Well, I can not believe it but May is almost over, so ends the saying for one more year "A swarm in May is worth a barrel load of Hay" or what ever it is. At the apiary this week..
It was a quieter week but still interesting.
1) we took of the rape Honey - only one super this year, there was a lot of debate about the best way to get the bees out of the super in only a couple of hours, what we tried was a rhobus clear, upside down on a super, and a few kicks to get the bees to move out, and in theory they should all leave. However I was very sceptical, and although I wish I was not proved right come after 10 and time to pick up the super, there were still bees in it. So back into the bee suit for me, and in the pitch black brushing the bees of... So Lesson learnt, next time we will do as I say and just brush them to start with... I must add was not pleasant doing it in the dark as you cannot see the bees so keep trapping them with your figures and hence getting stung!
2) the langstroth hive - these had beautifully drawn out the comb, but unfotunatly the queen has completed vanished and no eggs, so we have tried to introduce a sealed queen cell which we got from hive 18, which we split last week so had a few spare.
3) The ROSE hive: this is working well with the bees having drawn half of one of the box, with the queen laying, so more feed, and I am sure they will pick up and love their new home. Now there is brood the queen excluder at the bottom of the hive can be moved.
4) update on the nucs. At least 2 if not 3 of the nucs we had the "bleed" now what a funny expression, what it means basically is to remove one frame either brood or food and give them a frame of foundation, so that they do not out grow their boxes before we Sell them next week. I know one had a frame of brood put into the weaker hive which I beilive is hive 2.
5) At least 4 or 5 colloinies are now in lock down, for the next 2-3 weeks waiting for the new queens to go out an mate. so there is a bit less work now at the apiary.
Oh finally, - I wish I had a photo, but the hive 1 which we re-united last week, had drawn a hole perfect frame of wild comb of their crown board... because certain person who re-untinted them did not give them a full complement of frames. Therefore the wild comb honey and all in now wedge up on the crown board so they can take their honey back and the hive built up in to a double brood. We may just use the hive for queen rearing.
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