Absconding bees from Apidea

[Jimbo]

Bridget,
You need to take into acount that Andrew has be breeding and selecting his bees for gentleness for nearly forty years in a closed system. It certainly dispelled the myth that native dark bees are agressive when you see him handling his bees. Until you can get your bees that gentle then I would wear thin gloves and mark and clip using a cage.
Andrew also picks his queens by the wing to hold and mark which I have never seen demonstrated before and does the clipping and marking in seconds.
I don't know if you remember but I asked Andrew if he put his apideas in the shade and he just shrugged his shoulders and said in his experience it did not make any difference and he got very little adsconding. He had apideas siting on stands and on one site had them siting on on a stone wall all of which were fully exposed. It might be that Colonsay gets very little hot sunshine!

[Mellifera Crofter]

... It might be that Colonsay gets very little hot sunshine!

Oh no - it gets sunshine, and lots of it. On the intermediate course I went to last year we were all dashing for the trees to get away from the sun; this year, if we did dash for trees, it would have been to get away from wind or rain.

Well done Bridget for trying out an apidea.

Kitta

[madasafish]

Bridget,
You need to take into acount that Andrew has be breeding and selecting his bees for gentleness for nearly forty years in a closed system. It certainly dispelled the myth that native dark bees are agressive when you see him handling his bees. Until you can get your bees that gentle then I would wear thin gloves and mark and clip using a cage.
Andrew also picks his queens by the wing to hold and mark which I have never seen demonstrated before and does the clipping and marking in seconds.
I don't know if you remember but I asked Andrew if he put his apideas in the shade and he just shrugged his shoulders and said in his experience it did not make any difference and he got very little adsconding. He had apideas siting on stands and on one site had them siting on on a stone wall all of which were fully exposed. It might be that Colonsay gets very little hot sunshine!

An old beekeeper I know marks queens like that.

I've just marked one from a warre like that this pm...

[Bridget]

Sorry, I thought from your post they had already swarmed!

I wasn't sighing at you Jon - just that there is so much I don't understand and there is so much to learn. It's all the different permutations that get me.


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[Bridget]

Bridget. Did you see the queen in that last inspection? If not they could have already swarmed.

No they hadn't swarmed as this was a slow starter colony this year and was busier than last inspection. House and garden full of grandchildren and family this w/e so it will just have to wait till tomorrow.

[gavin]

Me too (and I'm getting old).

Not the Warre of course, the wing holding.

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[Bridget]

Apidea sitting on its pole, bees flying in and out, turfing out a dead bee too and the hysterical whirring sound from whithin has become the sound of a nicely oiled wheel. Fingers crossed. But how will I tell if the queen has emerged? The reason I can't see is because the cell is wrapped in foil. now before Jon splutters on his Guinness - A Andrews Esq told me to do it that way. Is it Ok to barge into their snug little home and poke about?


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[drumgerry]

Bridget - you haven't covered the end of the queen cell in foil surely?! So it's just a question of waiting till the due date or better still the next day after to see if she's hatched. I'm assuming the queen cell is poking down through the hole in the perspex cover so you can lift the cell back up through the same hole.

[Bridget]

Bridget - you haven't covered the end of the queen cell in foil surely?! So it's just a question of waiting till the due date or better still the next day after to see if she's hatched. I'm assuming the queen cell is poking down through the hole in the perspex cover so you can lift the cell back up through the same hole.

No I didn't cover the end. Yes it is poking it down. Trouble is due dates are a bit of a mystery. I reckon possibly Saturday so perhaps if I check Sunday. Thanks Gerry - what's your favourite cake?


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[Jon]

before Jon splutters on his Guinness..

Actually have a glass of cider beside me so lets hope I don't turn into one of those Somerset wurzels.
I can honestly say that I have never had a queen cell torn down in an apidea out of hundreds I have introduced and I would only need tinfoil if I were planning a visit to Orkney.