Pear is not quite out yet here but some plums are. And dandelions, and blackthorn. The bees were bringing in a variety of pollen types today.
My bees have mostly survived but some of them are really weak. Three I'm happy with and three have just made it. Two didn't.
Inspection day today.All colonies have come thro' the winter very strongly.All on 7 or 8 full frames of sealed brood with loads of stores and pollen.Going to be good candidates for the OSR and Sycamore.Plum blossom out,Cherry,Apple and Pear showing advanced flower buds.Queens are laying well with eggs and larvae of all stages.Still only the one colony showing very slight varroa-not an urgent candidate for treatment.I am getting my Modern Beekeeping Nationals this coming week so will shook swarm all the colonies onto new frames and clean wax in new hives . I intend taking splits from the remaining brood.
Absolutely beautiful here for the past 2 days. I enjoyed my first inspection of the year today and the bees were so calm despite me changing their brood box for a nice fresh 1. There's 5 frames of brood in 1 colony & 4 in the other. There seemed to be an awful lot of stores in both- will need to provide more space I think for the queen next time I go down to see them. I checked the floor debris from 1 hive (collecting since 23/03) & no varroa found. My red current bushes have been in flower since last weekend & the bumbles (and a wasp) have been enjoying them, still waiting on the pears, but I have seen some lovely fruit trees in blossom- not sure what type yet.
The earliest of the pears were out today in the old orchard which seems to be something that happened overnight, but most of the pears (grand old trees up to 100 years old) are not yet out. Probably this morning rather than overnight for these first few to open, come to think of it. Plums are in full flower as are the local blackthorn. Apples are yet to come.
The most further on of mine will need an extra box soon and I may plump for a brood box to assist with nuc raising later. Also couldn't find any Varroa on the floors. Mine also seem to have been frugal with their stores overwinter, mostly taking around half of the half block of fondant on top and still with a couple of frames of stores each.
I still need to do a spring clean, replacing floors and painting some of the more scruffy looking supers.
Still got one hive I haven't looked at yet, but spent the day playing with hawks and just had enough time when I got home to make up another brood box. 2 down one to go though I don't think either of the allotment colonies are in any immediate danger of swarming!
I was just intending to clean the hive floors today but the weather was warm and sunny so I managed my first inspection of the year as well. Seven out of eight of my colonies were OK. One hive had a drone-laying queen and this was the hive that was vandalised last year. I think the queen was superseded late in the year and wasn’t properly mated. I’ve now united this hive and it was curtains for the queen.
None of my colonies have more than 2 or 3 frames of brood but this is quite normal for this time of year in Orkney. All the hives are OK for stores so I’ll let them build in there own time. I’m jealous of all you southern beekeepers who have to super their hives as it will be well into may before I can even think about that.
Originally Posted by GRIZZLY
If you are removing your bees from their old brood combs whats happening to the brood.
P. S. I have just been speaking to a beekeeping friend in Wiltshire he had a swarm arrive in an empty nuc box at his house today.
Last edited by lindsay s; 10-04-2011 at 11:00 PM.
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: If you are removing your bees from their old brood combs whats happening to the brood.
Allowed to hatch out on top of new supers. B.box stood on Snelgrove board so that I can filter emerging brood down to main hive..If mature drones were available I would make splits with the old brood and allow them to make queens.
Swallows arrived this morning Gavin.Bees flying well,gathering water,pollen and I presume nectar.They were very quiet and well behaved when I inspected them.I don't know why but we always make the first report on Swallows in the district.
My Conference pear tree was in flower at the end of last week and the Victoria plum was in flower before the end of March. I have several apple trees in flower a full 3 weeks earlier than last year.
Saw two swallows in Dunbar yesterday. Loads of blackthorne, cherry and plum out here. It was 18 degrees on saturday, so I gave mt bees a visit. Both colonies doing well, foragers coming back covered in yellow pollen, I suspect from the plentiful gorse. Also some creamy white pollen which is not on my chart.
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