Showing posts with label spring. Show all posts
Showing posts with label spring. Show all posts

Friday 8 March 2013

It's About Time He Fixed That Gate...

Sunday the 3rd of March: Late Afternoon.
While his bees were hard at work in the early spring sunshine, LandofSpike had some seasonal tasks of his own to complete.

Apiary Diary: A Little Maintenance


1. No Grass and Looking a bit Scruffy


Task: Last year's wet weather had transformed the Apiary (and the previously grassy plains of Spike Acres) into a mud pit. 
It was now spring and the grass hadn't yet recovered.
Also, the Apiary was covered in leaves, twigs and other detritus that had built up over the winter.
Action: Leaves and twigs raked up, grass seed laid.


Raked & seeded. There are even some daffs


2. The Apiary Gate Needs Some Attention

Task A: Sticks from the willow screen above the door were continually dropping down into the door space, getting wedged in the door and stopping it from closing.
Action A: Attach wooden strip across front and back of the top of the door frame to keep the sticks in place.
Seal the job with weatherproof paint.


     Before: typically shoddy workmanship                                After: still shoddy of course, but problem solved

Task B: The Apiary Gate wasn't closing properly as it had not yet had a lock fitted.
The lock needed to be:
   i) sturdy enough to keep the gate from swinging open on its own or blowing open in the wind.
  ii) simple enough to click open when carrying lots of bee equipment.
Action B: Attach lock device
Secure clip to Doorframe with 20mm panel pins.
Hammer 30mm nail into top right hand corner of gate so that the head of the nail just rests behind clip when door is shut.
Door will now click open with the gentlest of tugs or pushes. It will also click shut with the same minimal pressure.


   Position of gate lock on unpainted lintel                        Close up of lock device: gentle click to open


Update: A Week Later

The Apiary gate modifications are working perfectly.
On the other hand, it has rained, more or less, continuously for two days, turning the Apiary and the rest of Spike Acres, once again, into a sea of mud.





Thursday 7 March 2013

The First Inspection of Spring

Tuesday the 5th of March, Early Afternoon.

The Apiary thermometer was reading 16.5C. 
It was time to have a quick look around inside the hive.



Apiary Diary: Inspection

Smoker ignited at first attempt. Patent LandofSpike eggbox method (to be detailed in upcoming post) works a treat.
Entrance smoked, lid popped off, top feeder removed.
The top feeder had been left on for the winter but had seen no significant attention from the bees since the autumn.

Transparent inner cover removed and more gentle smoke used.
Bees retreated down into comb.
As usual, these Buckfasts are placid and calm.

Eke and slab of fondant removed.
Not much of the fondant had been consumed but it had been integrated into the top of the frames and attached to the top of the burr comb structure.


Fondant integrated into the burr comb structure

(The reason for the presence of burr comb of such epic proportions will be documented in a subsequent post. Link to follow...)

Super frames 1, 2, 3, 7 & the inside of 8 were seen to contain a good supply of capped honey. 


Frame removed showing capped honey                     Capped honey on frames & burr comb in situ

The burr comb, occupied the space vacated by missing super frames 4,5 & 6. 
It was, although not particularly Langstroth-friendly, stunningly beautiful. 
Its smooth architectural curves were delightful and there were deep, mysterious-looking bee-sized tunnels swooping into and out of its intricately twisted shape, allowing apian access to each and every cell.


Anarchic, not in the handbook, but intricately beautiful. And, seemingly, full of honey

Crucially though, it also looked as if it was completely full of capped honey.
And if it was full of capped honey, that meant it contained no new brood.
Which meant that it was less likely to be harbouring the Queen.

Which means that now it has served its purpose of helping sustain the colony through the winter, it can now be considered for imminent removal.

The presence of the burr comb meant it was impossible to remove the super to check the brood box for new brood.
However, super frames 1, 8, 9 & 10 were removed and honey stores were spied in the box below. Every sign indicates that all is well down there.


A second super was added just in case the bees felt the need to make some new comb.


Inspection over, the inner cover and the roof were replaced, and the restraining strap secured.


Finally, the varroa board, having been absent for the winter, was re-inserted.
Monitoring this for a short while will give an indication of hive activity and post-winter varroa levels.



Post inspection:

The eke has been cleaned and stored.

The top feeder has been cleaned and is due a lick of gloss paint on the inner reservoir surface to reseal some scuffed patches. 
The feeder should really have been removed from the hive much earlier. In winter, syrup is best replaced with a solid feed.

The remaining fondant has been re-sealed and stored in the freezer.



Conclusion & Projected Action:

Now that it looks likely that the burr comb is just one big honey store, it has been decided that it should be removed at the next inspection.
This is scheduled for Sunday 10 March.
If all goes well, it should restore, after a winter of freestyle comb, regular Hoffman frame order to the hive.

This will also be an opportunity to check on new activity and asses whether the top feeder (primed with 2:1 syrup) needs to be in place, as a precaution, until the weather stabilises.



The removal of the burr comb is also, of course, the equivalent of an early season honey harvest.





Wednesday 6 March 2013

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Spring at the BeesofSpike Apiary

Sunday the 3rd of March 

Today was the first truly spring-like day of the year. 
It was still too cold to open the hive, but the sudden change in the seasons meant that there was now plenty of action outside the box.


Apiary Diary: Observations

11.30am: Bright sun and feeling warmer than it had for ages. 
The Apiary thermometer was only reading 6.1C but there were already lots of flyers, a few returning with pollen.


Morning: still a bit chilly

12 noon:  A little warmer and significant numbers of bees now flying.
A larger proportion of bees were returning with pollen and there was constant activity.
The flight patterns seemed less focussed than summer foraging flights. 
Much of the activity around the front of the hive was less direct, more chaotic, very probably orientation flights.

Soon after this the activity died away to nothing, perhaps coinciding with it clouding over a bit.

2pm: The sun had emerged from behind the clouds and the temperature had risen to 10.7C. The bees were back flying again. 
The flights built up from a small start to large numbers of bees which caused a bit of a traffic jam and the odd ruck at the small winter entrance with lots of pushing and shoving to get in and out.


Winter entrance already looking a bit on the small side

This time there were significantly more bees returning with pollen.
There was also a variety of colours, implying that there are already a variety of sources out there somewhere.



Meanwhile, away from the Apiary, the back doors and windows of Spike Towers were open to let in as much fresh air as possible.
Judging from the shouts coming from inside, LandofSpike (who was at the far western borders of Spike Acres carrying out some maintenance on the Apiary structure) was soon aware that the fresh air was not all that was being let in.
There were quite a few bees inside too.

LandofSpike had to employ his trusty queen clip to gently capture, then liberate, all the bees trapped in the house.


Every home should have one

This quite unexpected incursion of bees into the house is interesting because the only other time it has happened was on the bees' very first day in the Apiary, when there was, for one day only, a constant stream of the fellers getting trapped in the conservatory.

LandofSpike presumes these were bees scouting the new territory for sources of nectar and pollen. 
Having returned to the hive with the news that there was none to be had in the house, no more bees bothered to come visit all season long.
So, bees in the house on the first proper forage day of spring, isn't such a surprise after all. 
It was simply scouts re-mapping the territory.

This first day scouting may also account for the increasing returns of pollen as this first day progressed.
In the morning areas rich in pollen had been discovered, and the locations had been relayed to the colony, so that, in the afternoon, foragers knew exactly where to go.



Next up, a bit of Apiary maintenance and then, the first inspection of the new season.







Tuesday 1 May 2012

A Box for the Bees and a Day of Sunshine


Finally, some Sunshine... 

And over at Apiary Central this morning the honeybees are hard at it, foraging for all their worth.
It must be a big relief for them after being cooped up for the entirety of, what is surely, one of the rottenest Aprils on record.

Inside the hive, the last month has panned out something like this...
Worker 1:  "Is it still raining?"
Worker 2:  "I'll go and look."
Worker 2 trawls off to the entrance. A minute later she returns.
Worker 1: "Well?"
Worker 2: "It's still rainin' innit. And it's flippin'  baltic... I hates England."
Worker 1: "Fancy some fondant?"
Worker 2: "OK."
They trudge off to further deplete their stores.

Meanwhile, back at Spike Towers, there's been a bit of shilly-shallying on the choice of hive in which to home the bees.

LandofSpike had always assumed that some version of the vertical hive would be the automatic choice, but an excellently informative session about hive types with BeeGuru1 presented him with a seemingly infinite variety of hives to choose from.
As well as the practicalities of the kit, choice of hive is also guided by philosophy. Oh yes.
Your approach, be it Traditional, Modern or Bio-dynamic, will directly inform which hives will be the best fit for where your head's at.

LandofSpike will cover hive types and philosophies in a later post but for now the best way forward was to keep an open mind and decide what might best suit the particular needs of our first year with bees.

Surprisingly, LandofSpike found himself increasingly favouring a simple, rectangular horizontal hive. 
The Tanzanian Top Bar Hive to be precise.
It's, more or less, the modern day equivalent of a hollow log on legs with bees inside.
A lovely piece of Biodynamic-friendly kit which would look just grand in the grounds of Spike Towers and would, no doubt, give the bees a lot of pleasure.
Despite my initial preconceptions this was starting to look like a real contender.


However, some time later that day and after more consultation, it transpired that the Tanzanian Top Bar Hive isn't sold in the UK.
There are plenty of excellently detailed plans telling you how to build one though.
LandofSpike can certainly build a box but isn't sure that he should be building his own bee-specific box in his novice year.
There are enough unknowns without adding "Good-Intentioned-But-Not-Quite-Right-Hive" to the list.

So it's back to a vertical model and, at the moment, even though those Thermo Hives look tasty, it looks like LandofSpike might go for an EPS Langstroth.
A nice, off the peg, cheerfully budget-conscious Beebox.

It seems to have the seal of approval from BeekeeperJuniors1&2, although they also liked the Thermo Hives and the Top Bar with equal enthusiasm.
And it'll require a lick of paint. 
Just the thing to lure Mrs LandofSpike, the esteemed Colourist and Artist of Note, into the Land of Bees.

Tuesday 3 April 2012

Inclement Weather at Apiary Central

LandofSpike checked out the bee activity at Apiary Central this afternoon.
Based on his 5 minutes of HiveWatch it looked like all flights had been cancelled for the day, as it was cloudy, a bit nippy and raining on and off.
Those bees aren't daft. After last week's unseasonally high temperatures of 23C, this little cold snap isn't really the best of weather for hungry workers who want to zip out and get at that springtime pollen.
And according to LandofSpike's collection of weather-predicting seaweeds, it's going to be lashing down with rain and hailing tomorrow.
Lovely. Wrap up warm little honey bees.
The Honey Bee doesn't like it when it hails

Tuesday 27 March 2012

Countdown to some Hands-On Bee Action


The first 2012 module of LandofSpike's course is set for this Saturday.
The weather has been glorious all week. It's warm and sunny and spring seems to have got its feet firmly under the table. 
LandofSpike checked out Apiary Central this morning and bees are definitely out and about but they're still restricted to just the one bee-sized winter doorway. 
Saturday's itinerary includes expanding their entrance so LandofSpike suspects that he should soon know all about mouseguards.
We're also going to be giving the hive a springtime healthcheck and we'll be topping up the feeders.
Theory-wise we'll be learning how to identify bee castes, how to feed and what plants honey bees love to visit.