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.
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