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Thread: todays news

  1. #4111
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    Hi everyone - has been a while since I checked in so hope everyone is well and bees have had a productive season.

    My hives are now mostly all up on the moors since a few weeks ago. Going to the heather early is the new norm for me as otherwise its too late. They are piling in the honey so far given the warm and wet season so it should be a good year for it. A couple of problem hives mind. Came across a hopelessly queenless hive (dont know how they got to that stage tbh). Was planning on adding eggs to get them to raise a new queen but a hive or two later I found a few queen cells on the verge of emerging.....so much so you could here them scrabbling around in the cells. So I used a technique I describe as the "grenade method of introduction" whereby one (carefully) rolls said QC in via the entrance of the queenless hive without having to dismantle ridiculously heavy angry boxes for the third time that day. Anyone else used this method ? I spoke to one other beekeeper who had some experience of it. I will check this week if anything has changed in the hive.

    Queen raising was hit and miss as usual, July was a dreadful time for queen mating. Early grafts did better though.

  2. #4112
    Senior Member Mellifera Crofter's Avatar
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    Nice to hear from you with the update about your heather bees, greengumbo. As I remember, we're near neighbours on the heather. I also took four colonies early - and then three of them, to my surprise, got swarming fever. One did swarm (and unfortunately before I've added a bait hive). I hope I managed to stop the other two from swarming. Will see. I hoped I would get some bell heather, but I don't think I did.

    Please let us know if the colony accepted the grenade method of giving them a queen cell!
    Kitta

  3. #4113
    Senior Member Adam's Avatar
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    I've not tried the 'grenade' method. If I have an introduced queencell that falls off and finishes up on the floor, it usually doesn't survive. However with your queen grenade, if the queen is just ready to emerge, then it could work. let us know if it does!

  4. #4114

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    Quote Originally Posted by Adam View Post
    I've not tried the 'grenade' method. If I have an introduced queencell that falls off and finishes up on the floor, it usually doesn't survive. However with your queen grenade, if the queen is just ready to emerge, then it could work. let us know if it does!
    Queen cells are surprisingly tough !
    I once put some swarm cells in a bucket along with other bits of wax.
    In the morning I remembered I’d left the bucket in the apiary only to find three had hatched and were chasing each other around the bucket !



    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

  5. #4115

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    Quote Originally Posted by greengumbo View Post
    So I used a technique I describe as the "grenade method of introduction" whereby one (carefully) rolls said QC in via the entrance of the queenless hive without having to dismantle ridiculously heavy angry boxes for the third time that day. Anyone else used this method ? I spoke to one other beekeeper who had some experience of it. I will check this week if anything has changed in the hive.
    I'm looking forward to finding out what happened in the hive of mine that we tried the grenade method on - it'll be interesting to know if the smoke for effect and the yelling of 'FIRE IN THE HOLE' before making a hasty retreat made a difference .

    Colony in question was horrible so I dispatched the queen and then tried to re-queen by merging in a nuc. They killed the queen, and then did the same a couple of weeks later with another lovely nuc...! Two nuc's queens now, throwing up emergency cells afterwards apparently having realised their mistake. Hopefully they are more receptive to a grenade virgin, and hopefully she can mate on the moor.

    Also got that one daft colony which I merged a 2020 queen into and it's been in swarm mode ever since. Queen clipped, squishing cells and giving space hoping they snap out of it soon...!!

    And I've never had such poor success with queen matings, I have shaken out a few nucs and a large colony this season for drone layers

  6. #4116
    Senior Member Adam's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Jambo View Post
    Also got that one daft colony which I merged a 2020 queen into and it's been in swarm mode ever since. Queen clipped, squishing cells and giving space hoping they snap out of it soon...!!

    It's the right time of the year for supercedure?

  7. #4117

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    Quote Originally Posted by Adam View Post
    It's the right time of the year for supercedure?
    Indeed - but this colony is producing large numbers of cells often at the bottom of frames, which I’ve always understood to be swarm cells?

    Perhaps I’ll find differently in the spring!

  8. #4118
    Senior Member Mellifera Crofter's Avatar
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    I had a swarm today! I don't yet know from which colony, but I'm sure it must have come from one of mine. Fortunately my husband saw the commotion, or I would have lost them.

  9. #4119
    Senior Member fatshark's Avatar
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    Any spare queens to head the swarmed colony or are you hoping for a miracle mid-September queen mating?

  10. #4120

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    Quote Originally Posted by Mellifera Crofter View Post
    I had a swarm today! I don't yet know from which colony, but I'm sure it must have come from one of mine. Fortunately my husband saw the commotion, or I would have lost them.
    Swarm in September!
    One to remember!



    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

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