Apiary Diary November 2021

[James]

Hmmmm ..... we been pouring the sugar into the bees ov er the last few months.
In political speak ..... it's been a challenging spring.
Cool weather, no honey dew, hungry bees, drone layers....
We fed out two tonne of sugar this week.
Today I talked with the nice girls at Natural Sugars for another tonne of raw .....
Nothing available for ten days ....
Supply problems.
Hungry bees don't go ten days with no Kai.

On a bright note, today the trainee took her gloves off and went Commando.
It's always good to see potential.

 

[NZDan]

Found a quality brood comb today.
View attachment 1031

Ah so this is what they mean when they say that the hive needs good ventilation

 

[James]

Ah so this is what they mean when they say that the hive needs good ventilation

No Bro ...... A frame like this in the brood is a hanging offense ..... or the beekeeper should've gone to spec savers.

 

[John B]

No Bro ...... A frame like this in the brood is a hanging offense ..... or the beekeeper should've gone to spec savers.

I was having a lot of trouble with frames like this for quite a while and blamed it on the hives being too close to electric fences or possibly powerlines.
The problem eventually went away when I stopped wearing my pink veil.
I wonder what Dale's frames look like?

 

[kaihoka]

No Bro ...... A frame like this in the brood is a hanging offense ..... or the beekeeper should've gone to spec savers.

I have a frame with a hole in it .
I have kept it because if I want queen cells they like to build them around the hole and they are easy to remove without damage .
Or even removing the whole frame with cells .
If they build them on the bottom its easy to damage them .

 

[James]

I was having a lot of trouble with frames like this for quite a while and blamed it on the hives being too close to electric fences or possibly powerlines.
The problem eventually went away when I stopped wearing my pink veil.
I wonder what Dale's frames look like?

I was having a lot of trouble with frames like this for quite a while and blamed it on the hives being too close to electric fences or possibly powerlines.
The problem eventually went away when I stopped wearing my pink veil.
I wonder what Dale's frames look like?

Oh crikey ..... better get the trainee some fluro overalls ....

 

[Josh]

On a bright note, today the trainee took her gloves off and went Commando.

Ummm… commando and no gloves. Must use fabric softener on the bee suit

 

[tommy dave]

Taranaki boxes filling up fast on a mixed flow of kamahi, cabbage tree, clover, fuchsia - that's what I spotted bees on on a 100m radius anyway

 

[Fieldbee (Mary)]

These Betechfeederswork really well… both a feeders and escapes😎View attachment 1020

@James what...are you for real. How many bees are left in the honey box. I could become the very growly Missus if too many come back to my honey house.

 

[Josh]

We’re out of the house since June for renos. And near where we’re staying a local Beek has 4 hives in their front yard, plane as day.

Lively bright two tone coloured hives.

Kudos for the proud front yard keeping. And clearly have some swarm issues this season. When ever a swarm happens (twice that we’ve seen) they put out a trestle blackboard, onto the adjacent footpath, with “WARNING SWARM” written on it.

Brilliant!

 

[NickWallingford]

Another 47 gm of lovely white beeswax made into moustache wax. Melted with about 42 gm coconut oil. Many recipes call for 50:50. I like a 'harder' wax, but sometimes means you have to warm it a bit before twirling.

Again, thanks to @Dave Black for the excellent beeswax!

 

[James]

Aye for sure missus
The photo is just an example of feeder
They seem to work…. Bees dont block the escapes…. And the honey can sit there for days with no robbing as they seem to stay ‘queen right’
But yes …. There always the odd one that dont perform

 

[James]

Tis the season of The Great Migration when we crank the ponies and mive bees over The Hill.
The hours are long ad the food dodgy….. and the road …. Narrow bridges with wing mirrors kissing the milk tankers at a terminal velocity if 200kph ….
But the smelll of new nectar kept us all buzzing.

 

[Josh]

🤣😂🤣😂🤯🤬 😳 (my emotional roller coaster)

Stinking hot day, but loved the new ventilated bee suit.

Last hive to check (of 4, I’m just a humble hobby beek) and there’s a half formed queen cell. My brain reacts before it thinks…

I opened up the cell cup excited to see the contents and wow, there’s jelly & an egg. Feck! 🤦‍♂️ I hope there’s still a queen or more cells. No more cells and then, in the second to last frame, I found her safe’n’sound. I can relax😅

Must be thinking of supercedure, they’ll try again no doubt.

Lesson learned. That and the fact my new suit is plent long in legs & arms, but a little short in body. If I’m not careful, I get choked and a wedgie at the same time. 😳

 

[Bron]

@Josh weve all been there and done that at some stage of our beekeeping journey! I’ve got a method where i scrape the top of any frame I may need to go back to, dependant on what I see and feel about the hive. We are slow beekeepers though, because day and time is irrelevant when you’re having fun and your own boss!

Its lovely to see shiny new queens, healthy brood and a bit of honey in the supers. Those second brood boxes are getting a bit hefty! My chicken wings have disappeared again from the lifting.

It was damn hot out there today probably drank about 3 litres of water and a thermos of iced black coffee.

 

[Josh]

I’ve got a method where i scrape the top of any frame I may need to go back to, dependant on what I see and feel about the hive.

That a great tip @Bron, I’ll try and remember that next time, if I engage my brain early enough.