Furgle's bees, Allotment 83, Permaculture Society allotment

Furgle's hive has successfully requeened and one of the two nuc boxes produced a laying queen.

There are three swarms on my allotment. Two (Little Lauren and the North Walsham bees) have laying queens. The allotment swarm near the aconites was still queenless and has now a frame of eggs from the WBC hive to make queen cells with.

Both the Greengage hives have requeened - that's Bill's Greengage and my Greengage 83. I gave Greengage 83 a treatment of thymol.

Out of the three hives on the students Permaculture Society allotment two of the three have new laying queens.

Four swarms at Postwick

All the four swarms that I have taken to Postwick this year have laying queens.

Tina

Tina's bees have moved up into their new brood box well and are working hard drawing out the combs that have new foundation. In the bottom box they are still making queen cups and given some more good sunny weather may well start to get into swarm mode. It will be a good idea to have a nuc box ready for the next time they are inspected.

Both of the queen cells that were left behind when Tina was moved did hatch into new queens and mated successfully. One has gone to Jonty in wiltshire. The other is still on Tina's plot.

Tina, Suffolk bees, Georges bees and Zigga

Tina is doing well and has filled the brood box so we put on another to give her some space. One queen cell in the making removed.

The bees in Suffolk are in a much better state now. On my last visit I wasn't sure that the queen in the hive with drone brood was a new queen and I removed her from the hive and put a frame with some eggs in to replace her. Today that hive had a new queen that had just started to lay. A good looking striped queen that I marked.

The queen that I had removed was also laying and looking good. I marked her too.

The old queen has several frames of capped brood now and will, I hope, start to build up again and need a second brood box on my next visit. These are all originally from Bill's bees.

George's bees are OK but he has been stung so they may need to be changed. I may switch his bees with the Laburnum swarm queen before the season is over.

Zigga in her country retreat had, from a four frame start, completely filled her brood box and was desperately in need of supers. Zigga is another candidate for a second brood box.

Stripes, Willow, Holly

Stripes, Willow and Holly are all doing well and laying eggs.

Sorted through several boxes at old Costessy and marked another 2009 queen.

Gave one new queen in a very small nuc a frame of brood from Holly's hive.

Made up two nuc boxes from Norman's No1 Old Costessy hive and left a frame with a queen cell in the brood box too.