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Thread: todays news

  1. #3181
    Senior Member Jon's Avatar
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    Some of my queens have finally started to lay in drone cells so I should have drones flying by the end of May. 10th-15th May should be ok to start grafting, weather permitting.

  2. #3182
    Senior Member fatshark's Avatar
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    I previously removed a pizza slice of brood (on the 11/12th of April) and the bees quickly refilled the gap with drone comb which is now all sealed. The same hive has some drones in it already. I suspect most of these will have passed their prime by the time we get weather suitable for mating

  3. #3183
    Senior Member Jon's Avatar
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    With drones you really need continuous production to be sure of having plenty at optimum fertility.

  4. #3184
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    Popped a qx between the boxes on a strong double brood today, grafting commences in 9 days time, theres increasing numbers of drones about down here and I expect there'll be plenty by the time the virgins from the first batch are wanting nuptials.

  5. #3185
    Senior Member Mellifera Crofter's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Kate Atchley View Post
    ... Are Winter bees reared as such from the start, in the brood nest, or do the differences develop later, as adults. ...
    I don't think they're 'reared' as such - they just are. And they are winter bees mainly because they don't have to feed brood, and therefore their hypopharangeal and brood food glands remain young, and that in turn means, as DR said, high levels of vitellogenin and build-up of fat bodies. See Celia Davis, The Honey Bee Inside Out, page 147. I've just written Module 5 in March and made a bit of a hash of a question about vitellogenin and juvenile hormone - so, I won't try and expand on that!

    Kitta

  6. #3186

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    Two empty pairs of breeze blocks, some post-uniting newspaper fluff, a few foragers circling where an entrance used to be. After selling a queen and a nuc yesterday, today my apiary is down to 5 colonies. My plan for a boringly manageable beekeeping season is under way.

  7. #3187
    Senior Member Kate Atchley's Avatar
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    Bees ... 5 hives of them ... boring? How could that be Emma?!

  8. #3188

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    Quote Originally Posted by Emma View Post
    Two empty pairs of breeze blocks, some post-uniting newspaper fluff, a few foragers circling where an entrance used to be. After selling a queen and a nuc yesterday, today my apiary is down to 5 colonies. My plan for a boringly manageable beekeeping season is under way.
    I would like to follow your example Emma
    More is less when it comes to honey

  9. #3189
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    Quote Originally Posted by Emma View Post
    Two empty pairs of breeze blocks, some post-uniting newspaper fluff, a few foragers circling where an entrance used to be. After selling a queen and a nuc yesterday, today my apiary is down to 5 colonies. My plan for a boringly manageable beekeeping season is under way.
    Those kind of sales resemble my plan to reduce the costs of my hobby to a more acceptable level :-)

  10. #3190
    Senior Member fatshark's Avatar
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    Brrr. Added second brood box to a colony in the shed ... a balmy 14C indoors ... 5C warmer than outside. Bees busy fetching water in the sunny bits between hail showers.

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