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General Q&A, Bee chat and only Bee chat please
 #655  by DianeBees
 17 Sep 2018, 09:53
Nigel Pringle wrote:
16 Sep 2018, 16:47
Next year (or this week!) I'm going to invest in a 150 litre water butt with tap and a plasterer's mixer. Stuff it all in, switch it on and let it get on with it.
So far mixed 100kgs and another 100ks of sugar ready to go.

How many hives do you have?
 #657  by AdamD
 17 Sep 2018, 13:18
Possibly the last opportunity for mating this week in my part of the world - I have a couple of queens from supercedure queencells that should be laying by the weekend - or not - in which case they will need to be found and removed. Feed continues to go on colonies - and some 'wets' are still going on to be cleaned out. I am late this year and really want to have them off the hives before ivy starts - expected any time soon.
One colony has followers which is a no-no for me, so the queen was caged at the weekend and the colony moved to next to a well-behaved one. The flyers will return to a hive from elsewhere that's now been placed on the old site and then the "bad" queen can be hoiked out and the colonies united in a few days.
 #662  by DianeBees
 17 Sep 2018, 16:03
Nigel Pringle wrote:
17 Sep 2018, 11:21
Varies, usually between 15 to 25.
At my last count going into winter with 19 hives and 2 nucs. 3 of the hives are promoted nucs.
Spread over how many apiaries?

I've got six. I've just merged two nucs into two separate hives. Got rid of a queen that came in a swarm and one that's a couple of years old. Replaced with nucs/queens I made for my GH this year. Should have done it a couple of weeks ago but didn't.
I've got a nuc left that's going to a friend who will find a good use for it.
 #667  by Patrick
 17 Sep 2018, 19:22
AdamD wrote:
17 Sep 2018, 13:18
Possibly the last opportunity for mating this week in my part of the world -
Strewth Adam, that sounds a bit alarming!! :D :D

Well it is supposed to be getting a bit more chilly..!
 #669  by Nigel Pringle
 17 Sep 2018, 19:49
Started the first round of Oxalic acid vaping today.
Whilst not a lot of varroa are currently dropping I've learnt to my cost that drop counts are notoriously inaccurate...and I'm far too lazy to go for sugar or alcohol washes on ~20 hives...it's easier and quicker to vape.
It will be interesting to see what the OA brings down. I hope not a lot...but we shall see.
Diane to answer your question, including seasonal apiaries for heather/borage/OSR about 7-8 sites. Three for overwintering.
 #673  by DianeBees
 18 Sep 2018, 15:35
Nigel Pringle wrote:
17 Sep 2018, 19:49

It will be interesting to see what the OA brings down. I hope not a lot...but we shall see.
Diane to answer your question, including seasonal apiaries for heather/borage/OSR about 7-8 sites. Three for overwintering.
Thanks

Steve Martin talk on varroa the other week - said it's important to think about how much brood you've got at this time of year when you're concerned about varroa drop as a means of counting. Plenty of brood still means plenty of varroa tucked up inside. Lots of people reporting low drops though on trays.
 #677  by Nigel Pringle
 18 Sep 2018, 17:16
Which is why I vape 4 times at 5 day intervals to get the suckers as they emerge with the bees.
To illustrate why drop counts are a load of rubbish.....this hive dropped 4 mites over 7 days with a sticky board in.
24 hours post vape the board looked like this...approx 500-600 varroa.

Image
 #688  by AdamD
 19 Sep 2018, 10:40
Patrick wrote:
17 Sep 2018, 19:22
AdamD wrote:
17 Sep 2018, 13:18
Possibly the last opportunity for mating this week in my part of the world -
Strewth Adam, that sounds a bit alarming!! :D :D

Well it is supposed to be getting a bit more chilly..!
It's been in the low 20's since the weekend, 24 degrees on Monday. I think the latest mating I've had is the end of September. I don't expect to have virgins around at this time of year - so if there are any that are around and mate they are either a) a bonus or b) a nuisance as I have to do something with them.
 #764  by Chrisbarlow
 23 Sep 2018, 20:12
thought about beekeeping and then came across the new BBKA forum and kept hitting reply.
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