Apiary Diary February 2022

Welcome to NZ Beekeepers+
Would you like to join the rest of our members? Feel free to sign up today.
Sign up
5,764
6,323
canterbury
Experience
Commercial
At the ridk of being politically incorrect….
The lifestyle of a migratory beeman is pretty feral …..
But I guess thats why we do it … eh!9C3503A6-2DC8-4ACD-82F0-0EBA49264A4B.jpeg
 

southbee

Gold
315
264
Southland
Experience
Commercial
Easy for me, I was sitting in a nice, comfy house, enjoying some or red wine and sleeping in a proper bed. Shifting hives can be fun, but it also takes a lot of energy so you deserve every drop of that wakachangi, maybe you should try some speights so for a change!! If I can I normally delegate the shifting to my boys, they don't mind and our shifts are a lot shorter than yours.
 

kaihoka

Gold
328
270
whanganui inlet
Experience
Hobbyist
i moved my hives onto the reduced entrance setting today.
i was wearing full gear to do it.
it has not been a bad season but it came to an abrupt early end with the two weeks of torrential rain and gale easterlies.
we have had 391 mls so far this month, may not make it to 400mls
 
175
116
West Coast
Experience
Hobbyist
i moved my hives onto the reduced entrance setting today.
i was wearing full gear to do it.
it has not been a bad season but it came to an abrupt early end with the two weeks of torrential rain and gale easterlies.
we have had 391 mls so far this month, may not make it to 400mls
We have only had 440mls so far and we are on the western side of the alps
 
  • Like
Reactions: kaihoka
3,578
6,706
Hawkes Bay
Experience
Commercial
We have only had a bit over 100 but it has still killed the flow dead. Apparently some areas are still yielding but everywhere I have been lately the robbing has been intense and needed careful management. Varoa is really starting to show up as well and I'm glad I only have two small yards left to treat. Re-queened 32 hives this morning and only missed one Queen which wasn't too bad and I did find two queens next to each other and another hive. One was a beautiful young Queen and the other one had a walking stick. Using two day cells today.
More than happy to have all my hives down to 2 stories at the moment. It makes them easier for the bees to defend from wasps which will be turning up anytime soon and the chances of a late flow now are far lower than the chances of varoa damage from leaving the hives untreated too long.
 
5,764
6,323
canterbury
Experience
Commercial
The worlds gone to the dogs.
I read tonight that the Canadian gvt is gonna freeeze vaccine protesters bank acccounts.
Meanwhile …. In Jimmy C’s small world camped up on the skid….. he’s lost the freaking bottle opener….
And came up with a lightbuld thought…..
Hive toools should come with a top cracker ….E1A6ADDA-AB80-467D-9431-E64FD770C1A9.jpeg
 
  • Haha
Reactions: Mark Lawrence

southbee

Gold
315
264
Southland
Experience
Commercial
The worlds gone to the dogs.
I read tonight that the Canadian gvt is gonna freeeze vaccine protesters bank acccounts.
Meanwhile …. In Jimmy C’s small world camped up on the skid….. he’s lost the freaking bottle opener….
And came up with a lightbuld thought…..
Hive toools should come with a top cracker ….View attachment 1259
Told you to try speights, they got screw tops!!
 
  • Haha
  • Wow
Reactions: James and Josh

southbee

Gold
315
264
Southland
Experience
Commercial
We have only had a bit over 100 but it has still killed the flow dead. Apparently some areas are still yielding but everywhere I have been lately the robbing has been intense and needed careful management. Varoa is really starting to show up as well and I'm glad I only have two small yards left to treat. Re-queened 32 hives this morning and only missed one Queen which wasn't too bad and I did find two queens next to each other and another hive. One was a beautiful young Queen and the other one had a walking stick. Using two day cells today.
More than happy to have all my hives down to 2 stories at the moment. It makes them easier for the bees to defend from wasps which will be turning up anytime soon and the chances of a late flow now are far lower than the chances of varoa damage from leaving the hives untreated too long.
Same here, lots of bored bees and robbing, still got a bit of honey to bring home, but most of the treatment is in, feels good!
 

tommy dave

Gold
BOP Club
230
263
mostly wellington, sometimes dunedin
Experience
Hobbyist
The worlds gone to the dogs.
I read tonight that the Canadian gvt is gonna freeeze vaccine protesters bank acccounts.
Meanwhile …. In Jimmy C’s small world camped up on the skid….. he’s lost the freaking bottle opener….
And came up with a lightbuld thought…..
Hive toools should come with a top cracker ….View attachment 1259
I just assume everyone can open a beer with a hive tool, no mods required
 


Top