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  • What have you done today bee-related?

  • General Q&A, Bee chat and only Bee chat please
General Q&A, Bee chat and only Bee chat please
 #3765  by DianeBees
 25 Jun 2019, 12:23
Got home from work yesterday and noticed a bit of activity round the bait box and pile of kit in the garden.
Having watched a swarm land high in a tree next to the allotment yesterday morning I wasn't unduly surprised. Then noticed someone on the allotment had posted about a swarm going over her head into my garden. Well this'd be the third swarm to home itself in my garden this year so wouldn't be a surprise.

So call friend to come and get them as I have plenty of bees and we find the bait box empty and the pile of kit is just being investigated, it's not full of bees at all.

Disappointed we pack kit up and the nice lady next door notices us and points out the bee nest in the tree on the grassed front. One of the other neighbour's had mentioned it to her - and no one had thought to give me a shout!
So we put swarm into a skep and field questions off the neighbours kids for a couple of hours.
Oh it takes them forever to go in to the skep at this time of year!
Take them to her apiary and all sorted.

About midnight I remember that I really should go and block up the entrance in the big pile of kit as it'd be a nightmare to get bees out of ... so get out of bed and go and put some foam in the entrance.
 #3774  by Alfred
 25 Jun 2019, 17:58
Swarm gathering was one of my very first experiences so far-an enormous blighter in a bait hive .I was literally scooping double handfuls of bees because they wouldn't tip out.
.A sphincter-shrinker by any margin :shock:
 #3776  by Japey Edge
 25 Jun 2019, 22:39
Been in the garage to spray the mini hive again today. Still hearing noise so happy they're alive. Looking forward to releasing them tomorrow...

In the meantime, I noticed this.. Is it foundation they have chewed up? Should I be concerned?

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 #3781  by Patrick
 26 Jun 2019, 07:56
Spot on Jazz. They have chewed up existing supplied foundation to draw out a preferred comb. Typically they “borrow” wax from an outside frame. Also when they are needing to draw wax but have no income I.e can’t forage or aren’t being fed.

I have similar in a commercial hive where the 2 outer frame were reduced to wires then they built free comb in them but not including the wires. As Charlie Brown would say ...Good Grief !
 #3782  by NigelP
 26 Jun 2019, 08:39
About time you let them out to fly Jazz....Place in shady corner of the garden, heat can be real problem for the apidea sized mating nucs. Not an issue at this moment in time...but 26C forecast for Saturday .
 #3783  by Japey Edge
 26 Jun 2019, 09:07
I'll be back in from work about 7ish tonight so will sort them out then. It's a completely new experience to me - it feels uncomfortable locking them up like that for 3 days. Glad it's just foundation, looks like they've chewed up a decent amount.

Will stick them some syrup in tonight. Hopefully they've gone through the apicandy stuff.
 #3787  by NigelP
 26 Jun 2019, 16:00
Scouted the Western edges of the North Yorks moors...Bell heather is just showing....Ling is nowhere near...Spot on timing.....now to prepare a couple of hives to take up there to to see if I can harvest some of this elusive early heather crop. My last two attempts have been utter failures.
Also need to prepare a couple to take to the Borage.
 #3788  by Japey Edge
 26 Jun 2019, 16:29
Sounds interesting Nigel. I've noticed a few beekeepers do this. Do you just take them to the heather for a day - early morning until late evening, then bring them back home? Or do you leave them a few days?
 #3789  by NigelP
 26 Jun 2019, 19:25
Leave for about 2 months...but Ling heather will start to flower before end of July so anything in supers before that will be Bell...ruby red and very different tasting....or so I am told. Last attmept they filled 2 supers with a mixture of clover and thistle...not heather pollen grain insight.
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