I’ve been naming and marking… Naming hives after Muppets (as discussed) and marking and clipping queens that I have finally managed to find, hurah !
We have:
- Beaker – Benjamin’s hive, mee mee mee
- Fozzy Bear, Waca waca
- Sweedish Chef (Hurdy gurdy) because it is on a bit of an unstable stand just now
- Miss Piggy, because one of them stung me for no reason during the inspection
I’m yet to decide if I just paint the name on them, etch their names into the wood, or go as far as attempting artwork on the front of them. Apart from how the bees would take to the disruption, I’m concerned how my artwork will look.
After I checked for eggs again I installed “Stripes” (from the mating nuc) into the Fozzy bear hive. I had hoped than they would have taken the frame of eggs that I gave them earlier and made emergency cells, which I could then take and give to the mating hive. It wasn’t to be however, and so I’m now wondering where I can find them a new queen to look after them. I’m hoping the girls from Fozzy Bear will be nice to “Stripes” and that she keeps them nice and calm like the mating nuc.
I also was pretty successful at finding queens, clipping and marking finding 2 more and putting nice marks on them; although I am far from expert at catching and holding them, but I’m getting better.
I’m also in the process of reverting to more classical record keeping. With so many hives now its tricky to remember which one is where, never mind how each is getting on. So I printed some record sheets the other day and put some on the Krambach apiary, and yesterday at the Old School House apiary; but I ran out and went back to pencil and paper shorthand. I’ll have to sort out my printer at home. I’ve been tucking them under the roof, which seems to work.