todays news

[Mellifera Crofter]

...This year it just feels cold and I've only looked at half my colonies ...

It's the same on my hill, FS. I've established al my colonies are alive, but I've not yet been able to give them all a full inspection. I think I'll be able to do that this weekend, in time to complete the over-wintering survey.
Kitta

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[The Drone Ranger]

Had to do swarm control on two colonies yesterday - this is between 1 - 2 weeks ahead of last year in this apiary, these are not particularly swarmy - the brood box and supers are really full of bees, and lots of sealed brood to emerge. I might have been better to go to double brood. Lots of drones flying and good level of stores in the supers which is just as well since they may need all of it to get through this week with snow and frost possible. I can only think that they have found a good source of sycamore and maple over the last week - pollen hints at that, but seems too early. Hawthorn not yet flowering in west Dundee and the cold snap might slow things up a bit. OSR fields seem variable in terms of how much is flowering, some fields really early. Don't know if this is due to more variety in types being planted.

I noted Ian Craig proposes leaving ALL worker bees access to the whole hive when he first does his split, lets them arrange through the excluder with flyers down to the Q and nurses up with the brood, and after 20 hrs then introduces a board. Does anyone else do that? It might give a better balance with the existing Q. For what its worth - i just do the splits and put Q below, cells above a Snelgrove board.

Strictly speaking that's the method in Snelgrove's book
I have done both ways
If it is cool and they are flying less than expected it might be better to sort them through the QX for a day
On the other hand its an opportunity for migrating varroa so if you are using a finer mesh on board I would say just put it on
I'm not sure if Ian uses a solid board or one with a mesh
If its solid then that might be a factor
Lots of pollen coming from rape not much nectar though FD could be the variety as you say

[Feckless Drone]

" migrating varroa "

yeah, didn't think about that and not sure if Ian Craig has solid boards or not. I primarily use the Snelgrove board to bleed flyers back down, and tend to only put it on after I see the Q cells charged. Then it does become a lottery trying to keep the old Q from doing a runner. I''ve not had a good spell of weather to check colonies up in the hills for over 2 weeks now and getting nervous. There will be swarms in Dundee west towards the end of the week. If I've missed a cell their mine OK?

[RDMW]

What a good site for an out apiary.
Great weather again after a cold snap
All colonies doing well
Starting the breeding program this week




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[greengumbo]

Demaree demaree demaree all day !

Thats whats happening. I'm a bit bee'd out.

One question I have for you regarding splits after demaree. The OSR is still going strong here and supers are getting filled up nicely ergo my preference for demaree to keep the hive at full strength. However I do want to split these colonies in half at some point. How and when would you recommend I do it ? Just after OSR seems harsh as the sudden dearth might retard the growth of both halves of the split.

Just interested in what others do. I think I'll harvest QCs from the demaree top boxes and get the queens mated then split but open to suggestions.

[Feckless Drone]

How and when would you recommend I do it ?

In my case the Q cells appeared pretty early on so I have had to do splits (last ones done yesterday), but I use a Snelgrove board to supply the foragers box. You may not be able to chose when to split, the bees will decide that. A benefit of splitting early, I think is that forage is good and less issues with stressing out a small mating nucleus.

[Mellifera Crofter]

Hooray. The sycamore is in bloom. It's cold and overcast outside, but the hum underneath the tree made me look up - and the bees are busy.
Kitta

[mbc]

Hooray. The sycamore is in bloom. It's cold and overcast outside, but the hum underneath the tree made me look up - and the bees are busy.
Kitta

I love a good sycamore year, it doesn't always happen but in some years sycamore can flow right into the brambles first blossom and these years are invariably red letter years.

[Feckless Drone]

Not really today's news but a request. C4U posted his approach to getting comb drawn in the autumn. I've really got to get more drawn comb to replace some old and to help with a increase in numbers so can anyone guide me to that post. I've searched but cannot find it and if I can I'm thinking about taking colonies out of honey production come the June gap to work on comb a la Bailey approach or waiting until later on. I've really missed a trick with the OSR this year and I should have gone to double brood with the top box as super.

[Jimbo]

I am in the same situation
I took out one colony from honey production, placed a brood box of foundation on top and fed with sugar to get the foundation drawn
I just then keep harvesting the drawn foundation
I also will use this colony for providing bees for my mini nucs


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