What have you done today bee-related?

[MickBBKA]

Not done much in either apiary just two nucs and two full colonies got some fondant on the top bars..
I have been far too busy cleaning the damage up after storm Arwin..100mph winds where recorded and I am Lucky to still have bees after the scale of the damage..many trees where flattened luckely missing everything of value ... forty strapped down supers full of drawn frames ended up scattered all over but luckily again no damage..

If the people who built the solar farm near my apiary had asked I could have told them a wind farm would have been a far better option.

[Caroline]

... forty strapped down supers full of drawn frames ended up scattered all over but luckily again no damage..

pleased to hear those supers survived Steve. A couple of years ago I had a stack of 8 supers that were picked up by the wind, strewn across the garden and most of the combs were wrecked.
Hope the devastation is cleared soon and you don't get hit by another super-storm.

[JoJo36]

Blimey!
That really is some storm damage!
Glad to hear that your stuff mostly survived and never realised how bad the storm was as it was hardly mentioned on the national news just the constant 'covid' misery!
It looks more like a tornado has swept through creating all that damage!

[NigelP]

That's because it was in the NE and that area doesn't count for anything important news wise according to the Londoncentric BBC
Have friends who lost their roof, friends who had 8 pine trees fall onto and destroy their barn.
I doubt I'm going to get a lot of sympathy for a single lost pane out of my greenhouse
And we were comparatively sheltered with wind gusts up to 48mph, compared to 90+ further north.

[Alfred]

We had trees cast aside like matchsticks,flying wheelybins,and roadworks signage .
In the midst of it I saw one idiot trying to clear his driveway with a leaf blower.
Because of work and short daylight I didn't get to see our garden for a couple of days
Fearing for my new workshop I summoned the courage to inspect.
Neighbours plastic plant pot on the lawn
That's it.
Not sure it's worth an insurance claim.

[JoJo36]

It was just a bit windy down in the South West nothing to write home about, maybe a few trees fallen but thats about it!
It's the same down here nothing newsworthy unless its a 'murder' which is quite unusual thankfully!

I think the BBC and the London-bubble generally are totally out of touch with the rest of the country which is unfortunate as its probably the last place I would want to live, even with the trendy 'bee hives' on buildings, climate activists stopping cars causing more pollution dictating to the rest of us, there is certainly more to offer elsewhere than London in my opinion!

Alfred, I think you'll find that your plant pot falls within your policy excess!!

[MickBBKA]

LOL........ That plant pot could have had your eye out !!

A few years ago we had 3 weeks of snow and temps down to -9c ( I was out winter sea fishing in that ) and I never saw mention of it on the news TV until London had 5mm of snow and the city was gridlocked with all those huge 4x4's unable to traverse the artic conditions.
The BBKA live in this bubble also.......

[Patrick]

Sorry to hear you guys have had such a 'mare.

Disappointed to find another tipped over hive yesterday but no repeat today, otherwise electric fencing will have to go back up. Hefted some hives and not entirely surprised to find most are quite significantly lightening up. I guess the abnormally mild weather has meant they have just continued brooding and going through stores, despite most being under-supered.

A more worrying report from a beekeeping mate tonight is massive varroa drops detected prior to winter treating. He used MAQS in the summer. Presumably continued brooding has allowed varroa to also flourish. I will probably be treating tomorrow and it will be interesting to see the results.

Everyone is out of honey around here now, so lets hope we all get a reasonable early spring.

[MickBBKA]

I had a run out the other day and swapped some outer frames in a few colonies for spare frames of capped stores I have. Several colonies are hot under the insulation and are very likely still rearing brood. I find these are the ones you need to check weekly in Feb/March time as they can eat themselves to death in 2 weeks.
You couldn't fit another bee in this colony.

[Patrick]

Good demonstration of the practical value of a glazed crownboard. Be interesting to see what I find when treating. Do you have clear crownboards on just the one or as standard Mick?