Feels like it's all over in my part of Fife ... nothing much coming in and no HB in range for a late boost. Supers off and honey extracted so they're welcome to whatever else they can find.
Feels like it's all over in my part of Fife ... nothing much coming in and no HB in range for a late boost. Supers off and honey extracted so they're welcome to whatever else they can find.
Similar. Gone from super a week to frame a week although they have found the balsam....which round us is very early (like everything) this season. Taking as many to the heather as I can...fingers crossed it yields. Ling on Western North York moors is just coming into bloom. Might start making up 2:1 Sugar solution just in case.
July has come to a halt as regard t honeyflow for me. However still lots of bees in the hives nowhere for them to play out. This is the time of year where the advice of not to spill syrup or leave honey-covered thing around the apiary as it might induce robbing, is very valid.
And a helluva lot of wasps this season ...
Most of my supers will be on for another two weeks yet because I work single broods and the bees need the room. I’ve been consolidating the honey by removing undrawn and empty frames from the supers before the bees finish it off. With the queens cutting back on laying most of what’s coming in is now getting stored downstairs. It can be a bit of a gamble leaving the supers on very strong colonies at this time because if the weather breaks it can soon disappear. I once went to remove honey from a hive in late August only to find it had gone.While I was checking bees today I noticed a definite change in their mood, they’re much more defensive so it’s time for entrance blocks. Everything has changed a lot in the last week. On the plus side l now have seven nucs with laying queens
some of them will be over wintered and the rest united with poor colonies.
Last edited by lindsay s; 02-08-2018 at 08:18 AM.
Your point about bees needing the room is valid; I am removing some of the supers from each hive so they maintain some space in addition to the brood boxes and will then go around later to take the rest off. I might leave an extracted super on some for the time being until the colony reduces in size. Although I want to treat for varroa as soon as I possibly can.
There doesn't seem to be any real forage, however, I looked at some nucs yesterday and they have plenty of liquid stores so they are getting a little something.
I store my supers wet sealed up in bin bags, the smell of the fermented honey draws the bees into the supers in the spring. I don’t have to deal with varroa yet but with a large increase in the number of people wanting to keep bees up here it’s only a matter of time!Originally Posted by Adam
Last edited by lindsay s; 02-08-2018 at 07:33 PM.
A real North South divide coming into play here....and I'm in the middle
Just taken the last of my hives onto the North Yorks moors heather today...will be bringing them back mid Sept and then treating for varroa.....be good if I lived where Lindsay did...no treatments necessary and I presume (visit on my to do list) heather?
The heather here doesn’t bloom on the same scale as the mainland and varies a lot from year to year. Our cool weather also has an effect on the yield. My mentor once managed to get a few supers of heather honey in very good late summer, I gave him a hand at the time. I don’t know of any beekeepers here who work it for a crop. A few of us might get a little bit if our hives are nearby. I’m nowhere near any heather and personally I can’t stand the taste of it.
Extracting all finished. It's been a dry summer and some of the honey has a very low water content.
Nothing over 18% and some as low as 14-15%. The latter - despite working in a warm room with the supers at about 30oC - came out like treacle.
Delicious treacle
Posting Permissions
Reply With Quote
Bookmarks