Apiary Diary 2022

[Grant]

The Apiary Diary. Here is your opportunity to tell us (and remind yourself) about what is going on in your hives during the month of July 2022. The idea is you can look back and see when you placed treatments, what hives were strong, what were weak, when you re-queened, split, added boxes, what flows were on etc.

If its not about your hives, or the month has changed, please use an alternative thread or create a new one.

 

[Dansar]

Quick peek a boo in some hive in Tauranga this afternoon.
Fresh nectar coming in along with mostly gorse pollen.
Drone brood! First round of drones just starting to emerge. Is spring coming earlier, or at the very least an early swarm season?
Hives are starting to increase brood significantly and along with that mites are increasing too (visual inspection of mites on drone brood)
Varroa treatments will be going in over the next week or two.

 

[Josh]

Quick peek a boo in some hive in Tauranga this afternoon.
Fresh nectar coming in along with mostly gorse pollen.
Drone brood! First round of drones just starting to emerge. Is spring coming earlier, or at the very least an early swarm season?
Hives are starting to increase brood significantly and along with that mites are increasing too (visual inspection of mites on drone brood)
Varroa treatments will be going in over the next week or two.

Wow, too cold down here yet

 

[Alastair]

Original plan was to start the spring round beginning of August. But it's so wet I just don't relish the thought, raining more often than not so would be a lot of wasted time sitting in the truck, plus paddocks like porridge, and slip sliding in mud while trying to work bees. Not fun. Might leave off the start a couple of weeks, but then it will have to be full on.

As an aside, read in today's Herald that this July has been the wettest July ever recorded in NZ. That, plus generally stormy weather, I have not been able to get my kayak out fishing near as much as planned this off season, feeling a bit cheated.

Can't be climate change though, cos Donald Trump said it doesn't exist

 

[Mummzie]

I have not been able to get my kayak out fishing near as much as planned

You would have to be grateful you haven't had to use it to get out of the house.
We are in for another deluge this weekend

 

[Jhah]

yep same thing in Kawerau bees getting very busy building up to an early swarm season

 

[Dennis Crowley]

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1556254101842829313

Good for a laugh about how u gotta b carful about what u say, beekeeping included

 

[BRB]

Spent the weekend cleaning up frames and boxes. Something I've never done to this level in 5 years.
Having a wax moth issue pushed me into doing it. Moth didn't do too much damage. Just enough to be annoying.

Also cracked some lids too. I was concerned as I've moved house and for the 1st time I over wintered single FD, wasn't sure how well it would go.
I'll put it this way, I'm pleased I feed them a couple of weeks ago. All looking good and laying.
Will have to add another box this weekend.

 

[Maggie]

Spent the weekend cleaning up frames and boxes. Something I've never done to this level in 5 years.
Having a wax moth issue pushed me into doing it. Moth didn't do too much damage. Just enough to be annoying.

Also cracked some lids too. I was concerned as I've moved house and for the 1st time I over wintered single FD, wasn't sure how well it would go.
I'll put it this way, I'm pleased I feed them a couple of weeks ago. All looking good and laying.
Will have to add another box this weekend.

If you are adding empty brood boxes, my suggestion would be to hold off a bit. Reassess mid/late next week. According to last night's weather this will be the coldest week of winter for Canterbury. The next few days will be below 10, and that is without adding wind chill. Today only 7 and its wet. Out with friends yesterday who commented they haven't seen so much snow on the Port Hills tops for many years. Up to you though.

 

[southbee]

Very cold down here too, had a few peeks and all looking good so far. Putting on boxes still a bit away for us, but then we're below 10 most of the winter and then some of the spring too sometimes....

 

[Mummzie]

Also took a quick peek before it got cold & wet again. Happy with what I have seen, but fingers tightly crossed they have enough food. There have been very few days the bees haven't flown over winter. So much for clustering!

 

[Josh]

Spent the weekend cleaning up frames and boxes. Something I've never done to this level in 5 years.
Having a wax moth issue pushed me into doing it. Moth didn't do too much damage. Just enough to be annoying.

Also cracked some lids too. I was concerned as I've moved house and for the 1st time I over wintered single FD, wasn't sure how well it would go.
I'll put it this way, I'm pleased I feed them a couple of weeks ago. All looking good and laying.
Will have to add another box this weekend.

50 frames cleaned and new foundation applied. Even rewired a few frames with the help of a large Irwin quick grip clamp.

Foundation on fresh wire is much nicer than second hand wire though, but not enough to make me want to rewire all of them.

 

[Dennis Crowley]

Hi all

Just a heads up for Friday 2nd of September

See you there

Dennis

We are having a discussion day on Friday the 2nd Sept at Bruce Lowe’s 14 Morton Rd Aongatete Tauranga shed 1.00-4.00pm.

Clifton from the AFB Board will be giving a catch up on the latest update on the review plan.

Come along and have a say, this is the third round of consultation and possibly the last before presenting to the minister, so come have your say.

Kiwifruit pollination and new beekeeping products

A catch up and see how things are going.

Come along, everyone welcome and

let other beekeepers know.

Beers n barbie afterwards.

Dennis

 

[Alastair]

Just completed the first spring round, treatment in all hives I can take a break for a couple of weeks now, feeling happy!
The bees are in fine health, no AFB and didn't see any sign of mites at all. Some hives a little weak I had to balance a few but all up, the foundation of a good season coming up.

 

[Maggie]

Woke up to a light covering of snow in the Leeston town boundary

 

[southbee]

Same hive 1 year apart

 

[Maggie]

Same hive 1 year apart

Nice one!

 

[James]

Hi dee hi….
We are back into it…. Had a quick look around the end of last week.
About a month ago the crew zipped around and gave everytthing a feed .
This time around, the bees look good, not to many deads….
Point of interest…. We left the Bayvarol strips in over tge winter. It was an experiment… This spring there are very few mites, slabs of brood, and new pollen coming in.
Who knows, maybe its because I am a whole month later looking in them?
So… busy in the shed slicing up brown card for O/A strips, which will stsrt to go in next week.

 

[John B]

…. We left the Bayvarol strips in over the winter.

And people wonder why it doesn't work anymore. Also means that technically you can't sign your harvest declaration as you did not use a veterinary product according to label.
What the hell. It's still nice to have you back and I did enjoy reading some of your adventures. Most of my hives survived the winter and aren't too bad which is surprising considering the state varoa left them in last autumn. Mind you it so wet here I feel like going back to Norway.

 

[Dansar]

There’s a time where lack of commitment can be a good thing….
I’m glad I didn’t commit to driving in any closer to the hives an managed to reverse out and go around to the other side which had better drainage.

lots willow nectar coming in and hives building up nicely.