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Thread: todays news

  1. #521
    Senior Member Mellifera Crofter's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Jimbo View Post
    For the first time in years I got 2 stings today on my face. I am still trying to work it out how the bees got inside my suit. ...
    The zip where the two ends meet? On my BJ Sheriff the two ends meet without a gap, but on my MB jacket they overlap and I have to stuff that tiny open area with a piece of sponge - or else ...

  2. #522
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    I used to regularly get bees in my veil-didn't get stung tho'.I tried in vain to find the hole and then finaly found a 1/4 inch dia hole where the gauze was stiched into the cloth part of the hat.I did a field repair by rolling up a small piece of the hessian smoker fuel from my tool box and plugged the hole.NO MORE wandering bees inside the veil.Did a permanent repair when I got home by glueing a small patch over the hole.I think the veil got a slight snag from a Hawthorn bush when retrieving a swarm one time.

  3. #523
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    Quick check thro' the bees today,No stores in the supers-they've taken what was in there due to the bad weather of the past week or so.will have to think of feeding to maintain the colonies if the weather doesn't get any better.I recon we'll be lucky to get a surplus this season.There's lots of clover about but they can't get at it and anyway it wont secrete nectar if the temperature doesn't climb a bit.

  4. #524
    Senior Member Bridget's Avatar
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    Temps high (relatively) this evening - muggy, some rain earlier and 15 degrees at 9.30 pm and a few bees still flying. So what temp do you think clover will secrete nectar?

  5. #525
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    With clover it's a combination of temperature and humidity.I've had bees in the past stuck in the middle of a clover field and not got a drop in the supers because despite the high temperature the humidity was low so no secretion from the nectaries.

  6. #526
    Senior Member Bridget's Avatar
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    According to my weather app humidity today is between 75 and 85%. I can smell the clover in the field and have seen a few bees on it though one of the bushes by the house is really buzzing. Weather good here for the next two days and then I go on holiday for 12 days. Booked before I realised that beekeepers shouldn't go on holiday in July! Any thing I should be doing before I go?

  7. #527
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    See if you can arrange for a friend to give your hives a once over while you're away if you think they might yet be thinking about swarming and clip your queens!

    Edit: actually, with the weather as it is right now, that they have enough food to last them while you're away is probably worth checking too!
    Last edited by Neils; 03-07-2012 at 02:37 PM.

  8. #528
    Senior Member Bridget's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Nellie View Post
    See if you can arrange for a friend to give your hives a once over while you're away if you think they might yet be thinking about swarming and clip your queens!

    Edit: actually, with the weather as it is right now, that they have enough food to last them while you're away is probably worth checking too!
    Just checked them and the super is pretty much full of uncapped honey. The frames were pretty empty last week so they have refilled them. They will therefore be fine for stores I think. I have given the new hive some more syrup. As for your other suggestions clipping bee wings is way above my pay grade and we have no bee mates so it will be fingers crossed. As the two hives are the result of a Demaree I'm hoping their ideas of swarming have passed. And then it's fingers crossed. 😔

  9. #529

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    Quote Originally Posted by Jimbo View Post
    For the first time in years I got 2 stings today on my face. I am still trying to work it out how the bees got inside my suit. Lucky for me I have been taking an antihistimine tablet daily for the last month as I have discovered I have mild hayfever. One sting was on the top lip and for a few hours it looked as though I had a trout pout. This would not bother me usually but I have an important meeting at work tomorrow and did not want to turn up looking like the elephant man. The worst bit was I had to go back into the hive again to find the queen as there were queens cells present and I had to deal with it.
    Good for the arthritis though, so you should be able to tap dance into the meeting distracting their attention

  10. #530
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    Had a strange "pseudo" swarm yesterday.Bees came pouring from the entrances of three separate hives,formed a dense cloud which went roaring around overhead then subsided and all went back into their respective hives where they continued with their usual foraging flights.Two of these hives had swarmed earlier.Queen mating attempt perhaps? Any ideas?.

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