Yah! reached another milestone in my beekeeping. Been practicing picking up the queen and clipping her wing. In the past just used a crown of thorns but is a bit of a faff. After watching Andrew Abrahams picking up queens and marking/clipping them last year thought it was about time I gave it a go. Did 4 queens today and going to do another 5 tomorrow. The secret is for you not to hold your breath and breath in and out normally!
Another pretty grotty day here. Good points about the weather we're getting here is that swarming is delayed - I went through three strong colonies, all had sealed queen cells but the queen was present in all of them (even the unclipped ones). I reckon they're waiting for a break in the weather before doing a bunk. However, it wasn't a good day to run a practical queen rearing course - dodging showers and searching for graftable larvae in poor light and low temperatures.
Predicted to be 11 centigrade tomorrow when I'll be checking the grafts …
On a more positive note. Those on the queen rearing course seemed to enjoy themselves; all got the hang of grafting, got practical experience of different types of grafting tools and can (I hope) make sense of the small amount of extra kit they'll be needing in due course.
Bumble bees amongst the blaeberries today. There were also tiny white flowers on the cow berries and tufted owlets sitting on a log pile waiting for a feed from Mum. So vulnerable to buzzards and pine marten so hope they survive
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Kilbarchan Beekeepers had our seasonal Apairy visit today at one of Ian Craig's sites. Great visit despite the weather, well attended by members and prospective Beekeepers alike.
I want that man's bee suit for the Cup Final next Saturday!!!Originally Posted by HJBee
I have beekeeping stuff in a Lidl bag too (cheapskates that we are).
Are you sure? It generally has lots of bees 'inside' the veil too lol.
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What, our Ian's bees - misbehave?!
I was helping a friend who is away at the moment this afternoon and ended up with bees inside my trousers. Which is worse - veil or trousers?!
I can't say which is worse, but it can be quite amusing to watch the reaction when either happens, more especially when the person concerned is wearing shorts beneath their suit.
Amusing?!!!
I'm a Scotsman, remember, so when I get a full suit rather than a simple jacket you know what it will be like under the suit!
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So nobody has yet tried Beekeeping in a Kilt? No need for a Nuc box if your wearing your own personal Skep
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