Save your wax.

A solar wax-extractor is a must. Simple to build or (quite expensive) to buy.
Every bit of burr-comb, brace -comb and spare bits can be dropped straight into it. 

 Below, view of extractor from above.
Right, the cleaned wax collecting in a plastic tray after passing through a perforated zinc screen.

Sunday- hot.

Bees working the Agapanthus.

My honeybees found the Agapanthus today.

Next job - Queen marking

 This is the kit - all ready.  Not today though.
Dead-heading calls! No! not of bees but of all the garden flowers. This will
 prolong their flowering period. This will help the bees with their winter stores.

Taking some honey.

Silver colony and Stone colony didn't waste time making new Queens.
Both had young queens, and I did a shook swarm with Silver when they got the urge to make Q cells.
Anyway, I have 2 full supers from each.
Today I collected a full super from Yellow'H'.

Left - I leave combs like this a few more days.
Below - Yellow'H' gave me a super (10) of frames like this. Lovely white, fairly even cappings for cut-comb or extracting as liquid honey.*

*although not good enough to show!

Tense time checking "Queenless" stocks.

It's no use putting it off any longer.  I need to open 3 hives which seem to have been queenless for weeks. Each 7 day full apiary inspection Yellow'H',
Red and Blue/Yellow have not shown any sign having Queens - unless you count bees in good mood with quite a few combs empty and cells polished to a high gloss. B/Y Queen hatched on 3rd July and by 14th I found a rather weird split brood nest comprising 2 patches of capped brood, 3 combs  of pollen and nectar, then 2 combs of eggs and tiny larvae. I did what you should never do and made a "proper" brood nest.
Then, on 3rd August I found, to my relief, Yellow'H' had masses of eggs and larvae and Red had 2 combs capped and 1of eggs. NB. on 3rd Aug. I was wearing contact lenses and had a X10 mag.glass!!

 Yellow'H' masses of eggs. This comb is full. I know you can't see them! Take my word for it.

Below, a comb from Red. There are eggs and newly hatched larvae in the gaps and stores in the corners. Poor quality comb, but after the stress of queenlessness I'll settle for this, for now anyway.

QBzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

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Why would they want to leave home?

Hopefully the urge to swarm is over - but I'm not getting complacent!
With the Queens slowing down and the frantic storing for winter it's time QB started taking surplus, capped honey.

Borage - the bees love it. Annual but self-seeds.

Lavender - another favourite.

Rosebay Willowherb has dark blue-green pollen.
With such a lot of nectar sources here, why buzz off? QBzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
 

I've never seen that before!

Yesterday I spotted honey bees collecting pollen from the sweetcorn.

They were industriously packing  pale yellow grains into their corbiculae.

I have honestly never seen that happen before.

The sweetcorn is wind-pollinated but the crop is looking very promising.

 

Re-LUCKY ME!

Checked that nuc. from Silver colony in which the Q was running low on laying space, so moved them into WBC brood box.
OH dear!  I shouldn't have been so PLEEZED with myself.

A drone-laying Queen?
There's more to come -I'm waiting for 1 week before giving up on her.

QB Back from hols.

2 weeks in Isles of Scilly -travel by rail NE to SW virtually impossible!
During the holiday QB realised that the temps. were too high for bees to have insulation and varroa trays on WBC hives.  Very kind Bee Buddy removed all.  What a relief! In previous hot Summers (very, very rare)
some colonies have come out for some fresh air - they do go back in in the cool of the evening, but not before they've given QB a "heart attack" thinking they are swarming!
Before leaving for the holiday I did all I could think of to prevent swarming.
Isn't it amazing that all 5 colonies + nuc. could be so different?
Anyway, I'll tell you about Silver Hive before I go to the apiary to see what else the little Buzzers have been up to.
15th June Silver hive - Q cells, no eggs, couldn't find Q (marked white).
After much DEEEEEEEEEEEP THOUGHT-
- kept best 2 not-capped cells.
- set up nuc. with these and 3 combs of brood with nurse bees.
- 2 combs nectar/honey.  Put on a new site facing different direction.
- closed entrance with dried grass.

Did Shook Swarm with remainder on original site with fresh foundation
and feeder. Hoped (White) Q was with them - gave frame eggs/ larvae from Yellow 'H' colony in case she wasn't.

OUTCOME : Nuc. eggs - Q running out of laying space.
                     : Original colony - lots of lovely eggs and brood.
LUCKY, LUCKY ME.

QB's sister came to stay - she's left now so, back to business!

Yesterday QB did a full apiary inspection. Big sigh of relief as it looks as if "Stone" Q is laying.  More later - weather too good to miss finishing prepping the veg. garden for Sweetcorn and Leeks, also for Globe Artichokes.

All Queens safely at home and laying. Blue Queen in Red colony
has slowed down though. Will they supersede her? -
or should QB step in?
Colonies above left to right Yellow 'H', Red, Blue/Yellow, Silver, Stone.

"Stone" colony's Q gone?

This colony's Q started laying in the super above the brood box.  I had removed the QX for the winter. When I found all stages of brood in 3 drawn worker comb on that first inspection I moved all the bees into the brood box and offered a prayer to that Great Beemaster in the sky - who turned out not to be listening at the time. Next inspection this is what I found in the super. Not impressed so I paid a visit to their next-door neighbour the "Silver" hive whose Q is laying very well.
 They kindly gifted a lovely comb of eggs and young larvae. Let's see what the "Stone" colony will do with it! The pale patch is larvae.

 

Bye for now QBzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Running behind -

QB is a bit behind schedule!  Just loaded some pictures.
Off out to plant the Sprouts. Back later with news about "Stone" hive.
Today's hot, but rain coming in from the west - so see you later today.
QBzzzzzzzzzzzy

Meanwhile, what do you think of this?

20C? Time to have a plan!!!

QB never opens the hives without a pre-thought plan. Saturday, 5th May turned out to be a SCORCHER. Good time to inspect as the bees will be far too busy foraging and spring-cleaning to pay any attention to me.
There are 5 hives in a staggered line facing slightly different directions.
Each colony now has a1 deep brood, a queen excluder and 1 (or 2) supers of stores. I start at the furthest hive and then I don't have to deal with flying bees who have picked up alarms from other colonies.
The plan: Lift super and place to one side covered by crown board.
              : Inspect QX carefully to ensure Q not on it- lean it beside entrance
              : Take first frame out to make space to move other frames along.
              : Lift each frame in turn, carefully examine (dark side first)
We are looking at the state of the brood, stores (pollen& honey), behaviour of the bees. Is the Q there? Eggs? Stages of larvae?
Tune in tomorrow for my results and a shock!!
Here's a new flower in my garden - I could just eat it myself!

Tulip sp. Peppermint Stick closed

Peppermint stick opens to the Sun.
Black pollen - the bees love it.

 

Still too cold for my lot!

Sorry for no postings for a while. QB's eye had an argument with a sharp bamboo cane and ended up at the RVI - not much fun!

 

The first butterfly of 2018! A Peacock feeding on the flowers of "Spring Showers" - a weeping cherry very attractive to pollinators.

Ribes sp. at last in flower. This Q. Bumblebee has ventured out
to feed - but then she has a thick fur coat! No honeybees yet.

 

Moving house cont.

QB didn't spot QB but found eggs.  Had to take great care when brushing the bees off the super (nearly full of freshly capped honey). Didn't want to lose the QB.or trap her above the QX!!

These workers' pollen baskets are full of Alder (pale) and Salix (golden) pollen.
They're piling it into the new premises. As the brood comb is quite full of sealed honey
there is little room for the Q to lay. The bees need more space to move this honey into.   So I've put a super of new foundation above the QX and below the old super ( which is also quite full). Spring is the best time to get new comb drawn.
Next job - clean, scrub, scorch the old hive bits ready for the next colony to move into. Is a QB's work never done??
 

17C - moving bees to clean/disease-free hives

Yes, perfect day to begin the moves.  I start at one end of the apiary and, each day transfer the next colony on to the scorched, scrubbed hive of the one before.  Got it?

First  part of move.

Brood box on the left is now on the clean floor.
The old floor in the middle is now empty - ready for cleaning.
The super on the right will be brushed clear of bees and placed above a clean QX above the brood box. 

One fine day

14 th April - to be the finest day of Spring - and so it was!
14C!  The apiary and the garden were humming. A good time to check all 5 colonies have plenty of stores and are bringing in pollen.
So what else could QB do?  Why, hang out the washing.  Why not?
I forgot what happens to the whites. Little brown splodges appeared.

I won't do that again - this year anyway.
The other job I did -

Sorry, they don't look much do they - but they're very precious. Cerinthe seedlings, otherwise known as Honeywort ( as in Virgil's pastoral poems.) They are very nectarful(?) and are especially loved by pollinators, especially Bumblebees.

Off now to sow Borage - a honeybee favourite. Byezzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Help Bees with Pollen

The winter bees are beginning to get weary.  In most colonies there's brood to feed, so, just when you're ready to retire after an exhausting time in/out/in/out of cluster, you're expected to go off foraging for pollen to feed the next generation.
As snow was expected today, yesterday QB found a sunny hour to give each colony - "Stone", "Silver", "Blue", "Red" and "Yellow H" a 500g pollen-nectar pattie. This should help them until the Salix catkins come into flower.
There isn't much else around - miniature daffodils are under snow again.
Good thing - there isn't any sign of dysentery - those nasty brown splashes
on the outside lifts.
QB is a "Honey jar" (glass) half full person.
As a friend wrote in a recent birthday card "Glass half full or glass half empty, it still needs topping up!".

What to do on another cold wet snowy day? Make up frames of course.



Starting from scratch? These are the parts
for a Hoffman (self spacing) frame.

Beginners- this is what you need

These should have been finished by now! It's been too cold to go out into the workshop, and the wax foundation was too brittle. My excuse anyway. Now I am keeping it in the house. WBC supers take 10 standard shallow frames. I'm using wired worker premium foundation today.

After 1 hour job well done!!
A nice clean super ready.
 

Last year's cleaned frame can have fresh
foundation slotted in.

April mags.

April editions of BeeCraft and BBKA News arrived today.
I mention them because they carry items of particular interest.
BeeCraft - "Why did my bees die" and "Shook swarm"
BBKA News - a very useful list of "Garden Plants Particularly Good for Honey Bees" and "Swarming - how can we mininize it and "Become IT Savvy". QBzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Hailstorm, sleet and hot sun - a typical pollen-gathering day!

What's a Queen Bee to do?
There's plenty of pollen coming in but then it suddenly goes cold.

 

 A happy half hour watching the comings and goings on chionodoxa and species tulips. Every pollen grain is carefully tucked away into the corbiculae on her hind legs. I'm off to the hives now
to check the candy/pollen patties. QB.

Patience

Not much to say or do! I've had bees for 42 years and I still can hardly wait for the time to open up.
Yesterday I decided to make up some frames in the workshop - but the wax foundation was so cold it kept breaking up, so I gave up.
Today, 9C but the wind is cold. A visit to the apiary told me the 5 surviving colonies are still alive - despite that sudden snow and return to Arctic conditions. Spring-cleaning is still going on. Some brave bees are out sucking up water from the moss around the hives. (They need water to dilute the honey). These are signs they're using up stores -so I need to be watchful. If feeding becomes necessary thick syrup, 1kg sugar:650ml water.
Anyway, I'll wait for the flowering currant to bloom before I take that first peek!
Happy days are just around the corner. QBuzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzing

Just when you think Spring has sprung.......

"Stone" colony has been busy bringing in pollen (temp. 9C)
but today the Siberian blast is back!  It's very windy and 2C so all have gone home and it's very quiet. I checked the Candypollen block (above the feeder hole in the crown board and found it full of very busy bees.
Anyway, I'm worried that the freezing Easterly wind which is blowing almost directly into the hive entrances will chill any early brood and the adults too. Tomorrow we're expecting more snow.  At the same time we need an airflow. So this is what I do under these circumstances. The mouse guards are still on, and the hollow trays shelter the entrances from strong draughts and drifting snow. This time of the year I watch the hive entrances very carefully - the bees' behaviour tells me what's going on inside without opening up and upsetting the ambient temperature.

 I won't take even a quick peek inside until the outside temperature is 12C-15C depending on the weather.

QB back into cluster 'til next week.

Bees bringing in pollen!

Friday - the snow's disappearing without floods and all 5 colonies are busy.
I've just come in from visiting the apiary. It's buzzing. 3 colonies are bringing in pollen - most likely from the crocus, aconites and snowdrops all of which have emerged undamaged from the heavy snowfall of last week.

 The aconites are also buzzing with bees. OK - only one! The others have gone home with their pollen load.

Bees on the Winter Aconites. 9C today.

Plan to give them blocks of Candypollen tomorrow if the weather holds fine and warm.
QBzzzzzzzzzzz

This lovely Weeping Cypress is named Gandalf.
Our favourite among  all our trees.

Spring prep.begins

The Red Colony hasn't survived.  The Q. was my favourite but quite old. I should have replaced her but in July she was laying well. The bees tried supersedure but the virgin didn't mate and they were left queenless. I tried to introduce a young mated Q (white) but by now it was getting too late in the season for the brood to build up - so not enough bees to cluster successfully.
When I discovered the few dead bees with plenty of stores I closed up the hive to prevent robbing. Yesterday, I removed all hive parts, brood comb (empty) and super(quite heavy) and took them into the workshop for a thorough inspection. Looking for signs of disease - found none - not even Nosema splodges! So - what to do?

Blowtorch all parts - into every corner after scraping off propolis. There may be spores hidden in cracks so I must be thorough! All outer parts of this WBC hive to be painted. Once this hive is cleaned and reassembled it's ready to be reused.
Every colony will be put in a cleaned hive - once the weather warms up to around 15C. QBuzzzzzz

Another mild day - but be warned.

10C this afternoon. I've just spent a happy time watching the comings and goings in Bee City.  Two colonies bringing in pollen - so 2 Queens laying.
But I won't feed any Candypollene yet. There's no point boosting the colony into increasing their brood when a) there's very little forage b) the forecast is for some very cold weather in the next 2 weeks. (Another) good point about WBC hives - bees don't get trapped above crown board. They can join their mates by going down between the double wall of the hive. This also prevents condensation inside the hive.


Putting new candy block above feeder hole - curious workers.



I can tell where the bee cluster is by checking the cappings on the varroa tray - not disturbing them or the ambient temp. inside. QBzzzzzzzzzz

A Mild Candy Afternoon

"Stone" colony bees hard at work

Candy in fridge boxes ready for 5 hives

I feed candy and wet cappings in these boxes, turned upside-down over the feed hole in the crown board. In this way I don't need to lift the board, or place eke in the hive, and I can easily see the rate the candy is being eaten.
I'm pleased I wore my suit and veil today. Every colony, "Stone", "Silver", "Blue/red", "Moss" and "Yellow"were busy spring-cleaning. Stone and Moss were bringing in pollen (small quantities but it's a start!). I will give these two some pollen patties to help them out if the weather stays mild.
When I change the empty fridge box for a full one I often find the bees have built me an amazing beeswax sculpture. Off to make up more frames. QBzz


So this is what they've been doing this winter!

February Check

Crocuses are in full bloom

Saturday - a fabulous Spring day. Temp. 7C - positively balmy!

Snowdrops and winter aconites trying to tempt the bees.

 

Today's plan is to 1) check mesh and tray for signs of dead bees and cappings. 2)clear entrance of debris/ dead bees etc. 3) heft each side of hive to assess stores.
It isn't shirt-sleeve weather so I am definitely not opening any hives unless there is evidence the bees are dead.

First - roof off as it is v. heavy.

 Results - Red hive colony has not survived. This was expected as there were too few bees and I introduced a new (mated) Q too late in the season for the colony to grow.
The other 5 colonies are thriving with plenty of stores but I think I'll give them candy or candypolline. Just to be sure!! QBzzzzzzzzzz

 

....then the other.



lift one side and..........