ESBA Apiarist

Grafting again

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Many thanks FD for your assistance last night with the frames, and on Saturday.

On Saturday we had a grafting session for various enthusiastic newbees and nearly newbees, and a look to see how the new nucs were coming along.

ESBA1, which featured earlier on here and is largely Amm (thanks Jon) and has daughters in Speyside now, spawned six splits plus the mother. One of these splits failed and yesterday lunchtime I dispersed the frames and remaining bees to neighbours but the other have good new laying queens. So one survivor this spring became six, and all look like building well enough for the winter.

ESBA3 gave five splits and mum, and again only one failed. ESBA5 gave four splits and mum. So these three colonies should give 16 to go into next winter, although a couple are destined for a neighbouring association and I may sell one or two more for funds to help run the apiary. So much for the bee die-off crisis!

The other two colonies I'm trying to keep stronger so that we have a honey crop from our site in the hills. One has been trying to supersede and the other, which is a little tetchy, had a supersedure QC too when I looked today.

Our ten grafts on Saturday went into one (temporarily) dequeened strong nuc with young bees and a lot of pollen - it seemed like the best option on the day. Three have taken. Yesterday (pictured) they were on day 7 and as you'd predict these queen cells were freshly sealed today. They'll have another 8 days before hatching.



Here is a pollen gatherer on our patch of Phacelia a few metres away.

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Updated 17-07-2013 at 05:50 PM by ESBA Apiarist

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