I moved another hive to Old Costessy from Norman's back garden. I was able to mark the queen this afternoon and make sure she was in the brood box. The hive was on a brood and a half. It's now on a single brood with two supers.
I have two hives at Postwick on open mesh floors one the swarm I picked up last year which is still a small colony and one the double brood box next to the swarm. I gave them both a dusting of icing sugar today.
Friday, April 10, 2009
Thursday, April 9, 2009
More drone brood - Allotment hives
It's a week since the bee inspector went through all of the hives in the allotment and suggested using drone brood for mite removal.
I did put some frames of drone brood in the following day but I really didn't like opening up the hives two days running and left the remaining hives to do today.
The bees in the south facing double brood box hive on the student's permaculture society allotment were not too happy about being confined to the bottom brood box and had started making just one nice big queen cell slap bang in the middle of a frame. I had to destroy it to see if there was an egg laid in it but there wasn't. Generally there were eggs being laid and quite a few drones around. Maybe they don't like the queen anymore. The hives that I have put drone brood into don't need an inspection again for two weeks - but I will give that hive an inspection in one week just to see what the bees are doing then.
The other hive I spent some time on was the Thorpe allotment hive where the bees came from Thorpe (Norman's bees) but mated in the allotments. It's on a brood and a half and I want to mark the queen. I couldn't find her and put on an extra queen excluder on above the brood box and an extra super on the top. Hopefully on my next visit I will find her in the brood box or in the super that is now sandwiched between two queen excluders. They were doing well.
I did put some frames of drone brood in the following day but I really didn't like opening up the hives two days running and left the remaining hives to do today.
The bees in the south facing double brood box hive on the student's permaculture society allotment were not too happy about being confined to the bottom brood box and had started making just one nice big queen cell slap bang in the middle of a frame. I had to destroy it to see if there was an egg laid in it but there wasn't. Generally there were eggs being laid and quite a few drones around. Maybe they don't like the queen anymore. The hives that I have put drone brood into don't need an inspection again for two weeks - but I will give that hive an inspection in one week just to see what the bees are doing then.
The other hive I spent some time on was the Thorpe allotment hive where the bees came from Thorpe (Norman's bees) but mated in the allotments. It's on a brood and a half and I want to mark the queen. I couldn't find her and put on an extra queen excluder on above the brood box and an extra super on the top. Hopefully on my next visit I will find her in the brood box or in the super that is now sandwiched between two queen excluders. They were doing well.
Monday, April 6, 2009
Sunday, April 5, 2009
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
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
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
