Apiary Diary May 2021

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Grant

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Founder Member
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The return of 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 May 2021. 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.

A more detailed analysis can be carried out by completing a log book and these are especially useful when asking for help. Please create a logbook entry here

Your opportunity to tell us (and remind yourself) about what is going on in YOUR world of beekeeping during the month of May 2021 can be found in the more conversational topic
 
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5,764
6,323
canterbury
Experience
Commercial
E450BEBB-B561-4882-95C4-7875624AB6E9.jpegSo.... the final push to shut the operation down for the season.... checking feed, pulling strips, adding strips to hives that were queenless but are now queen right.
She was a bit nippy on the pippy this morning.... needed the hive tool to crack the frozen ratchet tie downs.
 

Alastair

Founder Member
Platinum
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Auckland
Experience
Semi Commercial
Found that bayvarol has been partially effective in some hives, and not effective at all in some hives. Nearly all hives have too many mites. Some hives close to death, some hives actually dead.

Nearly finished a complete round of all hives, pulling bayvarol and putting in Apivar. Did about 50 today, very time consuming as I've been balancing the near dead hives from the stronger, trying to get everything that is still alive through the next several months still alive.

One more day of this tommorrow and all hives will be done, but I may then revisit some sites where the worst hives were.

All this when I would not normally be doing any bee work at all, not to mention the expense.
 
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175
116
West Coast
Experience
Hobbyist
I have wintered mine down and will not look at them un till the end of August. I caged one queen, hoping for 6 weeks but the eat through the wax and released her.No sign of any varroa and the nearest beek is 8 km away so lets hope I can get away with no varroa treatments at all.
 

Alastair

Founder Member
Platinum
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Auckland
Experience
Semi Commercial
We found a couple of polys that were still alive today. No treatements and ni mites.

I've found mites to be much less of an issue in baby nucs, I suspect the broken brood cycles slow their rate of reproduction. Mini nucs probably less prone to rob also.

Here they go through winter easy peazy, just, you got to monitor food as they can chomp through their small supply quickly. But surprising how 500 bees in styro can go through a frost totally unfazed and keep their brood warm and happy.
 
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Alastair

Founder Member
Platinum
8,753
9,966
Auckland
Experience
Semi Commercial
After all this time, I still love my job. There's always mites, or some problem to solve. But each bee yard is a soothing place to go to.

At this site, this morning, this little guy meets me at the gate. He always follows me to the bee yard, hangs around, then follows me back again at the end.

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Then I drive down to the site, here is the beautiful scenery that surrounds me. For an hour or two, this is my office 🙂

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Even the calves are totally mellow. Take a passing interest in me, that's it.

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Then it's time to leave, I take a last pic.

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Drive on to the next site, pass a hunter crossing the road on the way (48 seconds)


Could I want a better job? Money wise, probably. Mental and physical health wise, this is it 🙂
 
245
156
Christchurch
Experience
Beginner
Could I want a better job? Money wise, probably. Mental and physical health wise, this is it 🙂
As a city boy I am finding the bees re-anchoring me to nature and its rhythms. I am more aware of flowers, pollen, insects, weather flow etc. I am aware of bees, watching which direction they head off into, and what flowers they like.
Good mental health stuff in a world stuck in cyber space
 


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