What have you done today bee-related?

[Alfred]

The mad professor!!

You'll have to get a patent for it??!!

But put up a photo first

I witnessed a set-to yesterday morning which culminated with the pair cartwheeling down off the landing board.
The away team lost for once
My schadenfreude was short lived when the OH began stamping.
"I think they're waxmoths?" she said.
Loads crawling around the hives.
They were -and to quote Sir Alec Guinness ,sure to 'return in greater numbers'

[NigelP]

Wasps....been an interesting day for them. Extracted 1st batch of heather honey today and was plagued by them finding their way into my extraction room, filter trays etc etc. Little buggers.
Just got finished when a friend rang to say he'd been out fishing and stood (and thereby crushing) an underground wasps nest. In his panic he's thrown his rod away, torn off his glasses and thrown his cap at them.......could I come help.
He was to say the least in a bit of a state, fortunately he wasn't fainting or feeling ill, just a lot of pain from multiple stings.
Bee suit attired we warily advanced onwards to the angry wasps and fortunately recovered everything.
I hate wasps me.

[Alfred]

I love nothing better than seeing their demise but theyre not so different from bees just lack the good PR.
As Eddie Izzard once said ,bees make honey wasps make Chutney
European hornets I dont mind so much,quite spectacular.

Also have some big blue dragonflies around they are a sight to behold

[NigelP]

As Eddie Izzard once said ,bees make honey wasps make Chutney

And Eddie was slightly wrong; several South American species of wasps do make honey (but not a lot) ...their are also stingless bees, but they spit acid

[MickBBKA]

Inspected 15 colonies today and every one of them is either in a brood break or just come out of one with eggs and sealed brood only. Its a very regular thing now at this time of year. Always seems to be a lack of pollen due to poor weather and its been a bit crap for the last 3 weeks here. Bees bringing huge amounts if RBWH in now although its almost finished which has probably got the queens going again.

3 early nucs that are now in full hives and were going brilliant with up to 10 frames of brood have all replaced their very nice looking queens. God knows what is going through their heads some times.

[JoJo36]

Checked my hives today and one had swarm cells! Did snelgrove board and left 2 to see what happens!
Disaster then hit...............!!!!!!!
I went to utility room where I keep my syrup and supers containing some slightly wet frames to get a spare brood frame and FORGOT TO CLOSE THE DOOR!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Well, literally thousands of bees went inside the utility room and toilet next door causing a massive problem!!!
I had to take out all frames and supers and put them down the bottom of the garden and leave until the evening as every time I tried to brush them off they were so quick they were back again!!
Eventually around 8.30 after trying to spray peppermint oil/water spray and smoke to repel them they gradually left the utility room and I managed to get old covers to transfer what was left of wet frames to other boxes! They were like locusts and scoffed through loads of frames I had kept for winter!
LESSON LEARNED!!!!!!!!

[Spike]

Had a similar problem with an open extractor with an inch of dead bees on the top after I had to drop one of the children off for 1/2 hour.

[NigelP]

Saw my first "ghost" bees of the autumn....Balsam obviously the only game in town left.
The few hives left in my garden are defending themselves very credibly against any attempted wasp incursion. Not seen one get past their defences.

[Patrick]

Due to personal circumstances have only just taken off supers (only a month late..) Surprised any crop still left to take off by now tbh, quite expected ten to have eaten it all. Gave all colonies a gallon of syrup to keep them going before treat with MAQs next week. Will then top up winter feed over end September. Think this is a season just best put behind us and focus on getting bees built up for next year.

[Steve 1972]

I went to two big colonies of five today to remove supers..each one had four remaining..the first one i had to juggle fully capped frames for empty and half empty frames till i managed to get two full supers too extract..i left the bees enough honey to keep them going till i feed them within the next week or two..

The second colony sickened me.. ..the top two supers came of half heavy ..the third and fourth where half filled with capped drone brood..i would not normally inspect the brood box at this time of the year but i knew something was wrong..and rightly so the 2020 Queen was gone with multiple eggs in many cells which means yet another laying worker colony..i managed two full supers from that colony and left them nothing..which is a shame really as they are bursting with bees but i can not shake them out as the remaining colonies are full enough..
I might bring the colony to my nuc site and shake them out next week but i need to think about that..