Our annual honey show was held this year on 26th November 2024.
Many thanks to our regular judge Alan Riach who was joined as usual by his wife Cynthia who is a fount of knowledge on how to best prepare exhibits for show.
There was not a particularly high number of entries this year, perhaps reflecting the difficult beekeeping season. However, most classes were at least competitive and all had a high standard of entries.
PBKA president David Ferguson gave us a very interesting talk on using “spare” queen cells to raise new queens. The presentation had lots of good practical advice on his own technique making use of mini nucs.
We had a few technical difficulties on the night so David has kindly revamped the format of the presentation to make it clearer for future reference and it is available here for download (pdf).
Both colonies seem to be thriving. We removed Apivar and topped up fondant. Hive 2 had finished the central block but not touched the other one? a bit far away? We left them with 2 full blocks anyway and still some weight in the super. Some varroa on board but not excessive.
Hive 4 had finished their fondant so we replaced that and very little varroa seen on floor.
There are still 5-6 blocks of fondant in 2nd shed. All good. Thanks, Frances
Wednesday 18th Sept (follow up 22nd)
Present: Peter, Frances and Julia.
Weather – best day of the year! 20C and wall to wall sunshine.
Stand A – Hive 1 (Nuc)
Drone brood only in a systematic laying pattern. There were not many bees and we had a thorough search for the elusive queen but no luck. Didn’t want to unite if there was a rogue queen and with so few bees it wasn’t worth the risk so they got tipped out and nuc was removed.
Stand A – Hive 2
Super frames still not fully capped but honey seems fully ripe. Sorted frames into – best ones to be left on hive in lower super, with remainder above a clearer board to be removed. Bees were getting angsty by now so didn’t go into the brood box. Put a clean varroa board in. Peter will return to remove cleared super and add fondant and (probably) apply Apivar.
Stand B – Hive 4
This colony on brood and a half. We put 3 Apivar strips in the lower brood box. (Thanks Jeanie and Frances for donated Apivar). Hive put back in same configuration with one super plus eke with fondant. Replaced fondant (previous was all gone). Replaced old varroa tray with clean one. Old one must have been in a long time but there was a significant varroa drop.
Notes: Apivar needs to be removed in 6-8 weeks – in 1st 2 weeks of November.
Sunday 22nd
Stand A – Hive 2 – 2 Apivar strips added to brood box. The cleared super was removed. Configuration is now: Brood Box-Queen Excluder-Super (very well filled)-Crownboard-Eke with 2 tubs fondant-Roof.
Next Time. Check fondant. Count varroa drop. Clean and replace varroa boards and continue to monitor.
Apivar Lot Numbers
Sunday 8th Sept
Present: Lead - Scott
Jackie, George, Julia and Adrian
Weather: overcast 16C, calm.
Stand A - Hive 1 (Nuc)
Don’t hold out much hope for this colony. Was going to shake out but decided to give it one last chance.
Only a very small amount of drone brood, no worker brood or eggs, a lot of drones. Queen not seen but colony acting queen right. Noted queen had been seen fleetingly last time, given one last chance to see if she starts laying, but it is late in the season.
Plenty of stores and pollen, mashed up comb with honey put in feeder to see if encourages any queen activity, if not to shake out.
Stand A - Hive 2
Both upper supers still nearly full and about 50% to 60% capped. Left on with the hope of the further capping as a lot of activity on open frames. Bees calm but started to get more agitated the further we went in, brood box not checked.
Stand B - Hive 4
On brood and and a half, still a lot of bees. One super still pretty full and being capped. All the fondant fed on last visit was gone. More fondant fed due to the large number of bees, did not go into brood boxes as bees again becoming agitated.
Next visit
Check Hive 1 for any laying queen activity, if not shake out.
Hive 2 - consider removing capped frames for honey harvest.
Hive 4 - prep for winter.
Potentially only two viable hives will be left, need to consider varroa treatment and prep for winter,
Need more fondant as only one tub left in the sheds
Also more smoker fuel needed as last used and the remainder was damp and removed.
Fri 30th Aug
(postponed from 28th).
Present: Yvonne and Peter
Weather: 18C and pleasant to work in. The bees must have thought so too and all colonies were active.
Stand A - Hive 1 The fondant put on at the last visit had been mostly eaten, or moved down (there were some stores). The bees were behaving as if Queenright, and some unsealed larvae were spotted on the middle brood frames, so the signs are hopeful (still a few drones about in the hive, so with luck the Queen has mated somewhere). The Queen was fleetingly seen but not caught, and the middle 5 frames from the brood box were put into a Nuc box with one frame containing stores for further observation, along with the rest of the bees. Some more fondant and the remaining stores were put into a feeder on top, and the hive removed. Bees were very calm, given the amount of intervention.
Need to keep a watch on this one to ensure that the colony builds up for the winter.
The hive parts from this colony are strapped up on the bench by the sheds. They need to be removed and cleaned. We couldn't fit in a vehicle this visit.
Stand A - Hive 2 Both of the upper supers were about 70-80% full and not capped, and the thrids super had only a couple of frames worked on. All supers had undrawn frames. So the stores frames were consolidated into two supers and the third removed. Bees were OK with all of this and not overly protective, but then we didn't go into the brood box.
Stand B - Hive 4 Looks like the upper stores are either being eaten or taken down into the brood area, as there didn't seem to be a huge amount in the super for the apparent size of the colony. Added fondant as a precaution, but did not go into the brood boxes. Again the bees were calm.
Sun 18th Aug
David & Richard were joined by Jacquie & George Stewart and Paul Claudie.
Weather – Cloudy 14C and a gusty breeze
Stand A – Hive 1
We removed the super for extraction as it had come from Hive2 and was full. There was one queen cell which was capped, so it should have hatched by the next visit and there are still some drones about. This hive is now just a brood box, but it doesn’t have a large amount of bees or stores, so we gave them 1 tub of fondant.
Stand A – Hive 2
This hive had a new super over the brood box at the last visit on 8th August, with 2 supers above it, but as it was chilly, we didn’t open it up. The top super is about 80% full and remains to be fully capped.
Stand B – Hive 4
This hive is a brood and a half, with a super. The super was filling nicely but still has to be capped. We looked into the half brood box and there were larvae and newly capped brood on several frames. As the queen, marked green, was seen at the last visit, we didn’t open it up any further.
Stand C – Hive 7
There was no sign of the queen cell or a new queen and no new brood. As this colony has had drone brood since July and now was quite small, we decided to shake the bees out beside the other hives and remove the hive.
Mini Nuc (Apidea) by the sheds
There was no drawn comb and about half a cupful of bees, with a slug and dead bees in the fondant that had gone runny and dead bees on the floor. The queen was still there but as she had not been laying and was suspected to be a drone layer, we dispatched her and emptied the bees out beside the other hives.
Wed 8th Aug
Linda & David Carroll were joined by Scott Richardson, Jenny Littherland & Julie Clark
The weather was initially dry and breezy but turned to heavy rain before all the hives could be inspected.
Stand A – Hive 1
The test frame added to this hive at the last inspection is now fully capped but the bees have made no attempt to raise a queen cell from it !
All small amounts of other brood in the hive is all drone brood. A tiny amount of unsealed larvae and a handful of eggs were also seen.
Bees very calm.
No queen could be found on the sparsely populated frames.
Small amount of stores, sufficient for now for the low number of bees.
Weather then became too wet to harvest another test frame for this hive.
Full super from Hive 2 has been ‘parked’ on this hive for the meantime.
Stand A – Hive 2
Too wet to attempt a full inspection of this booming hive.
Despite the wet weather there were bees ‘bearding’ at the entrance suggesting congestion within the hive, so quickly added a new super above the brood box (4th super)
Too wet to attempt to clear bees from the filled top super to enable it to be taken away, so transferred the top super onto hive 1 to reduce the height of this booming hive for future inspections.
Stand B – Hive 4
Too wet to attempt an inspection of this booming hive.
From a quick look and hefting of the single super it appeared to be nearly filled so have added a second super above the brood box.
Stand C – Hive 7
The bees have raised a single queen cell (sealed) on the test frame added to this hive at the last inspection.
Mini Nuc (Appidea) by the sheds
The nuc entrance was still blocked with the grass left in it at the last inspection and the queen was still in the queen cage as the fondant plug had gone hard.
Hence, unable to draw any conclusion on the suspected drone laying status of the queen who we released from the cage and left in the appidea.
There were a few dead bees on the floor but still a reasonable number to attend the queen. Plenty fondant in the food well for now.
Thu 1st Aug
There was a missing date from the scheduled timetable. Peter went for an impromptu visit. Notes from Peter
Stand A – Hive 1: Drone brood only appearing in a regular pattern. A “tiny” queen was spotted on an earlier visit I so assume she is a drone layer. I couldn’t find the queen. I took a frame with eggs from Hive2 and marked a drawing pin – more in hope than expectation.
Stand A – Hive 2: This hive is booming! I only went far enough through the brood box to select a frame for Hive 1. There was lots of BIAS. The 3 supers are being filled rapidly. I reordered them with the most full on top – this one is nearly fully capped and could likely be removed next visit. Middle super is being refilled where they had eaten stores away previously (this one was above the brood box previously) so has a mix of old sealed and wet stores but is pretty heavy. The super now nearest the brood box has the newest comb – all drawn out and probably half full.
Stand B – Hive 4: This is a brood and a half with a super. Saw queen marked green in the half brood box. BIAS in both brood boxes. Took a full frame with eggs to donate to Hive 7. Super is about half full.
Stand C – Hive 7: Only drone brood in this hive even though there is the big green queen. I removed her to a mini nuc to make them queenless and put in a frame with eggs from Hive 4. Still a chance that this could be nurtured into a nuc for the winter if they can produce a new queen. Next visit reduce queen cells to one only.
Mini Nuc – By the sheds on top of a stack of poly nucs with a brick on top: I put the big green queen from Hive 7 in here in a queen cage. I put in some bees from Hive 4 to keep her company. They have fondant. I stuffed grass in the entrance to keep them in for a couple of days. Hoping for a miracle here really because all evidence suggests she is drone layer.
Sun 21st July
Notes from Steven
Weather stayed fair, although breezy and not particularly warm.
Present: Steven, Frances, Cath, Jacquie and George
Stand A – Hive 1
Brood box only
Still small colony and queen not seen.
Two hatched queen cells.
No eggs, grubs or brood.
Adequate (not plentiful) stores for the number of bees.
Bees calm.
Stand A – Hive 2
Brood box plus 3 supers.
Top of three supers still empty, but now more or less fully drawn out.
Middle super very full of (mostly) capped honey,
Bottom super less full – bees have been eating the stores.
Queen not seen, but the brood box is full of BIAS and looking good.
Bees calm.
Stand B – Hive 4
Brood and a half plus 1 super.
Super full of drawn comb, but not much in the way of capped stores.
Half brood box full of BIAS with capped stores too, and looking good.
Queen not seen.
Bees became agitated so we didn’t go through the brood box as the colony is clearly queen right with stores.
Stand C – Hive 7
Brood and a half, no super.
Fair bit of capped stores in the half brood box.
Fat queen marked green seen, but clearly not laying.
No eggs, grubs or sealed brood other than some old drone brood.
One sealed queen cell on the frame of eggs donated last time.
Bees calm.
The colony in Hive 7 could probably be merged with the colony in hive 1 if there is a queen who starts laying soon in either hive.
Thu 11th July
Notes from Wilma
The rain stayed away and it was warm enough to inspect all four hives.
Thanks to David for coming along as an extra pair if hands. We were joined by the two Billy’s, Belle, Paul, Angelica? and Jenny.
Barns Visit Thu 11/07/24
Stand A Hive 1
2 emerged queen cells. Tiny queen seen not marked. Very small colony, no eggs or brood just yet. Looks like first queen to emerge left with some bees reducing the colony size. We removed the empty super and reduced the entrance. Bees calm.
Stand A Hive 2
This hive is a brood and three supers. The top super was totally empty. There was some drone brood stuck above the queen excluder, so we put the one frame of drone brood into the brood box. The first super is fairly full of stores. Didn’t see the queen but there was bias. Bees were calm.
Stand B Hive 4
Very long and skinny Queen seen and marked Green. Colony on Brood and a super with another super above a queen excluder. One frame of eggs donated to hive 7. Bees not as aggressive as last time.
Stand C Hive 7
This hive is a brood and a super with no queen excluder, i.e. brood and a half. We didn’t see any larvae or eggs, looks like it may be queenless, but bees were reasonably calm. We gave it a frame of eggs, marked with a drawing pin, so check for queen cells next visit.
Sun 30th June
Present: Peter, Steven, Jacquie, George, Belle, Paul and Julia, Weather: 18C cloudy, no wind
We were pleased to see that the feral bees were flying from the pine tree near the gate again.
Stand A – Hive 1: Still no stores in the super so left on the pack of fondant (it had hardly been touched). So it was a surprise to find sealed queen cells, not many bees, and no sign of the queen. I think this has swarmed! Knocked down a couple of queen cells but decided to leave 2 sealed (not very big) and one open, thinking that the bees will make a better choice than us and not expecting them to cast from a small colony. Forgot to mark which frame had the QCs. Suggest leave this one alone to get mated now.
Stand A – Hive 2: Hard to see but it looked like the queen had only just started to lay. Couldn’t make out brood or eggs but it looked like patches of brood food in the middle of the centre frames. Expect this to show BIAS at the next visit. The queen was marching around, there were a lot of bees and the top super was full! The queen went down to the main brood box so we moved the QE down from being brood and half to just a single brood. First super has some stores, 2nd super was full and just needed stores capping. We put on a 3rd (optimistic) super because it is a strong colony and could come on quickly now the queen is laying.
Stand B – Hive 4:
Big dark brown queen (seen) now laying well. Lots of eggs, grubs at all stages and some sealed brood. Some stores and lots of pollen. Need to keep an eye on stores unless weather improves over the next week or so. Very very angry bees with all three of us being stung.
Stand C – Hive 7: Still no sign of a queen (big fat green or otherwise!) No sign of queen cells having been drawn from the frame of eggs added 19th June. No eggs, grubs or sealed brood but plenty of stores. Bees remarkably calm if queenless, so may not be!
We took away the 2 “dead” hives from the bench by the sheds. Mandy will kindly clean those.
The remaining boxes on the bench by the sheds have frames with foundation ready to use and there are more in the sheds as well. More than enough for this season.
Wed 19th June
Present: Bob Soutter, Yvonne Roberts Weather: 18 degC, light cloud and breeze.
The theme of this visit seemed to be that each hive either had stores or brood, but not both.
Stand A – Hive 1: No stores at all in the super and the frames didn’t seem to be being actively worked. There was some BIAS in the brood box, a mix of worker and drone, but not a lot of really fresh brood. We didn’t spot the red Queen but the bees seemed calm and busy (especially after we removed the entrance reducer!). One pack of fondant added above the crown board.
Stand A – Hive 2: Good stores in the top super. No brood, and some stores, in the super below the QE, but Bob eventually spotted the Queen and marked her green. Unfortunately she then flew off, so we did not check the bottom brood box and it looked like it was also pretty full of stores. Bees were calm and we removed the entrance reducer. Newish Queen, so maybe just needs time and good weather.
Stand B – Hive 4: We only quickly checked the stores in the top super to see if the colony needed food (it didn’t), because the Queen will be less than 10 days from hatching and we didn’t want to disturb her too early. It’s unlikely she’s laying yet. The bees we quite a lot calmer than last time (a good sign) and we removed the entrance reducer.
Stand C – Hive 7: Lots of stores in all boxes, but no sign of brood and no sign of the large, green marked Queen. Lots of polishing going on. Bees didn’t seem particularly agitated, but not as calm as last time, so as a precaution one frame of the newer brood was taken from the Hive 1 and swapped for a frame of stores – it is in the middle of the brood box. One to watch.
Stock notes: We took back the 4 cleaned supers, one roof, brood frames and an entrance reducer from Mandy, along with some smoker fuel, some packs of fondant, and assorted sundries. Some of the brood frames were put in a nuc at the back of the sheds (it already had 2 in it) and the rest are in a bag in the LH shed. The supers are stacked on top of some other cleaned boxes and have been strapped together (tall stack on RH side of bench at the sheds). Had a quick look in the strapped boxes on the LH side because they seemed to be being “scouted”. They have NOT been cleaned and the suspicion is that bees are trying to get to the wet frames inside them…now that they can actually get out and about at all! The sundries include some Queen catchers (look like perspex pipes), courtesy of Mandy’s sister, and some elastic loops for affixing “wild or brace” comb to frames – they are in one of the 2 bags of goodies in the LH shed. The Queen catchers are available to anyone who wants one. Hope this all makes sense, Cheers, Yvonne
Sun 9th June
Apiary visit Sunday 9th June
None of our usual lead beekeepers was available for the apiary visit on 9th June, so Yvonne Roberts and Shirley Barrett very kindly agreed to be demonstrators.
A big thank you to everyone: Julia said it was really good, very clear, she learnt a lot – so well done in your first session as demonstrators!
Weather: 15 degrees and sunny, but quite breezy.
Group split into 2 (Shirley, James, George and Yvonne, Julia, Jacquie). Each team took 2 hives and called the other across to corroborate when needed. Shirley’s group took Hives 1 and 2 (as below) and Yvonne’s group took Hives 4 and 7.
Shirley Barrett:
Here are our notes from 9th June that James, George and SB recorded.
Hive 1 – Queen seen – marked red. B.I.A.S (Brood In All Stages) and eggs seen. There were no longer any capped stores in the super as reported on 29/5/24. However, there were sealed stores. The hive was busy, calm and looked healthy.
Hive 2 – Very busy with a lot of bees. Very calm hive. Top box – An unmarked small queen was seen, however we lost sight of her so didn’t manage to mark her. Two damaged queen cells removed from top brood box and one sealed queen cell removed in the hope that the new queen starts to lay more. Still B.I.A.S in the top box and a small amount of eggs were seen on one frame. There was a very small amount of chalk brood in random cells.
Bottom Box – Still no brood. However, there is pollen in the drawn frames. . .
Super is filling up and is nearly all fully capped.
Yvonne:
Stand B, Hive 4: Busy hive. Top super about half full with stores (middle frames), and actively being worked. Super directly below the QE had old play cups on frames 3 and 5 (counted from left when standing behind the hive), which were taken down to show the beginners what was (not) in them. Similarly there was another in the lower brood box.
The charged QC seen before has not hatched, but was dark ringed at the bottom, suggesting emergence is imminent. The bees were quite agitated, but not aggressive (no surprise if no active Queen), and it was noted that there were a lot of drones.
Stand C, Hive 7: Quite a lot of wax deformation and holes – wax moth? Upper box is mostly stores, but patchy and some very sparse drone brood also seen (age uncertain). Play cup on the x-marked frame. Green marked Queen (she’s a big girl!) seen initially in the upper box but she was very mobile and appeared a bit lost as to where to start laying – no obvious signs of her doing so just yet. Some stores in the lower box (no QE).
Bees were very calm so they seem happy enough with their Queen for now.
Stocks at Barns:
Yvonne: The poly nucs at the back of the sheds had no frames in so maybe they’ve been moved to the national boxes on the stand next to the sheds. I think these are the boxes that Peter mentioned at the end of his notes from 19th May: Shirley and I had both missed that comment, I think.
The boxes on the stand at the sheds with frames in them are cleaned (thanks Mandy), and some more boxes (supers) were taken for cleaning from the LH side of the sheds and dropped off to Mandy by Shirley.
We didn’t check all of the boxes on the stand (2 stacks were strapped shut anyway), so not sure how many frames there are either. From memory, the one stack we did check seemed to have a full set of brood frames and almost a full set in super. It might be worth running up a set of super frames just now (that was why they brought back 3 supers to clean, may be needed once the lime blossom kicks in), and can be checked again next time.
Mandy: 4? Supers with foundation were taken to Barns about 3 weeks ago, but may now be in use. Mandy will clean up the three wooden supers & roof and can fill the supers but will need to purchase 3 packs of frames and 3 of wired foundation, if that’s OK.
The poly nucs still look mucky I must admit – they were cleaned in the autumn, as far as I could, with washing soda and then bleached, but that is as clean as I could get them. Maybe we should treat them as emergency/disposables, as they were second-hand after all. They were sent with deep frames and foundation in, so ready for splits/expansion/filling any gaps in brood boxes after splitting. It is possible they have already been used, but I do have 12 deep frames with foundation ready made up at home.
Wed 29th May
Bees all active, 16C & sunny
In attendance: David Ferguson, Wilma McLean, James Culshaw, Jenny Greave & David Carroll
Stand A Hive 1
Didn’t see the queen but saw some bias. Looked to be expanding now, with some capped stores in the super that was added on 19/05/24. The bees were calm.
Stand A Hive 2
At the last visit on 19/05/24 this colony was swarming, so it wasn’t opened and hadn’t been checked since for queen cells. It is a brood and a half, with a queen excluder then a super.
On opening it up there was a lot of bias in the top super! There were also several queen cells. There was no brood in the lower super, below the queen excluder, nor in the brood box. We didn’t see the mated queen in the top box.
There were some damaged queen cells along the lower edge of the top super but one that wasn’t had a dark cap, which when dislodged it, a virgin queen ran out! We found her and have placed her in a nuc with two brood frames of stores, a super frame with bias and all the adhering bees. David took it to his apiary, to avoid bees drifting back to the hive and to let her be mated.
We reorganised the hive placing the super with the brood below the queen excluder and the one with stores above it. Throughout all of this, the bees
Stand B Hive 4
We removed several sealed queen cells leaving one that was receiving lots of attention from the bees. It is in the bottom brood box, second frame in from the right if you are standing behind the hive. The bees were calm and are filling the super nicely too.
Stand C Hive 7,
We saw eggs and well done to James, who found and marked a rather stripy queen, she is marked green. Again the bees were calm.
Sun 19th May
Peter was joined by James, Mhairi, Jenny G., Daniel, Jacqui, George and Paul.
It was a perfect day for beekeeping, warm and sunny. The bees thought so too because Hive 2 swarmed while we were doing the inspections! It was a very obliging swarm that clustered head height on a tree branch. We improvised a swarm collection with an empty nuc, an XXL beesuit and a towel. Sadly the bees didn’t fancy this arrangement and when Peter went back in the evening to collect the nuc it was empty of bees.
ApiaryHive 2 after the swarmSwarm at the apiary
Hive Notes:
Hive 1: Queen seen marked red. BIAS but they have not really expanded beyond 4 frames of brood. We replaced 3 frames where the foundation was not being drawn possibly due to being warped or propolised. They had good stores and were trying to store honey below the crown board so we added a super. No queen cells.
Hive 2: Swarm was in progress when we arrived so we didn’t open the hive.
This should ideally be checked before the next scheduled inspection to reduce to a single queen cells to avoid cast swarms. Peter will try and do this next weekend. As noted the swarm was caught but absconded
Hive 4 : On a brood and a half with a single super. Charged queen cells were seen straight away so we decided to split. The queen was caught and put in a nuc box with 1 frame of sealed brood, 2 frames of pollen and honey, 3 frames of foundation. Extra bees were shaken in to supplement numbers. Replacement frames with foundation were put in the original hive.
This should ideally also be checked before the next scheduled inspection to reduce to a single queen cell to avoid cast swarms. Peter will try and do this next weekend.
The nuc was later supplied to the member who was top of the association waiting list.
Hive 7 : This hive was not inspected so as not to disturb the new queen. The behaviour at the entrance looked normal – bees were foraging.
We brought a number of brood and super boxes with new foundation prepared by Mandy. These were stacked on the bench by the sheds. Also brought were more poly nuc brood boxes and parts that have been stored with Mandy. There is quite a lot of equipment now stacked around the shed.
Wed 8th May
We had a lovely afternoon at Barns today. Thank you to Jenny, Julia and James for joining me.
Here are the notes :
Hive 1: Queen seen marked red. Covering 4 frames of brood in a single brood box. Bees gentle and calm.
Next visit it might need a queen excluder and super.
Hive 2 : Queen not seen, it was difficult to see eggs but there was plenty bias again bees calm and fanning. They had drawn out most of the new super given last week already !
Next visit check for room in brood box and super. Split colony to make a nuc or add another super
Hive 3 : Queen seen marked red. No worker brood so queen dispatched and bees shaken out. Hive closed up and now on bench beside the other one at the shed.
Hive 4 : Queen seen red. Plenty of bias given a queen excluder and an undrawn super.
Next visit check for room in brood box as the bees from 3 were making their way into this hive whilst it was open.
Hive 7 : Queen had emerged from the queen cell although we didn’t see her the bees were calm, fanning and bringing in pollen.
Next visit look to see if she has mated and started laying.
Tue 30th April
Barns Visit Tue 30/04/24.
Bees all active, 14C & sunny with a strong breeze.
In attendance: David Ferguson
Stand A Hive 1
Is just a brood box. Saw Queen marked red & some bias. Small colony but may expand now. Has 2 tubs fondant with a little bit left in them and they have some pollen and nectar stores as well. Varroa board had quite a lot of mouse droppings on it
Stand A Hive 2
Had brood box with super below. Strong colony, 8 frames brood, plus pollen & nectar stores in brood box & 4/5 frames brood in the super. I swapped the boxes round, the floor looked clean and added a super on top with new foundation. Once they start working the new super a queen excluder could be put in.
Stand B Hive 3
Has a brood box with super below. Didn’t see the Queen, but she was seen the previous visit marked red, there is only spotty drone brood, no worker brood and nothing of any note in the super. They have some stores and had eaten all the fondant, so I removed the tubs. The super could be removed at the next visit.
Stand B Hive 4
Had a brood box with 2 supers below. Strong colony. Didn’t see the Queen but saw bias with pollen and stores. There was some brood in the super below the brood box and none in the lower super so I reorganised the hive with the brood box on the floor then a super with the brood and some stores and removed the empty super. They had eaten all the fondant so I took the tubs away and covered the holes in the crown board with a slate.
Stand C Hive 5
This hive still had no worker brood, just spotty drone brood so I shook the bees out beside the hives and have placed the empty hive on the stand next to the sheds with the entrance closed. It is a good example for beginners to see the “mess” inside and there is some faeces spotting so it may have had some Nosema too. The hive could be taken away and cleaned.
Stand C Hive 7
Had a brood box with a super below. Didn’t see the Queen and there is no brood but I found 1 queen cell in the brood box and marked the frame it was on with a green cross. Rather than disturb them I left the super below the brood box. They have 2 tubs of fondant with a lot left in them.
Next visit check if the Queen cell has hatched. If not, release the bees and remove the hive.
Varroa Boards
Checked all the varroa boards and there was very little mite drop on them all. Hive 1’s board had quite a lot of mouse droppings and Hive 2’s has quite a lot of chalkbrood mummies. All boards put back in.
To Do’s
Hive 1 – Check still expanding.
Hive 2 – Insert a Queen excluder once they are drawing out the top super.
Hive 3 – Check for any worker brood. If none, shake the bees out and remove the hive. If they have worker brood, possibly remove the super from below the brood box.
Hive 4 – Possibly fit a Queen excluder and add a new super above to give them space.
Hive 7 – Check if the Queen cell has hatched. If not, release the bees and remove the hive.
Check varroa boards & then remove them.
remove any remaining fondant tubs. There are some slates next to Hive 1.
the boxes removed at this visit are on the wooden stand beside the sheds to let them air. They could be scraped and torched then stored under a roof.
The empty hive on the stand next to the sheds could be removed for disposal of the frames and cleaning.
Consider
If Hives 3 & 7 are still drone layers & the Queen cell in Hive 7 is a dud, leading to these hives being removed, then Hives 2 & 4 could be split to make up nucs & as part of swarm control.
Sat 21st April
Notes from Peter, Scott, Wilma and David.
Inspections were done as part of the beginners in person day. We got the best beekeeping day of the year so far and were able to have a good look at all the hives. Temperature was about 13C with good sunshine. All hives had bees but there was a quite a contrast in how each were faring so far in this cold wet spring – see below.
Stand A Position 1 Hive No 1
Queen found and marked red. No sealed brood but there were small patches of eggs and larva. There was pollen and nectar stores in this hive too.
Stand A Position 2 Hive No 2
Yellow queen seen, it was a good strong colony covering 6/7 frames of sealed brood with plenty pollen and nectar stored.
Stand B Position 3 Hive No 3
Red queen seen, not much brood, quite patchy on 4 frames. A lot of drone brood and drones. Will need to check queen starts laying well. There is a super box under the brood box but it was not inspected.
Stand B Position 4 Hive No 4
Red queen seen, BIAS and good brood pattern over 5 frames .
Bees well well natured. Lots of pollen being brought in and plenty of stores. Mouse guard removed.
There are 2 super boxes under the brood box but they were not inspected.
Stand C Position 5 Hive No 5
Had some spotty drone brood, so it’s either a drone laying queen or workers. They were bringing some pollen in and the bees were calm.
Stand C Position 6 Hive No 7
Didn’t have any brood, saw queen marked yellow. They were bringing pollen in and the bees were calm.
All hives had mouseguards removed.
All hives had new yellow correx varroa trays added. Next time – check the varroa drop.
Possible jobs for next time.
Remove super boxes that are under the brood boxes
Check varroa drop
Wed 17th April
Notes from Wilma:-
Despite the cold weather we had a lovely afternoon at Barns today.
Whilst it was lovely and calm and relatively warm at the apiary I felt that we would be giving the bees too much work to warm the hive back up again with the temps due to drop again tonight so we didn’t do any full inspections.
We cleaned what varroa floors were there, removed the wool insulation and replaced tubs of fondant.
Thanks to everyone who made the effort to come along and help, it was lovely catching up with you all.
The usual format – which we have found works well – is to give the basic theory & background in a series of Zoom talks before the season gets well under way. The Zoom talks may be recorded if you are unable to attend one of them: the talks are fully illustrated, and there will be an experienced beekeeper on hand to respond to any typed queries while the talk is in progress.
After each talk, we’ve allowed time for discussion and further queries.
By mid-late April, the colonies are getting quite active, so there’s a Practical Day with an apiary visit, introduction to the practical side of things such as suits, lighting smokers, making up frames, different hives, and a look at beekeeping equipment.
Hands-on learning: through the rest of the year, the Association apiary like any other, has to be managed: visits are every 10 days (half at weekends, half during the week) and we strongly recommend that you attend as many of these as you can. Guided by an experienced beekeeper, you will learn how to “read” the colony, handle bees, anticipate the colony’s needs, and help it thrive.
The course dates are as follows:
21st March Lesson 1 Honeybee Natural History (45mins); Chat (15mins)
28th March Lesson 2 Managing the Colony (45 mins); Chat (15mins)
4th April Lesson 3 Getting Started (20 mins): and Bee Health Varroa (25 mins); Chat (15mins)
11th April Lesson 4 The Beekeeping Year (45mins); Chat 15mins
18th April Lesson 5 Bee Health: Brood and Adult (45mins); Chat (15mins)
20th April Practical Day
25th April Lesson 6 Space for Review/catch up/Quiz/Chat 60mins
May (TBC) Lesson 7: Swarming possibly 9th/16th
August (TBC) Lesson 8 Honey Practical session on honey processing may also be arranged.
Venue: the talks are all on Zoom; the Practical Day will be held at Manor Village Hall.
Cost: £35 which also gives you membership of the Association for a year. You’ll get news, updates, access to speakers/events, hiring of some beekeeping equipment such as hive carrier and extractors, and information on how/where to acquire local bees.
Payment: £35.00 payable in advance by BACS to Peeblesshire Beekeepers Association
A/c No. 00703848, Sort Code 80-09-33; please put your name as a reference.
Or send a cheque for £35 made out to Peeblesshire Beekeepers, to Linda Haldane, PBKA Treasurer, Manortoun, Manor, Peebles EH45 9JN.
What do I need: wellies and rubber gloves such as “Marigold” type. We can lend you beesuits. For the practical day you will need to bring your lunch, but we will provide tea, coffee, biscuits.
Contacts: for most queries, contact secretary Mandy Clydesdale on 01721 720 563 / 07563 185 993 or .
The beginner’s course is run as a refresher/beginners course – so whether you’re a complete beginner, or just feel a bit rusty, do get yourself booked in to the course. Each talk starts at 7.30pm, and will last an hour, with time afterwards for questions and chat.
In addition to the talks, there will be a practical hands-on day, to cover making up frames, lighting the smoker, introduction to equipment, a “virtual” hive, as well as hive visits to introduce you to practical management and handling.
Topic: Beeswax from comb to candles: Mandy Clydesdale PBKA
The practicalities of dealing with all that used comb: cleaning, filtering – and some aspects of health and safety. Which materials to avoid, what to do with your cleaned wax – and some basic information on candle-making.
Wanting to start beekeeping? Make sure you’re well-informed before you start, and avoid costly mistakes. Peeblesshire Beekeepers have been running beginners’ courses for 10 years.
Our course is partly online via Zoom (for talks on the theory) and partly practical. There’s a supervised practical day (learning to assemble a hive parts, handle bees, light the smoker etc) and throughout the year there are regular supervised visits to an apiary to enhance your skills and give you confidence.
The cost for the course is £35: this includes the talks, the practical day, demonstrations at the apiary (we can lend a beesuit): as well as one year’s membership of the Peeblesshire Beekeepers Association. Membership gives you access to advice and help, our winter talks, loan of some beekeeping equipment, and – if you’re ready to get started – the purchase of one of our small starter colonies (or “nucs”) of local bees at less than a commercial price.
Our next talk will be on Thursday 1st April at 7.30pm : Dr Mark Barnett from Roslin Institute will talk about “Mapping honey bee health and genetic diversity“
The talk will be via Zoom, an invitation will be sent to members by email.
Dr Barnett’s research projects have investigated not just honeybee genetics (in particular that of the dark bee), but also the microbial life within and on honeybees, which affect their life and health.
