Hi there. Same here. . . Awful Honey Harvest ! But fabby Increase in Colonies ! 👍 Started with x5 Over Wintered (out of x6 !) And now I have todate x 16 !!! Including x2 Black Breeder Queens from Northumberland ! Most of my Nucs made at least x2 QC's nicely Drawn down and Spaced on Several Frames within a 'Calm Colony. So easy peasy to 'Cut' them out and Harvest them. And making 'Artificial Swarms, means I 'dont lose any Bees.' So far x1 Bait Hive I placed, just for kicks, received an Incoming Swarm ! Not one of mine. 😁 So 90% of the time I can keep an eye of 'local' Bee Genetics. Not far from a big Bee Farmer near Berwick, just South of the Border. Hope some of my Bees have 'their Drones Genetics' somewhere as their Hives are dotted all over the near Countryside. (They have Black Bees too.) So most of mine are as Hard as Nails. Smaller, Darker and a tad Shiney to those 'Stripey Bees' folk have on UA-cam ! (Think they look like (Convict) Bee Colonies. I'll let myself out. . . 😎 🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝 Happy Beekeeping 2024 🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝 Question : Have you not thought of 'Breeding your Own Queens' instead (?) I personally don't Graft (to fiddley) but if they have BIAS then they make lovely local 'Homemade' Queens. That suit our Wet and Cold Climate too. Soggy : May, June, & July !!! Worst Summer so far. Even a local Beek said he had 'No' Honey ! And the Ling Heather has come x6 Weeks early ! Guess Nature is having a laugh and gone from Spring right into a faux 'Autumn.' 😵💫 More Bees this Year, means more options next Year. 🤞
The weather has been really bad, I was transferring nucs into hives yesterday and it was nice and sunny, once I got home it started to rain really hard.
Balsam in full flower here at loch lomand 🏴 nucs building up really fast hear but constantly in pulling down cells been clipping queens this year for first time does that have anything to do way them building so many queen cells
I think it is a clever idea to turn towards nuc production rather than honey with the weather being so poor. You will still need the pollen flow though but that is better than needing a pollen and a nectar flow. I cannot remember a season this bad throughout the 12 or 13 years I have been a beekeeper, or before that either to be honest.
I get that you sterilised the frame grabber and hive tools, but you handle the smoker with the same gloves hive to hive, so any cross contamination is allowed between hives, unless of course you change gloves at every hive inspection.
I’m more concerned with contamination from apiary to apiary. Not hive to hive. The smoker gets a few wash downs too with the soda. And I wear new gloves every apiary.
Great video!!I learned some tips. Thank you very much, Gruffydd!!!
The commute sucks, Griff! Keep at it bois bach!
Smart using them in the nucs
I feel sorry for you with this weather. It's been bloody awful, and i live in the better area weatherwise. Good luck with the nucs.
Hi there.
Same here. . . Awful Honey Harvest ! But fabby Increase in Colonies ! 👍
Started with x5 Over Wintered (out of x6 !) And now I have todate x 16 !!! Including x2 Black Breeder Queens from Northumberland !
Most of my Nucs made at least x2 QC's nicely Drawn down and Spaced on Several Frames within a 'Calm Colony. So easy peasy to 'Cut' them out and Harvest them.
And making 'Artificial Swarms, means I 'dont lose any Bees.'
So far x1 Bait Hive I placed, just for kicks, received an Incoming Swarm !
Not one of mine. 😁 So 90% of the time I can keep an eye of 'local' Bee Genetics. Not far from a big Bee Farmer near Berwick, just South of the Border. Hope some of my Bees have 'their Drones Genetics' somewhere as their Hives are dotted all over the near Countryside. (They have Black Bees too.) So most of mine are as Hard as Nails. Smaller, Darker and a tad Shiney to those 'Stripey Bees' folk have on UA-cam ! (Think they look like (Convict) Bee Colonies.
I'll let myself out. . . 😎
🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝
Happy Beekeeping 2024
🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝
Question :
Have you not thought of 'Breeding your Own Queens' instead (?)
I personally don't Graft (to fiddley) but if they have BIAS then they make lovely local 'Homemade' Queens. That suit our Wet and Cold Climate too.
Soggy : May, June, & July !!!
Worst Summer so far. Even a local Beek said he had 'No' Honey ! And the Ling Heather has come x6 Weeks early ! Guess Nature is having a laugh and gone from Spring right into a faux 'Autumn.' 😵💫
More Bees this Year, means more options next Year. 🤞
The weather has been really bad, I was transferring nucs into hives yesterday and it was nice and sunny, once I got home it started to rain really hard.
Unbelievably grim weather almost all spring and summer with more rain predicted up here in North Wales.
Balsam in full flower here at loch lomand 🏴 nucs building up really fast hear but constantly in pulling down cells been clipping queens this year for first time does that have anything to do way them building so many queen cells
At least with nuc production you can somewhat control it, as we know. The weather, we can't.
I think it is a clever idea to turn towards nuc production rather than honey with the weather being so poor. You will still need the pollen flow though but that is better than needing a pollen and a nectar flow. I cannot remember a season this bad throughout the 12 or 13 years I have been a beekeeper, or before that either to be honest.
What pen do you use to write on the bricks?
Uniposca pens
First 👍
I get that you sterilised the frame grabber and hive tools, but you handle the smoker with the same gloves hive to hive, so any cross contamination is allowed between hives, unless of course you change gloves at every hive inspection.
I’m more concerned with contamination from apiary to apiary. Not hive to hive.
The smoker gets a few wash downs too with the soda. And I wear new gloves every apiary.