Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
« Reply #148 on: April 17, 2022, 06:51:14 pm »
We had a late freeze at the end of March which killed all the tulip poplar flowers. Yesterday I found the bees still testy, making working them unpleasant. Last year by this time I was barehanding the frames. I wonder if it is the season, or the fact that they are full of bees with little new comb, or picking up some defensive genetics from somewhere near, or just me.

Offline Lesgold

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Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
« Reply #149 on: April 17, 2022, 09:18:56 pm »
Made a quick check on the honey situation in 5 of my hives. A little bit of nectar is starting to come in. Heaps of pollen entering the hives and the queens have started laying well. Hive bee numbers are increasing again in preparation for the flow. Good to see at this time of year. Still heaps of drones present with drone cells in reasonable numbers. Looks like another extraction coming in about a month. With winter coming soon, overnight temps have dropped to about 53 degrees with daytimes rising to around 73. Just enough time for a bit of a holiday before the action starts.

Offline .30WCF

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Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
« Reply #150 on: April 18, 2022, 12:44:22 am »
New queens are starting to lay. Frames are filling with nectar and some beginning to be capped.


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Offline Rise and Shine

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Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
« Reply #151 on: April 18, 2022, 07:32:36 pm »
Responding for Sunday (yesterday).  I had installed my bee package last Wednesday afternoon.  The past week we have had cooler temperatures in the Puget Sound area, so I waited until it was sunny in the afternoon on Sunday and checked to make sure the queen was released from the cage and that the sugar syrup and pollen patties were okay.  The queen had been released and I was very careful with moving the frames back in place as I noticed festooning and didn?t want to disturb their work.  I sat and observed them for about two hours.  Lots of activity.  Some orientation flights and many bees coming back to the hive with pollen :).  I?m very relieved as I ?think? this indicates they are building out the frames and preparing to feed?  Today is cold, wet and breezy so I just see a random bee occasionally return to the hive.   I will wait for warmer weather later this week to go back in and see if the Queen has started to lay eggs.

Questions:
 Is it okay to break a festoon to look at the frames more closely?
I noticed them cleaning out some dead bees and a few partially dead bees (still moving a bit on the ground after being discarded).  Is it a problem seeing them kick out ?sickly? bees?

Thank you!

Offline The15thMember

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Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
« Reply #152 on: April 18, 2022, 08:17:00 pm »
Questions:
 Is it okay to break a festoon to look at the frames more closely?
Yes, they will get right back to work when you put the frame back.  I usually try to not jostle them too much, just so the bees don't fall off the frame, but that's only from common courtesy.  :smile:

I noticed them cleaning out some dead bees and a few partially dead bees (still moving a bit on the ground after being discarded).  Is it a problem seeing them kick out ?sickly? bees?
Cleaning out the dead or dying bees is a normal and important part of hive life, as it helps prevent the spread of diseases in the hive. It's something you'll see frequently, even more so in the summer months when the bees' lives are shortest.  You may also eventually see them carry out aborted pupae, which is also normal as long as it's only a few.     
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Offline The15thMember

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Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
« Reply #153 on: April 19, 2022, 04:00:06 pm »
More like "What did I NOT do in my bee yard today?"  I was planning on splitting today, but it turned out to be only in the mid-50's F and extremely windy.  I guess I'll have to wait until Thursday.  Hopefully they don't swarm on me. 
I come from under the hill, and under the hills and over the hills my paths led.  And through the air, I am she that walks unseen.

Offline The15thMember

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Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
« Reply #154 on: April 21, 2022, 07:46:51 pm »
I was able to split Queen Ravenna's hive today.  My hives have like no nectar coming in still.  We've got trees blooming, but they mustn't be producing much nectar.  Normally we get a decent flow off of the cherries, but not this year I guess.  I fed the split the last of my leftover honey frames from last year.  If the other hives need food, I'll have to make syrup, which I have never had to do this late in the year. 
I come from under the hill, and under the hills and over the hills my paths led.  And through the air, I am she that walks unseen.

Offline The15thMember

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Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
« Reply #155 on: April 22, 2022, 07:26:32 pm »
I split Queen Persephone's hive today, after finding a charged queen cell amongst their many queen cups.  I was thinking about doing it today anyway, so this just confirmed it.  I'll be feeding both halves of the split and Queen Malore's hive 1:1 syrup, because they have eaten almost all the honey I gave them, and there is none to speak of coming in.  Is anyone else having their spring flow fall through?   

I also beat my previous record for "weirdest place to get stung".  As I was cleaning up in the bee yard, I had a bee get tangled in my hair and sting me on the ear lobe.  :shocked:   
I come from under the hill, and under the hills and over the hills my paths led.  And through the air, I am she that walks unseen.

Offline Rise and Shine

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Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
« Reply #156 on: April 23, 2022, 01:05:46 am »
I was able to split Queen Ravenna's hive today.  My hives have like no nectar coming in still.  We've got trees blooming, but they mustn't be producing much nectar.  Normally we get a decent flow off of the cherries, but not this year I guess.  I fed the split the last of my leftover honey frames from last year.  If the other hives need food, I'll have to make syrup, which I have never had to do this late in the year.

How can you tell whether or not they are bringing in nectar?  I can see the pollen :)

Offline Rise and Shine

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Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
« Reply #157 on: April 23, 2022, 01:17:35 am »
I did my first hive inspection today.  Bees were installed Wednesday of last week and I verified the Queen was released Sunday.  The first few frames didn?t have much and not many bees.  The third frame had some wax built out with lots of bees.  The fourth frame was nicely built out with some eggs and larvae.  I saw one of the worker bees feeding a cell.  I also saw the Queen!  She was calming laying eggs.  I carefully replaced the frame and didn?t look any further.  I moved the other frames back in place.  I refilled the feeder, left in the pollen Pattie?s and closed the hive.  This took about 10 minutes and I used minimal smoke as they were pretty calm.  Watched the ladies for the next hour coming and going.  The pollen started coming in late in the afternoon. I realized that I didn?t notice any drones.
I?m so relieved to see the eggs and larvae as I know my bees are aging every day.

Is this good progress?  Or, should there be more frames built out by now?

Offline The15thMember

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Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
« Reply #158 on: April 23, 2022, 11:26:07 am »
How can you tell whether or not they are bringing in nectar?  I can see the pollen :)
Well I can tell because I'm opening them up and their honey frames are empty still.  I had several of these hives start out with a few frames of honey leftover from winter and now they are empty and aren't being refilled yet, which is highly unusual for my location.  Even the honey frames I gave them a week ago are now empty or filled with brood.   

Just from observing the entrance you can sometimes notice bees returning with filled crops because their landing sequence will be a little off because they are carrying a heavy load, and they'll kind of crash or land heavily on the landing board.  Someone described it to me once as "a B-52 slamming onto a runway." 

I did my first hive inspection today.  Bees were installed Wednesday of last week and I verified the Queen was released Sunday.  The first few frames didn?t have much and not many bees.  The third frame had some wax built out with lots of bees.  The fourth frame was nicely built out with some eggs and larvae.  I saw one of the worker bees feeding a cell.  I also saw the Queen!  She was calming laying eggs.  I carefully replaced the frame and didn?t look any further.  I moved the other frames back in place.  I refilled the feeder, left in the pollen Pattie?s and closed the hive.  This took about 10 minutes and I used minimal smoke as they were pretty calm.  Watched the ladies for the next hour coming and going.  The pollen started coming in late in the afternoon. I realized that I didn?t notice any drones.
I?m so relieved to see the eggs and larvae as I know my bees are aging every day.

Is this good progress?  Or, should there be more frames built out by now?
I think that all sounds great!  Packages are often slow to start up, as they have absolutely nothing to start out with and have to build the whole entire hive from scratch.  It wouldn't surprise me if you don't see drones for a while, as only strong hives have the resources to "waste" on them.  Good job seeing what you needed to see and then closing them back up again.  As a beginner (or as an intermediate beekeeper :embarassed:) it can be hard not to just sit there with the hive open and watch them work.     
I come from under the hill, and under the hills and over the hills my paths led.  And through the air, I am she that walks unseen.

Offline Beeboy01

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Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
« Reply #159 on: April 23, 2022, 07:52:40 pm »
Spent the afternoon cleaning up my little yard after the big die off. Lost five out of six hives so far and expect to loose the last one in a week or so. Broke down the dead hives, moved the boxes over next to the shop and started sorting and hosing off the frames hoping to at least save some equipment for the rebuild. Everything is getting sprayed with a 1% bleach solution then hosed off to remove any pollen and debris. After a good shaking I'm letting the frames air dry before putting them back in the boxes with some paramoth crystal. Not a fun day in any way but as a bee keeper I've learned to take the good with the bad and this was a bad day. Still not sure if I'm going to start the yard back up, a loss like this is disheartening after all the effort I put into it last year. Don't mean to be a wet blanket but I haven't posted for about two weeks and though everybody would like to hear how I made out.  Hope everybody's bees are doing fine.   

Ed