What have you done today bee-related?

[Adam Bee]

Well, in this case it would have helped. Certainly I'm considering a QE just to get rid of those DN4's. I prolly should have done that last week in the very least. It's just one more bit of kit to buy!

[Caroline]

Adam, I'm with Patrick on this one - use a Q/Ex. Double brood is plenty when you need to find a queen that doesn't want to be found, or you're having to check for queen cells.

In my grandfather's time (when he was beekeeping between the two wars and after WW2) they didn't always use a Q/Ex believing that the queen would not cross a wall of honey; so once the first super had plenty of nectar in it no excluder was used as the queen wouldn't travel upwards because she was blocked by the honey above the brood box. I don't know what the success / failure rate of this method was.

Beekeeping was a more 'relaxed' affair in those days. He didn't wear a bee suit and relied on smoking his pipe. He was also able to tap into a tree containing a feral colony and 'extract' a bath tub of honey comb without disturbing the bees (I know this because my father was a lad at the time and he and his brother had to help carry the bath tub!)

[Adam Bee]

You realize you may have a claim to inventing the first "Flow" hive and may be able to usurp the Ozzies for that one!

I am also aware that I've added a monkey's variable into all of this by pushing the box constantly to the top. I did want to work it off, but perhaps I've pushed it too quickly. I have probably drawn the queen up with that box, by constantly moving what in essence it the main brood box to the top in every manipulation.

Ah well. Live and learn.

I'm def. going to get a QE, in the very least to eliminate that eke.

[Japey Edge]

Wasp trap already attracting attention. Milk bottle one is decent. The plastic bottle type isn't so great.

[Chrisbarlow]

excellent Japey, good luck

i tend to use the opaque bottles and I dont put duct tape round. I want the trap to be light inside

[Japey Edge]

excellent Japey, good luck

i tend to use the opaque bottles and I dont put duct tape round. I want the trap to be light inside

Thanks Chris! I had to use what I had at hand - a Cravendale bottle (get me eh ). I read on some site that making the bottom half dark will mean the wasps are unlikely to fly back out, but rather they'll try to go up toward the light.

Not sure how effective it will be on a white bottle rather than translucent but hey. Will find out soon enough.

[Patrick]

Not strictly today but two days ago at 6pm watched a large swarm arrive and set up home in the roof of the entrance of the old house opposite. It had bees in it years ago according to locals and the flat lead roof was initially stripped and emptied out but obviously the pointing was not made bee proof a scout bees sniffed it out and were able to gain entry to the roof void via the gap in the pointing around the lead gutter spout. It is the second swarm I have personally witnessed turn up and take over the space through that entry point in the last 6 years. There were probably others when i was at work or just not at home to witness them. There had been bees there earlier in the year and I dont know if they died out completely, swarmed themselves to oblivion or simply were overwhelmed by the new arrivals. The time between arrival in a cloud and disappearing into the roof with only a few bees around the entrance point was no more than 20 minutes in total.

The reason I mention it is
a) demonstrates the long term persistence of the problem of bee swarms establishing in buildings and cost implications of dealing with the repeated problem
b) that supposed "feral" colonies that have been in a particular location continuously for years without varroa treatment are very likely not the same continuous colony. Indeed by dying out from varroa infestation they create an opportunity for nearby swarm scouts to take advantage of the vacant spot. They may represent Fools Gold in terms of varroa resistence.
c) If you were not there when they arrived, even if you turned up half an hour later, you would be totally unaware there had been a change in the guard, hence householders swearing blind they are the same bees is open to doubt.
d) as a known local beekeeper, every time they turn up I am suggested by neighbours as the obvious source of the problem and assuring them otherwise is fairly pointless, despite Beebase telling me there are over 179 other registered apiaries within 10km radius and at least 3 of them within a few fields of home. Its now done tongue in cheek, but is still mildly irritating! And reminds me why swarm control is so important to the social responsibility reputation of beekeepers.

[AdamD]

Winston's Biology of the Honeybee discusses swarms and the average distance they fly (from memory as the book isn't with me at the moment) is around 800m to 1 km although there is a large variation in the distance travelled. The reason, of course is that a swarm would not want to compete for food with the colony that it has just come from. So a swarm in your back yard could well be from elsewhere.

[NigelP]

regarding wasp traps....one of the visual clues wasps use in finding food sources is other wasps.
I always wondered why my clear bottle traps seemed to work better when the bottom was filled with wasps. I've considered printing a picture of condensed wasps to stick on outside of bottle and compare to clear at the offset.

[Japey Edge]

I think I might stick another trap out... I think I may need next door to get rid of the nest they have in their bamboo....