BBKA Forum

Some checks yesterday - colonies haven't increased that much in the numbers of brood frames since Feb - or the few I have now inspected twice this year, anyway. There was a lull where the queen stopped laying, it seems, since those warm February days.
On Wednesday colonies had no liquid stores at all. Yesterday there was some and brood was well-fed too.

Feb 27th inspection in a 5 frame nuc. All fine. 2 decent frames of brood, queen seen, marked and clipped.
March 23rd inspection. No queen. No eggs and no larvae less than, say, 2 days old. 4 nearly complete emergency queencells.
So she just died then!

Very uncommon in my experience - you would usually see signs of drone brood, or her slowing down and signs of supercedure but not just disappearing.

Adam that is bad luck. I once found a dead queen on the ground outside a hive at about this time of year, but why they pushed her out I had no idea. They just became queenless.

I haven't looked in my hives since a quick peak during that same warm spell a month ago. I am still waiting for the next warm enough day. All looks well from the outside but I can only guess how things are inside.

Guys/Gals I'm jealous...on the old forum I used to get chastised for advising what you lot are alll doing...early inspections in good flying weather. I'm yet to get the smoker lit.
Wed/Thursday looking possible...we shall see.
Need to get hives prepared to move to the rape on the first inspection in March!.....Oh boy....every season is different.

Nigel I don't see any problem with a quick look to assess a colony on the first suitable day. Particularly with regard to food which with potentially large amounts of brood this year, could include pollen supplements. I suppose one could just put them on whatever and wait until it warms up properly. The other thing I like to do early is mark or remark any unmarked queen as they are easier to find at this time of year. I also clip any queens from the end of last summer.

Anyway the flowering currents are out, which I was taught was a good indicator of when to inspect. Rape is also starting to flower further inland but none near me.

thats very frustrating Adam. I have been doing full on inspections and moving nucs in to full hives or adding extension boxes to nucs. It has been a very good winter for my bees. I would hurry up Nigel, I passed a OSR field this afternoon and I reckon a few more days it will be completely yellow over.

Jim Norfolk wrote: ↑

24 Mar 2019, 18:27

Anyway the flowering currents are out, which I was taught was a good indicator of when to inspect.

LOL>
I'm not disagreeing Jim....used to take a bit of stick for suggesting good flying day in March was okay for inspections.
Flowering current....be late May up here.

I was going to do my first inspection this afternoon, however when I stood between the two hives the wind was bitter, so I retreated to the potting shed.

Yup we had bright sunshine but a cold north-easterly. Won’t be opening until it’s a) warm enough b) I’m around to do it! So won’t be this week.

Suspect may be putting first two supers on as well. Apple starting to flower and OSR coming out. In fact blossom everywhere.

popped down to the winter talk at Leeds beekeepers Association to see Shirley Bond from Harrogate and Ripon BKA talk about preparing honey and other products for the show bench. A really good talk and very interesting.

Did my second full inspection today and was amazed to find that not only had one of my colonies drawn out a new BB of foundation to about 90% complete that I gave them 7 days ago, but they had also 40% filled it with what I first assumed was syrup but then realised looking at my other hives that we have a flow on. Two of my other hives had hardly any room left and I have just fitted my first supers. Although we also have fields of rapeseed just coming into flower and its still March I don't think they are working it yet