Couple of weeks since the last update and I have been very bee busy.
Lets see, not in order:
– Started on a queen rearing course – homework was making queen cups, that was fun.
– Killed a queen, not all my fault, she was squashed in a plunger during a mêlée as her hive attacked me.
– Requeened, maybe not successfully, can’t find the queen but saw about 5 eggs after 3 days
– Melted a mating nuc plastic parts while steam cleaning it. Apidea hive parts curl up as they cool, be warned.
– Got a new apiary on fields of borage; with a chap from our group we were hacking down brambles the other night.
– comb changed another hive, same issue of the bees ignoring her in the empty box like last time.
– set up a double mating nuc with bees and queen cells, although they may be a swarmy strain I don’t have much choice.
– picked up a swarm, hived it, and here is the video after I put her in the hive
– seen so many queen cells its unreal. I thought it was enough when I had 15 in a hive. Last night I found 10 on the bottom edge of one frame! Then about 7 on each side of a frame in the same hive.