Beekeeper's Log

2007 weather

2007-09-09T18:04:00.000+01:00

April mean temperatures were the warmest on record across England (series back to 1914), with well above average sunshine. Very dry too, with most stations over SE England and East Anglia recording less than 3 mm of rainfall.

May - a wet month with some areas setting new rainfall records for the month. Mean temperatures above average, despite sunshine amounts below normal.

June - a warm and dry start to the month but becoming increasingly unsettled. A sustained spell of heavy rain over Lincolnshire, most of Yorkshire and the Midlands on 24-25th, with widespread flooding reported.

July - another generally unsettled month with a notable rainfall event on the 20th.

August - largely settled at first and for the last week, but very unsettled around mid-month. Temperatures close to average, but still the coldest August since 1993. Floods in central England. Mostly a cold and wet month.

And finally....

2007-09-09T18:02:00.000+01:00

35 lbs of light honey extracted. A total for the season of 362 lbs.

Yet more....

2007-08-21T00:14:00.000+01:00

A further 116 lbs of a light straw coloured honey were extracted. There may be another 50lbs yet to go but it is now getting late in the season and I need to get the Varroa treatment on soon....

327 lbs to date. Not too bad!

New extraction

2007-08-05T16:11:00.001+01:00

115lbs runny honey

More extraction

2007-06-09T09:50:00.000+01:00

40lbs of runny OSR honey taken off from a combination of the hive in the garden plus hive 2 in the apiary. Some honey setting in the frames.

Exraction

2007-05-23T00:17:00.000+01:00

56lbs of thickening OSR honey was extracted from three supers (2 from no.2 and 1 from no.1).

Gave Mary a filled super from her hive.

End April

2007-04-30T00:04:00.000+01:00

April was unseasonably warm (~20ºC) most days and almost no rain for the whole month.

The two hives in the nearby field will be referred to as no. 1 (previously xxx) & no. 2 (previously yyy) counting from the house.

These were joined by a third on loan from Mary B. This hive is also WBC but with regular brood frame. The queen was very strong with good brood coverage. It had two supers. Queen cells were present so a new brood box containing 11 undrawn 12x14 frames was placed between the existing brood and the supers. The new comb was soon drawn out and the queen started laying in the upper box. The queen was trapped in the upper brood box (between two queen excluders) and one of the frames containing a queen cell was donated to hive no.1.

Hive no. 2 - new brood box...tbc

Hive no. 1 - poor lay. Despateched Q and put in comb from Mary's hive....tbc

31st March

2007-03-31T06:57:00.000+01:00

All three colonies over-wintered but with varying strength. Last year's strongest colony is doing very well with the queen laying on 3 brood combs. The second colony is of average strength and I have noticed a few bees suffering from Deformed Wing Virus. This is as a result of varroa infestation. I will treat this colony with thymol. The third colony was quite weak so a frame of brood was moved from the strongest colony into this one to add strength.

Two hives were moved two hives to a field about half a mile away. Covered the entrances with grass so as to confuse the flying bees and get them used to their new location. Some still returned to their original spot.

OSR is in the adjacent field and will flower in the next week or two.

25th

2006-12-25T07:20:00.000Z

Bees flying again this Christmas!

7th - 17°C

2006-10-09T23:50:00.000+01:00

Hive L: Fed more sugar solution.

Hive R: Q found in lower brood box so Q cell in top brood box destroyed. Four frames containing sealed brood left in top box but all other frames removed and placed about 5m away. Thymol tray still contains crystals.

Hive W: New brood found in lower brood box. Four frames containing sealed brood left in top box but all other frames removed and placed about 3m away. Thymol tray still contains crystals.

5th - 15°C

2006-10-05T06:12:00.000+01:00

Hive L: The bees had sealed the tray of thymol crystals against the roof so added a Q excluder above so that is was open. Fed more sugar solution.

Hive R: Q cell found in top box. Had the original Q died? All bees brushed off the frames into the lower brood box. A tray of thymol crystals was placed on the top of the brood frames, then a Q excluder, then a super, then a roof with a narrow openning, and finally the upper brood box with the Q cell. If there is already a Q in the lower box I want them separated. I want to encourage them to take the stores from this top box and take them down to the lower frames. If necessary I will overwinter with two brood boxes.

Hive W: The Q had moved into the top brood box and producing brood so all bees were brushed into the bottom brood box. The tray of thymol crystals was added followed by a Q excluder, a super, a crown board, then the top brood box. If necessary I will overwinter with two brood boxes.

23rd - 20°C

2006-09-23T22:07:00.000+01:00

Hive L: The cleaned up supers were removed. Replaced floor for one that isn't rotting! Fed more sugar solution. About 5gm of thymol crystals placed in tray underneath crown board.

Hive R: Top Q found in lower brood box. She looks healthy. Stored honey in top brood box uncapped to encourage them to take it down to main brood chamber. About 5gm of thymol crystals placed in tray underneath crown board.

Hive W: Stored honey in top brood box uncapped to encourage them to take it down to main brood chamber. About 5gm of thymol crystals placed in tray between brood chambers.

17th - 22°C

2006-09-17T19:15:00.000+01:00

Hive W had attacked Hive 4 colony and many dead. Cleaned up and placed Hive 4 brood frames directly on top of Hive W. Destroyed Hive 4 Q (small black). Fed with sugar solution.

Destroyed Hive R Q, sprinkled both colonies with icing sugar and placed a sheet of newspaper between the colonies. Hopefully Q from Hive 5 will be accepted into entire colony. Fed with sugar solution.

Hive L: fed with sugar solution.

10th -20°C

2006-09-10T19:11:00.000+01:00

Hive 4 brood box placed on top of Hive W brood box with newspaper, Q excluder and half-full super between them. Tray of Apiguard added.

Hive 5 brood box placed on top of Hive R brood box with newspaper, Q excluder and half-full super between them. Tray of Apiguard added.

Hive L: very strong colony so it was reduced to a brood box plus one super. Tray of Apiguard added.

Five supers removed from hives producing 92lbs (41.7 kgs) of honey.

Grand total of 630 lbs (286 kgs).

20th - 18°C

2006-08-20T19:09:00.000+01:00

Cool and wet August.

Five supers removed from 3 hives.

Another 129 lbs (59kgs) of pale runny honey extracted. (538lbs (244kgs) so far with more to be taken off).

16th - 30+°C

2006-07-16T19:08:00.000+01:00

Very hot July. In the 30s most days. As high as 39°C one day!

A total of eight supers removed from all 5 hives. Five more supers (each 8 frames) constructed.

208lbs (94kgs) of runny honey extracted. (409lbs (186kgs) so far)

24th - 20°C

2006-06-24T19:06:00.000+01:00

Cool after a week of rain.

Hive L: Two more brood frames of honey swapped for foundation, and a super of foundation added. Half a super of honey removed.

Hive R: Still good brood but supers not ready this week.

Hive W: Lots of capped Q cells positioned halfway up comb. Removed Q and all Q cells bar one. One super removed and two added. Capped Q in top placed in Apidea.

Hive 4: Two frames of honey removed. Added a super of recently spun frames.

Apidea: Small black Q caught and given to Dennis.

Hive 5: Added an empty frame to try and reduce overcrowding. Added a second super.

21lbs (9.5kgs) of pale honey extracted. (201lbs so far)

17th - 25°C

2006-06-17T19:03:00.000+01:00

Hive L: Capped brood. Two brood frames of honey were replaced with foundation in positions 3 and 9. Six frames of honey were removed.

Hive R: Good brood pattern. Two of the three supers will be ready next week.

Hive W: Grafted lavae from 11/06 didn't take so Q cell lavae grafted mid week. One of five survived and being built into Q cell. One new grafting attempted. Super removed.

Hive 4: Added three undrawn frames. Two frames of honey removed.

Hive 5: Colony building well.

29lbs (13kgs) of pale honey extracted.

11th - 30°C

2006-06-11T19:02:00.000+01:00

Hot!

Hive L: Two supers removed. New Q found and marked. Starting to lay. A few eggs and lots of royal jelly at the bottom of some cells.

Hive R: One super removed. Q laying well. Q cells removed.

Hive W: One super removed. Almost completed Q cell removed. Two frames of brood moved to top box with artificial Q cell cups each containing a grafted lava.

Hive 4: Q not found but colony relatively quiet so maybe Q is present.

Apidea: Frames building well and first sign of eggs.

Hive 5: New Q found and marked. Starting to lay. A few eggs and lots of royal jelly at the bottom of some cells.

80lbs (36kgs) of OSR honey extracted from four supers.

4th - 23°C

2006-06-04T18:50:00.000+01:00

Weather has at last warmed up for the past few days.

Hive L: Five frames removed. Still no brood. Two supers will be ready next week.

Hive R: One frame removed. Foundation slowly being built up. Good brood pattern. One super will be ready next week.

Hive W: Q laying well. Two super will be ready next week.

Hive 4: No brood yet but cells being polished ready for laying.

Hive 5: No brood yet but cells being polished ready for laying.

10lbs (4.5kgs) of OSR honey extracted.

28th - 15°C

2006-05-28T18:46:00.000+01:00

A few more days of cold, showery weather. Bees don't like it!

Hive L: Two supers removed. No sign of laying Q yet.

Hive R: Q laying on half of new comb. Good brood pattern. Rest of foundation not built up yet. One super removed.

Hive W: Q laying well. One super removed.

Hive 4: Q excluder removed and swarm (and Q) went down into brood box.

Apidea: Entrance opened and placed on tree house.

Hive 5: Q cell not hatched. Two small Q cells found and removed.

61lbs (29.5kgs) of OSR honey extracted.

24th - 20°C

2006-05-24T18:44:00.000+01:00

Swarm! First warm & sunny day for nearly two weeks.

Hive L: Not inspected.

Hive R: Q found. Q cells removed

Hive W: Q found. Q cells removed

Hive 4: Two sealed and one open Q cells found and removed. Swarm was from here so placed in new box on top with Q excluder. Q emerged from one (small) cell so placed in Apidea with handful of swarm bees, closed and placed in dark.

Hive 5: Two small Q cells removed. Large one remained unopened.

21st - 12°C

2006-05-21T18:43:00.000+01:00

Very cold and wet for the past 10 days. Quick check that colonies still alive.

13th - 20°C

2006-05-13T18:41:00.000+01:00

Previous week was again very warm in the mid 20s. Last two days has been thundery. OSR still in full bloom. Apple and plum in flower.

Hive L: Lots of queen cells and no new brood so the queen had escaped last week. Removed all queen cells bar one. 2.5 supers full.

Hive R: ~10 queen cells so an artificial swarm was done. One frame of brood was kept and 10 undrawn brood frames added. 2 supers are full so a third is required.

Hive W: New frames being drawn out and eggs already being laid. One super full. The old foundation is not being drawn in the second super so it will be replaced.

Hive 4: Removed all queen cells bar one. Little honey in single super but then not many bees flying yet.

Hive 5: Other half of Hive R. Removed all queen cells except one sealed. No super.

6th - 18°C

2006-05-06T18:37:00.000+01:00

Previous week was very warm in the mid 20s. OSR in full bloom and lots of blossom in fruit trees. Apple blossom still to come out.

Hive L: Almost two supers in one week so added a third. Queen cells starting so tried to clip the queen's wings but she flew off. Can't be certain she went back into the hive.

Hive R: Only about one-half of a super collected. Queen laying well but only early queen cups being produced.

Hive W: One almost full super but no inclination to draw out second super of foundation. Found queen cell days only days from being capped. Artificial swarm - all new brood chamber of undrawn foundation plus one frame of brood and store from previous colony.

Hive 4: New colony consisting of frames from Hive W, nurse bees, one frame of foundation and one super with 2-3 frames filled with nectar.

30th - 16°C

2006-04-30T18:34:00.000+01:00

Oil Seed Rape coming out. Cherry and pear in full flower.

Hive L: Queen found, marked but not clipped. Brood strong. Honey flow just starting.

Hive R: Queen found, marked and clipped. Brood strong. Honey flow just starting. Added one frame of brood foundation.

Hive W: Queen not found but brood strong. Honey flow just starting.

23rd - 15°C

2006-04-23T18:32:00.000+01:00

Super frames being cleaned and built-up. Honey flow not yet started.

2nd - 15°C

2006-04-02T18:29:00.000+01:00

Hive L: Brief inspection. Brood expanding well. Some pollen being collected. Two supers added.

Hive R: Brief inspection. Brood expanding well. Some pollen being collected. Some mould in bottom corner of brood box - one frame removed and lower half of adjacent frame scraped away.Two supers added.

Hive W: Brief inspection. Brood expanding well. Some pollen being collected. Two supers added.

February/March

2006-03-31T19:22:00.000+01:00

Fed all three colonies with a mixture of 50% water to 50% sugar by volume in inverted honey jars.

2006 Introduction

2006-01-01T12:50:00.000Z

I over-wintered three WBC hives in a corner of the garden facing due south. It was a mild winter (bees flying Christmas Eve) but a long, cold February, March and April. Spring blossom is very late.

Hive L: Queen 2005 (not clipped)

Hive R: Queen 2005 (clipped and marked yellow)

Hive W: Queen 2004 (clipped and marked yellow)

24th - ~10°C in sun

2005-12-24T23:46:00.000Z

Christmas Eve and lots of bees from all three hives gathering dew from surrounding grass!

11th - 20°C

2005-09-11T23:45:00.000+01:00

Replaced Apiguard trays in all three hives. Removed two weeks later.

28th - 25°C

2005-08-28T23:43:00.000+01:00

Spun 12 frames of mostly filled frames - 16 lbs (7.3 kgs). Spun another 12 frames of partially filled, unripe honey (4.5 lbs (2 kgs)) for feeding back to the bees for winter store. Put five supers of wet frames above Apiguard chamber (L - 1, R - 2 & W- 2) to be cleaned up. The brood chamber is at the bottom, then an empty super with just the Apiguard tray, then 1 or 2 supers of wet frames above. They will stay in for 2 days to be cleaned up before storing them over winter.

(154 lbs (70 kgs) extracted in 2005)

21st - 23°C

2005-08-21T23:40:00.000+01:00

Hive L: Removed spun frames, cleaned up and repaired. Brood inspection - queen not found but eggs and larvae present. Not much store so intensive feeding required. Removed 2 filled frames of honey & approx 4 frames partially filled. Added first application of Apiguard in an empty super on top of the brood chamber.

Hive R: Removed 1/2 super of filled frames and 1.5 frames of partially filled frames. Found queen. Good brood coverage and some eggs. Stores building up well. Removed varroa floor for the winter and added first application of Apiguard in an empty super on top of the brood chamber.

Hive W: Removed 2-3 frames of filled frames and the rest partially filled. Found queen. Good brood coverage and some eggs. Stores building up well. Removed varroa floor for the winter and added first application of Apiguard in an empty super on top of the brood chamber.

Removing the 5 supers of honey resulted in lots of activity - robbing bees, and swarm-like conditions for about an hour. It was not a good idea to remove these in the middle of the day. Must use a clearer board next year or do it at the end of the day!

13th - 20°C

2005-08-13T23:36:00.000+01:00

Hive L: Routine inspection. Bees tetchy. Queen not spotted. Very few eggs/larvae. Single super nearly full. 10 spun frames placed above (on 16th) to be cleaned up.

Hive R: Removed about 5 frames of mainly capped honey. 18 lbs (8kgs) of a red/brown honey (inc. Hive W). Queen not spotted but eggs and larvae found.

Hive W: Removed one super of empty frames (drawn & undrawn) and about 5 frames of mainly capped honey. Queen spotted. Some eggs and larvae.

31st approx - ?°C

2005-07-31T23:33:00.000+01:00

Hive L: Routine inspection.

Hive R: Routine inspection. Queen cups destroyed.

Hive W: Routine inspection. Queen cups destroyed.

18th approx - ?°C

2005-07-18T23:32:00.000+01:00

Hive L: Routine inspection.

Hive R: Routine inspection. Queen cups destroyed.

Hive W: Routine inspection. Queen cups destroyed.

3rd approx - ?°C

2005-07-03T23:30:00.000+01:00

Hive L: Routine inspection.

Hive R: Routine inspection. Queen cups destroyed.

Hive W: Routine inspection. Queen cups destroyed.

26th - 18°C

2005-06-26T23:28:00.000+01:00

Adjacent fields of beans almost finished. Rosebay Willowherb and blackberry coming into flower.

Hive L: Brood chamber has about half a frame of eggs and young larvae. Queen found and marked yellow but not clipped. Super beginning to be filled.

Hive R: Half a super removed. Another half to be removed soon. Strong brood. Queen spotted. New queen cups removed. 21 lbs (9.5 kgs) of golden honey removed from hives R & W.

Hive W: Two-thirds of a super removed. Very strong brood. Queen spotted. New queen cups removed. Half drawn foundation moved to the centre. Three supers remain: top mostly filled, waiting to be capped; middle 'wet' frames having just been spun; bottom undrawn.

19th - 30°C

2005-06-19T23:27:00.000+01:00

Hive L: Queen cell hatched and no new ones have been created. Colony quite calm but queen not spotted. No eggs yet. Super added.

Hive R: This colony will expand rapidly in the next few days as there are huge areas of capped brood. One super nearly completed so a second super was added.

Hive W: Two of the three supers almost filled. Still drawing frames in the brood chamber. Swarming urge has been stopped!

12th - 18°C

2005-06-12T22:59:00.000+01:00

Hive L: Removed 3 more queen cells, 2 of which were new and 1 which must have been missed last week. The queen should hatch tomorrow and, as there are no other queen cells, she should not produce a cast swarm.

Hive R: Half a super was removed. Queen found, marked (yellow) and clipped. Not huge but beginning to lay well.

Hive W: Two and a half supers were removed (55 lbs (25 kgs) with hive R). Frames half capped but beginning to set. Queen spotted. At least four undrawn brood frames still and, guess what, a queen cup. It was duly removed.

5th - 20°C

2005-06-05T22:57:00.000+01:00

Hive L: The empty feeder was removed and replaced with a frame of foundation. There were good reserves of nectar and pollen as there are now a number of flying bees. Removed ~10 queen cells from the sides of two frames. Two queen cells were located on the bottom of two frames and one was removed.

Hive R: Six capped frames were removed producing 18 lbs (8.2 kgs) of light straw honey. Queen found (not marked or clipped yet) and small numbers of eggs & larvae present.

Hive W: Four supers are largely full but none are capped so they are left on (despite the end of the oil seed rape in flower). Two / three of the new frames have been drawn and eggs and larvae present. Queen found.

28th - 18°C

2005-05-28T22:55:00.000+01:00

Hive L: 10 brood frames from hive (W) were placed in brood box at new site. Internal feeder added containing regular strength sugar solution. Large amount of sealed brood and larvae. The start of two queen cells were left.

Hive R: Super half full.

Hive W: Two new queen cells were found so another artificial swarm was done. The queen, flying bees and all bees from the supers were given 11 undrawn frames. One super of half-capped frames was removed and produced 21 lbs (9.5 kgs) of honey.

25th - 20°C

2005-05-25T22:54:00.000+01:00

A warm spell has arrived. Oil seed rape beginning to go over. Hive R: Released swarm from top box and let queen go into brood chamber. Second queen cell had hatched so lost swarm on 23rd was probably a cast from this hive.

23rd - 16°C

2005-05-23T22:51:00.000+01:00

Hive R: Another (small) swarm. Lost. Not sure which but suspect second queen cell will have hatched.

22nd - 16°C

2005-05-22T22:49:00.000+01:00

Hive R: Swarm! One queen cell hatched and queen plus workers in small swarm on nearby bushes. Captured and placed in empty super on top of hive with a queen separator so queen can't escape. Other queen cell unhatched.

21st - 16°C

2005-05-21T22:47:00.000+01:00

Hive R: 2 queen cells still unhatched. No nectar in super. Nectar in outer brood cells.

Hive W: Removed new uncapped queen cell. Added 4th super. Top super partially capped, 2nd some and 3rd about 50% full. Moved outer undrawn frame in by 2.

15th - 20°C

2005-05-15T22:46:00.000+01:00

Hive R: About 10 capped queen cells, 2 of which are large near the bottom of the frames, the rest smaller half way up. Removed all but two largest. Added super and removed empty feeder.

Hive W: One queen cell removed. Found queen and clipped one wing. 2-3 frames drawn out and full of brood. Outer frames not being built up. 3 supers nearly full but not capped.

8th - 12°C

2005-05-08T22:42:00.000+01:00

Hive R: Moved new hive to final location and added internal feeder with weak sugar solution. Removed super. Not full inspection (too cold) but found one good queen cell nearly capped at bottom of frame plus others half-way up being started. Some larvae and unhatched brood.

Hive W: Hive not inspected.

2nd - 20°C

2005-05-02T22:41:00.000+01:00

Oil Seed Rape in full flower about 1 mile. Apple & plum blossom out.

Hive R: 10 brood frames plus one empty super were placed on one side of (W).

Hive W: Found about 6 beginnings of queen cells so time for the artificial swarm. Found queen and marked her yellow. Left one brood fame, 10 undrawn frames and queen in original location. Gently shook some of the younger bees off the old frames in front of the artificial swarm hive. Two supers were nearly full so added a third.

24th - 16°C

2005-04-24T22:40:00.000+01:00

Hive W: First super, nectar being collected. Second drawn frame super added. Brood box - three new frames building up foundation well. Lots of brood. Destroyed three queen cups so must do artificial swarm soon. Queen not seen.

17th - 14°C

2005-04-17T22:38:00.000+01:00

Hive W: No nectar in super but cells being prepared. Brief inspection of brood as it was cold. Good strong colony building well. Moved new frame of foundation to 3rd in. Door widened to 15cm.

2nd - 16°C

2005-04-02T22:34:00.000+01:00

Hive L: Hive dead. Remains of small colony covered in mold. Hive felt damp inside. Removed all frames and burnt in case of disease.

Hive W: Opened hive for the first time. Cleaned through. Removed varroa floor and found lots of wax moth pupae underneath. Brood building well. Removed 3 frames of old store and replaced with 3 new frames of foundation. Door opened to about 4cm. One super added. Queen not found.

Introduction

2005-03-31T22:27:00.000+01:00

I over-wintered two WBC hives in a corner of the garden facing due south. It was a mild January but a long, cold February, March and April.

08/09/04

2004-09-08T22:48:00.000+01:00

Hive L: A super of about 25% full frames was removed. The brood was inspected and the queen located. There are good stores of honey in the brood frames. One tray of Apiguard was placed on top of the brood chamber and it was closed up for two weeks.

Hive R: About 6 frames of honey were collected from the three supers.
This colony is still queenless and the bees a little unhappy. With a reduced colony there had probably been some robbing as there was no store in the brood chamber. I decided to merge this colony with Hive W.

Hive W: Another 2-3 frames of honey were removed. The colony was calm and some brood observed. The honey stores were low so will need feeding. One Apiguard tray was added.
The brood chamber from Hive R was placed on top of newspaper to merge the colonies to over-winter. Two supers of almost empty frames were placed on top to be cleaned up.

14 lbs (6.35 kg) of honey were extracted (II). 246 lbs (112 kg) altogether! A bumper year.

10/08/04

2004-08-10T22:48:00.000+01:00

Hive L: A routine inspection showed that the queen is laying. This colony is doing well.

Hive R: No sign of any eggs yet.

Hive W: Some brood was found so the queen must have mated.

One of the wettest Augusts since records began with about 175% average rainfall.

01/08/04

2004-08-01T22:47:00.000+01:00

Hive L: The brood chamber was not inspected. The frames in the top of the three supers were quite empty but they had been repaired well after spinning. Hopefully some late summer nectar will be collected.

Hive R: At least one of the queen cells had hatched. The colony was quite calm so a queen must exist. No eggs were visible.

Later... (see below), did the escaped queen go back to the hive that she emerged from when it swarmed 10 days ago. If so, what will happen as there is now a new queen? We'll see next week!

Hive W: The queen that had swarmed was found above the excluder and put in a matchbox. The newly captured workers had merged well and the colony is now quite strong. No eggs were visible. Some honey frames are building up well and will be ready for extraction soon.
The matchbox was taken 5m away so that the queen could be destroyed but she was very agile and escaped...

22/07/04

2004-07-22T22:45:00.000+01:00

Hive R: A hot sultry day caused this hive to finally swarm.
The swarm was captured and immediately put into an empty super on top of a queen excluder newspaper. The workers will strengthen this weakened colony and the queen can be removed.

17/07/04

2004-07-17T22:45:00.000+01:00

Hive L: The brood is building well in preparation for winter. No more honey available for extraction yet.

Hive R: Still building queen cells! This hive is determined to swarm. Perhaps the queen needs to be superseded. One frame of brood and queen cells was moved to hive W and the other queen cells left to allow nature to take its course. Only one frame of honey had been capped.

Hive W: The colony was very weak and, although the queen cell had hatched, she could not be found. Another frame of brood and queen cells was added from Hive R.

11/07/04

2004-07-11T22:37:00.000+01:00

Hive L: Two supers of cleaned-up frames were added beneath a single super. No more frames were ready for extraction. The brood chamber was not examined.

Hive R: Only one frame was ready for extraction so it was left. It will probably set as it will be oil seed rape nectar. The brood chamber was not examined. The hive has three supers, but they are not very full.

Hive W: The brood chamber was not examined but there was little activity from the top of the single super. The queen cells should have hatched by now so some good weather will be needed for mating.

07/07/04

2004-07-07T22:36:00.000+01:00

One of the worst storms to have occurred in July swept across the country.

04/07/04

2004-07-04T22:34:00.000+01:00

Hive R: Two supers (14 frames) were removed resulting in 42 lbs (19 kg) of light, rapidly setting, honey (I).

03/07/04

2004-07-03T22:34:00.000+01:00

Hive L: This hive continues to thrive and a good brood pattern has been created.
Ten uncapped (but high viscosity) frames were removed and produced 28 lbs (13 kg) of honey (•••).

Hive R: Queen cells are still being produced and the queen is no longer laying at the same rate. I suspect superseding is about to happen so I have left the queen cells this time, having first taken the frame to Hive W but changed my mind and brought it back.

Hive W: As expected, queen cells have been produced on the new frames. The colony is getting weaker and little honey being produced.

25/06/04

2004-06-25T22:32:00.000+01:00

Hive L: has got tetchy bees even though there is a good, strong queen. She was spotted on this inspection even though she has lost some of her yellow marking. Four frames of honey were removed.

Hive R: The amount of brood in Hive R has grown since last week. Some small queen caps were removed. The colony continues to thrive. Six frames of honey were removed.

Hive W: continues without any sign of a new queen. Two frames of brood (one each from Hives L & R) were added containing a good mix of larvae at different stages of development. If there is no queen, new queen cells should be created. Two frames of honey were removed.

35 lbs (16 kg) of a light-coloured honey (some late oil seed rape is still in flower) was removed from the 12 frames (•••).

19/06/04

2004-06-19T22:31:00.000+01:00

Hive L: The new queen was found in Hive L. She is large and brown and was marked with a yellow pen.

Hive R: Yet more queen cells were removed from Hive R. The queen hasn't laid as many eggs as before and the brood is concentrated on 2-3 frames only. Perhaps the replacement cells are to supersede her rather than to prompt a swarm. I will check next week for more eggs and more queen cells.

Hive W: The queen could not be found in Hive W and there was no sign of any eggs. However the workers were placid as if the queen was present. Because of the absence of brood they were stocking up the deep brood frames well for the winter. Still only one super on top which is filling slowly.

This weekend was the start of a long period of cold and wet weather. Wimbledon fortnight was marked by excessive rainfall.

13/06/04

2004-06-13T22:30:00.000+01:00

Hive L: The brood chamber was not disturbed this week it contains a new queen.

Hive R: More queen cells were removed from Hive R.

Hive W: The brood chamber was not disturbed this week it contains a new queen.

70 lbs (31 kg) of honey was removed from about 17 frames taken from the three hives (••). About 130 lbs have been taken so far. This last batch is setting quickly.

06/06/04

2004-06-06T22:27:00.000+01:00

Hive L: Two super frames were removed from Hive L and replaced with undrawn frames. The other super frames are almost filled but not yet capped.

Hive R: Two super frames were removed from Hive R and replaced with undrawn frames. The other super frames are almost filled but not yet capped. A close inspection of the brood chamber showed that there are still queen cups being built on one brood frame so they were removed.

Hive W was opened and the box with the captured swarm was smoked so that the workers would go down leaving queen above the excluder. The queen was found and removed and the extra box and queen excluder removed. Four super frames were removed and replaced with undrawn foundation.

These eight frames produced another 27 lbs (12 kg) of honey (•). Despite thinking earlier in the season that there was no oil seed rape within flying distance, a few late-sown fields came into flower. As it is near the end of the oilseed rape flowering, I will remove most frames next week even if not capped. The nearest oilseed rape field is about 1 mile away.

31/05/04

2004-05-31T22:26:00.000+01:00

Hive L: The queen must have hatched because there were signs of other queen cells having been broken down and the larvae having been stung. Four full and capped super frames were removed, extracted and replaced. Another super of empty frames was added.

Hive R: Two more undrawn frames were added to the brood chamber of Hive R and a few queen cups destroyed. Four very full super frames were removed, extracted and replaced. The queen was found and marked with a yellow pen. She is surprisingly small and black.

Hive W: Opening this hive showed that one of the hatched queens must have produced the swarm on the 25th. Another box was placed on top of the super with a queen excluder and newspaper between and the contents of the nucleus box placed in it. Despite the fact that this colony had swarmed, it was collecting nectar well and the super was nearly full.

These eight frames produced over 30 lbs (13.6 kg) of a pale coloured honey. Hive W has one super, Hive R has three and Hive L has two.

25/05/04

2004-05-25T22:25:00.000+01:00

Another swarm! This one settle about 5 metres from the hives at head-height. Collected it and put it in a standard nucleus box, placed midway between hives R & W, with two undrawn frames and two super frames as a temporary measure. A quick inspection of hives L & R indicated that it was not these that had swarmed.

23/05/04

2004-05-23T22:22:00.000+01:00

Hive L: has four capped queen cells (two on each of two frames) and the bees seem agitated. Maybe the clipped queen didn’t make it back after her excursion on the 19th. Removed outer two brood frames (all honey stores) and placed in freezer for autumn feeding. Replaced with frames of foundation placed near centre of brood. Removed two queen cells (one from each frame) and placed frames on either side of new foundation. Hopefully this colony will not swarm but instead the remaining two queens battle it out. Super is about 75% full so another will have to be added in a few days time.

Hive R: the foundation is being built up with two frame containing eggs, larvae and capped queen cells! This colony really does want to swarm. About four queen cells were removed to try and prevent this artificial swarm from swarming again. Two good supers with some frames beginning to be capped. The third supper added only 4 days ago is filling up well.

Hive W: very quiet. The queen has emerged from the cell but could not be found. Replaced the spacer frame with a new frame of foundation. The super is filling well and may need a second very soon.

19/05/04

2004-05-19T22:21:00.000+01:00

Hive L: swarmed. As the queen was clipped the swarm collected in nearby bushes and after a few hours returned to the original hive. Will they try again?

Hive R: Another super of eight frames (some part built-out foundation) added to Hive R.

16/05/04

2004-05-16T22:18:00.000+01:00

Hive L: has one capped queen cell and a few uncapped cells. I found the queen and placed her in a matchbox. I considered removing her from the hive so that they wouldn’t swarm. I didn’t want an angry (queenless) colony so decided to clip her wings instead. The super is now being filled – perhaps 50%.

Hive R: The artificial swarm in Hive R is building up the foundation well so hopefully they are established. Many bees still cover the landing board during the day as if they want to swarm still. The second super is nearly full so another will be added in a few days.

Hive W: Moved this queenless hive to its new position about 2m to the right of Hive R. The colony has created another queen cell which I will leave. The original queen cell remained capped. The flying bees are still collecting nectar.

10/05/04

2004-05-10T22:16:00.000+01:00

Hive R: Another attempt. This time she was found on the second run through. She is quite small and very similar in size & colour to the drones. She was put into the old hive position on a frame of brood (no queen cells) plus eight new frames of foundation and two blanking frames. In case this colony still had the urge to swarm (and steal the honey), they were given only one of the filled supers plus a super of empty frames. The second super will be put back at the end of the week.
I don't intend to re-queen Hive R this year.
The weather remained cool for another 3 days so should have quelled any remaining swarming urges.

Hive W: In the new hive (W), both of the capped queen cells were removed and all but one of the uncapped cells. (In retrospect I should have left all uncapped cells). A blanking frame was added in the eleventh position, the second of the supers placed on top and the hive closed up. It is placed 3 feet the left of Hive R and will be moved to its final position in 5 or 6 days.

09/05/04

2004-05-09T22:13:00.000+01:00

Because of the weather and work, neither hive had been opened for two weeks!

Hive L: The colony is building up well but still very little nectar in the supers. Instead they are filling the outer reaches of the brood frames This must be a disadvantage of deep brood frames as there is more space to fill before moving up into the supers. The new brood frame of foundation is being built out well. Destroyed one queen cup – why are they thinking of swarming when they're not even putting nectar into the super yet?

Hive R: What a difference two weeks makes. The second super is two-thirds full. None of the frames in the first (top) super have been capped yet but they are quite full. There is lots of blossom this year and I don't think there is any oil seed rape within 1.5 miles. On inspecting the brood frame I found two capped queen cells, two uncapped cells and a couple of cups. If only there had been better weather last week. Time to create an artificial swarm using Ted Hooper's method. I went through all frames four times but could not find the queen. I will definitely mark her when I get an appropriate pen. As it was getting cold and the bees were stinging through my gloves it was time to give up.

03/05/04

2004-05-03T22:11:00.000+01:00

Bank Holiday weekend and typical cold, wet weather. Conditions not good enough for an inspection even though it should be done weekly at this time of year. This is a problem for beekeepers that only have time for inspections at weekends.

25/04/04

2004-04-25T10:39:00.000+01:00

Did a routine inspection to check on progress and and signs of preparing for swarming. I also had a brave observer (Ken) who declined my spare bee suit but kept a reasonable distance.

Hive L: expanding but very slowly. The bees are preparing the super frames but still not filling them with nectar. This is a weak colony and will need to be built up (taking some workers from Hive R?) or by creating a nucleus from Hive R and re-queening.

Hive R: continues to grow rapidly and one super is already 75% full. So I added another super of 8 drawn frames underneath the almost full super. No sign of queen cell production.

18th

2004-04-19T07:09:00.000+01:00

Hive L: This colony is not as vigorous as Hive R. There is no sign of nectar in the super yet. Destroyed a small queen cell cup. Removed spacer board and add eleventh frame of foundation one-in from the end.
I shall probably replace the queen in Hive L with a frame of good brood from Hive R.

Hive R: The colony is expanding rapidly! Lots of good sealed brood and a large number of workers. No sign of queen cells yet although quite a few drone cells. Removed spacer board and add eleventh frame of foundation one-in from the end. Super is coming on well with about 30% full of nectar already. They need to build up the rest of the super frames as the edges are not complete cells.
Then if there are still signs of swarming in Hive R I will do an artificial swarm into the new hive.

Hive W: Constructed a new deep brood box (bought from National Bee Supplies who I find make excellent quality hives) for the third hive.

12th

2004-04-13T07:05:00.000+01:00

Warm and sunny with bees flying. Cleaned all 10 frames in each hive. Still need to clean bases and to add another deep frame with foundation. Will replace some older brood frames in coming weeks. No sign of any disease in either colony.

Hive L: This hive has fewer bees than Hive R. Queen found and colony laying well. Destroyed early signs of a queen cell and some of the sealed drone cells.

Hive R: No queen found but colony laying well. Destroyed some capped drone cells. Some nectar beginning to be collected (more bees in colony?).

04/04/04

2004-04-05T07:02:00.000+01:00

Spent the weekend cleaning frames, supers and queen excluders. The weather was cool, windy and mainly overcast therefore not appropriate to do the first full inspection of the year. Managed to clean the inside of the lifts and widen the entrances to about 10cm. Removing the lids showed that both hives seemed to have good colonies although a more detailed inspection will have to wait for warmer weather. Each hive was cleared of excess wax/propolis from the top of the brood frames, had a wired queen excluder added and a super of eight frames with good cell build-up. The plan this year is to avoid overcrowding by providing plenty of space to try and control swarming. The plan is to replace 3 or 4 of the outer frames in each hive each year.

Hive L: The brood chamber has a dummy frame in one position.

Hive R: The brood chamber has a narrow spacer board.

Hive W: The newly acquired WBC to provide room for expansion.

February

2004-02-02T07:01:00.000Z

A few warm days this month and the bees are flying. Mainly collecting nectar/pollen from the mahonia and winter flowering jasmine.

All of the surrounding fields this year have been sown with wheat and beans.

January - Introduction

2004-01-02T06:58:00.000Z

I came through the winter with two WBC hives in a corner of the garden facing due south over-looking open Hertfordshire countryside. Last year, in 2003, oilseed rape and bean fields were within sight.

Both hives have deep brood boxes of ten frames each. A third WBC hive has been acquired and will be used to manage swarms during the season and to increase the number of colonies to three. Both queens were virgin in 2003.