Did an examination last Wednesday and could not find an egg anywhere, there was loads of Lava, from very small ones to large. Had a look today and found quite a few queen cells so I have split the hive so with a but of luck will have two active hives once again.
Also, last Friday had a swarm fly over the garden and they eventually settled on a fox glove stem more or less at ground level, placed a cardboard box over the ball and they dutifully wandered up into the box.
My annoyance of the day yesterday was a colony that is now laying drones. It swarmed early in the season (lack of space with the OSR coming in) and I couldn't find the clipped queen, so I was comfortable that the single queencell I left it would result in a new queen. After some time with polished cells in the brood area (a usual indication of there being a queen present) but no eggs, I put in a test-frame. A week later there were queencells so I removed them and put in a laying queen. A week later she was gone so I put in another frame of open brood the same day. After a few days queencells were being made so I left 3 decent ones with the idea that I would inspect a week later and reduce to one. That was yesterday afternoon. Alas the queencells were there but so was drone brood. I have now moved the colony away and replaced it with a brood box filled with a nuc of bees and a decent laying queen from my out apiary to capture the flyers; I will put the supers on top in a few days time and then decide what to do with the remaining brood box after that.
Crazy forage heavy flow on at the mo, supered a colony ( a swarm late April and currently unbelievably docile) today with another deep BS/DN and SN as they have found massive forage so currently a very heavy flow is on, currently colony is B&H national with already 2 supers and a Demeree brood on. Up to 2 weeks ago there was very little stores and have been lightly feeding to keep them going and to encourage foundation to be drawn out.
The Demeree brood I have been transfering sealed brood up weekly to replace combs in a congested brood box, as usual this is also now partly (half filled) with nectar.
At least for the next 5 days forecast is the same here as it has been for the last week warm and humid.
Equipment now running low so more ordering required, four other colonies in a much similar state and looking at a better year the last year as it stands.
Sounds good Neal! Whereabouts in the country are you? I'm too new to know what's a good flow or not. The fields near us aren't showing much flower - only three fields of poppy about, but there are plenty of trees and some wildflowers about. I'm still learning
Got all kitted up to do a big look at the hives - finding queens, checking if two have mated, making changes to hived swarm etc... Then it rained...
Forecast said it wouldn't, imagine that eh
Plus side is I saved a tired bee I found in the garage and dropped her near an entrance. I also painted my second mini mating nuc. Cheap knock off thing but they work fine
... Just found out from next door that one of my hives swarmed. I think it was the small one that I heard the queen piping in. I thought I could leave the QCs there and she would kill them, obviously not