Old Costessy - Sticky. UEA - Stripes

After the bee inspectors visit I have made up thirty frames of DN4 drone brood. I put 4 in some of the hives on the allotment yesterday. But the bees did not appreciate being opened two days in a row so I have left the remainder of the hives so that the bees can settle down again.

It was a perfect beekeeping spring day and the four original hives at Old Costessy haven't been opened for the last seven days. On my last visit I was concerned about Varroa mites and gave each hive a second tray of Apiguard. The trays were half used but as they get in the way I scraped out the now dry contents from the tray (leaving that in the hives) and removed the trays.

I found the South facing queen and marked her. I made sure she was in the bottom brood box and put a frame of drone foundation in. That hive has two brood boxes and one super on.

I found the queen in the hive on bricks in the super (that hive overwintered on a brood and a half) after I had been through the brood box and back again. I marked her but lost her before getting her down into the brood box. I put a frame of drone foundation in that hive too.

I saw sticky and should have marked her even though my marker was red as she too disappeared in the top brood box whilst I procrastinated. I didn't see her all last year. I put a frame of drone brood in the bottom box. If I can't find her next week I will have to put an extra queen excluder between the two brood boxes as I will want to know which box she is in the week after. In two weeks time I plan to move her to replace the colony that was lost over the winter in George's garden hive.

The queen in the fourth hive was laying in the bottom brood as I had marked her and put her there under a queen excluder last week. I put a frame of drone foundation in that brood box.

I put a frame of drone foundation into Stripes brood box and one into stripes mother's bottom brood box. That hive was missing a queen excluder on my last visit so I have put one on. That hive now has two brood boxes, a queen excluder, and one super.

Both hive were making honey.

I won't now need to inspect any of these hives for two weeks - except maybe to make sure the queen is still there and laying in the hive on bricks.

If the weather stays pariculary fine I may put more supers on.

Varroa mites and how to catch them