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  • General Q&A, Bee chat and only Bee chat please
General Q&A, Bee chat and only Bee chat please
 #9501  by Patrick
 17 Nov 2020, 15:37
Likewise here Nigel, combination of warm flying weather and prolonged Ivy pollen, weird but welcome (I think).

Steamed out some old pollen clogged and ropey brood combs at the weekend, plus a few other knackered frames. Interested to see some boiled wax moth larvae on the top bars when I dismantled the steamer. No visible sign of them at all on the combs when i was sorting them but obviously dug well in and nigh invisible. If I had left them in the stacks until next April could have been a right pain. Just goes to show overwintering brood combs has to done with care. I usually only overwinter relatively pale drawn brood comb, but as our winters are getting ever milder maybe we need to take more care.
 #9512  by Chrisbarlow
 20 Nov 2020, 19:57
putting together the local association newsletter. bit late for November but been a busy month.

procrastinating about how to sell honey online via Facebook. there appears to be many virtual markets appearing, which is an interesting avenue.

Putting a little fondant on a couple of nucs and a colony that I didnt feed as much as I should have
 #9519  by Steve 1972
 23 Nov 2020, 16:58
Been busy but on Saturday I fed fondant to two of the four nucs in the garden three of which look strong and one is 50/50 as to whether it will get through winter..
Then of up to the Alnwick aipiary..I have been waiting for a nice Saturday to remove five syrup feeders and the long awaited Amitraz strips..Saturday was mild so all got the feeders and strips removed but all felt a tad under weight..
I had fondant with me but I forgot to stick some eke's in the motor..luckily I had left two eke's in my Alnwick bee shed so I gave the two lightest hives what fondant I had and ordered more for the weekend..
I don't understand why they feel under weight though as all have had more than enough syrup..maybe this weired mild weather is causing them to be more active than they should be..and in doing so making the bees fly with nothing to forage on thus causing them to munch through there stores when they get back from a failed forage flight..
 #9520  by Patrick
 23 Nov 2020, 18:59
I think you are on the money Steve - my bees are still flying like it’s April most days, they will be getting through stores at a rate.

Saw white and red dead nettle in flower and several arable weeds. Whether they are producing any nectar however is another thing. Ivy now finished as far as I can see.
 #9521  by Chrisbarlow
 23 Nov 2020, 19:09
It's looks like it's gonna be an interesting winter, I think stocking up on fondant will be the order
 #9555  by Chrisbarlow
 04 Dec 2020, 10:04
I'm watching sleet fall in Wakefield thinking about oxalic acid vaping treatment
 #9560  by Steve 1972
 05 Dec 2020, 12:58
Just checked the four garden nucs for fondant..two are bursting with bees and needed topping up..the other two are small and 50/50 as to whether they will make it to spring..the fondant has barely been touched on the two smaller colonies..they are in poly so hopefully will survive..
One thing that has surprised me today that i have never seen in my beekeeping days or even before i kept bees is the ceanothus..it is still in flower and with the mild weather we are having today it is covered in bees collecting pollen.. :o ..

Image
 #9562  by Chrisbarlow
 05 Dec 2020, 16:37
That's an interesting site indeed Steve. Start of December indeed!
 #9591  by Steve 1972
 13 Dec 2020, 10:40
Yesterday i had to put a gate into my main apiary site..the bordering field used to have horses in it so a single top rail with barb on it was enough ..the field has now been rented to a sheep farmer and the estate owner has put sheep netting along the fence which meant i would have had to climb over the fence instead of going under it..the other side of my apiary has no threat from livestock so i chopped through the rails and popped a gate in the gap..it will make life so much easier as i can get my bee barrow near the hives now instead of carrying full supers and lifting them over a fence onto my barrow,..i just hope i don't get moaned at from estates for cutting a hole in the fence.. :roll:
 #9592  by Little John
 13 Dec 2020, 10:56
It's been difficult to do anything 'bee-related' over the last week in these parts - either the temperatures have been hovering just above zero, or they've been above 5 degrees and accompanied by continuous rain. So I've only been able to do a few 'odd jobs' like adding filler to imperfections in some new-build boxes prior to painting them.
If the weather forecast can be believed, then we can expect 10's and 11's overnight and extending into tomorrow morning - and so with luck there may just be a warm-weather window (perhaps even with some sun ?) between 9 and 3, during which time I might be able to cause some serious damage to the resident Varroa population. Here's hoping ...
LJ
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