BBKA Forum

Fantastic picture again. Was that at your Alnwick apiary ? its been bleeding freezing here in Billingham today although 6c was 2c higher than its been every day since last Sunday.

Thank you Mick..yes that is my Alnwick spot..it is a funny old location with it being in a kind of valley on hilly ground.. it makes it sheltered and a lot of the early forage is also sheltered and it seems to be a couple of degrees Celsius higher than when i go to slightly higher ground ..for some reason with it being slightly lower to sea level than the surrounding hills the forage fires up a week earlier than 200yrds away on higher ground..with it being like that the forage seems to last longer with the earlier forage fading and then going up the hills in a kind of wave..

My Hartlepool apiary had very little activity today which will probably be on par with your location weather and temperature wise..

Crown boards are warm on most hives under the insulation which indicates that they're cracking on with brood-rearing. For the first time I have put some pollen substitute on some hives to see how they develop - it being too cold to forage for much at the moment although a few bees were flying at 6-7 degrees at the weekend.

13 degrees in sunshine and so tempting to dig a few frames out for a peek but I resisted.
The colony I was going to cull and unite seems to be in the decline which would save some work but I was secretly looking forward to the job.
All other hives have increasing population and rapidly diminishing stores. and a few of the smaller ones will definitely need the Kingspan frames removing next week
Wildlife pond was humming with bees and theres lots of hazel and gorse about in the apiary so I'm hoping to see the spring in with just my homemade sugar cake

It just about made 9 degrees today, they are still eating fondant and the quilt is warm to the touch. I have not seen any of them venturing out up to now. I still under supering, when should I move them above the brood box.

Cable_Fairy wrote: ↑

09 Mar 2021, 17:08

I still under supering, when should I move them above the brood box.

In my neck of the woods any nadired supers or other similar manipulations are usually at the back end of April give or take a week before or after..but like everything with bees we can not go by the same time scale each year through our unpredictable weather..my rule of thumb is if I do not have to wear a coat and the cherry blossom is in flower bud it is time to prepare for a nectar flow.

That's a nice simple little tip.
Thanks Steve

Checked on a out apiary today and all 6 colonies way a ton still, god knows what they have been doing over Winter but all the hives are crammed with bees. I do think my decision at the end of last season to go onto a modified temporary solid floor design has made a huge difference to Winter survival and consumption of stores. Some proper cold weather in Jan / Feb for a change rather than the very warm Winters we have had for the last 10 years has probably also helped.

Painting spare kit yesterday with cuprinol at an out apiary. Was gonna carry on today but it's already raining. Shame.

Checked all boxes last weekend. Very happy with overwintered boxes and nuces. I've lost between 15%-20% I reckon. Surprised at how heavy most boxes and nucs still are.

Well it is that time of the year again for me..i will be lambing for 6wks from the beginning of April so my Hartlepool bees needed moving to my Alnwick apiary where i will also be lambing so i can keep an eye on all of them..
I closed the entrances of with varroa mesh and double ratchet strapped the four hived nucs lastnight..today i moved them 75miles in my car to there final location..the weather was nice and 12C so the lot of them where out doing orientation flights fairly quickly and much to my surprise the weak colony that i thought would not make it is buzzing with bees..i know i am not out of the woods yet but up to now i have not lost a single colony this winter..