[riseholmebees] Re: FW: Notts BKA June newsletter

  • From: "Steve Pickard" <steve_pickard@xxxxxxxxxxx>
  • To: <riseholmebees@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
  • Date: Tue, 18 May 2010 09:09:23 +0100

Thanks Ben - did just that (though only a litre) last week and they seemed
to appreciate it.  Now the weather's turned for the better I'm hoping they
can become self-sufficient again

 

Steve

 

From: riseholmebees-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:riseholmebees-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Ben Crabb
Sent: 18 May 2010 08:35
To: riseholmebees@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [riseholmebees] Re: FW: Notts BKA June newsletter
Importance: High

 

Steve,

 

Highly suggest making a gallon of sugar syrup up and sticking it on, a lot
of colonies have declined rapidly over the past few weeks due to the
fluctuations in weather. I have done the same with mine last week as two of
the colonies had pretty much halved and most nectar which had been broughtin
had been used up. The sugar syrup seems to have helped and they are building
up nicely again.

 

Ben

 

  _____  

From: riseholmebees-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:riseholmebees-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Dave Leighton
Sent: 17 May 2010 20:45
To: riseholmebees@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [riseholmebees] Re: FW: Notts BKA June newsletter

Steve

 

Looks like you are you are on a steep learning curve about bees. Take heart,
after rather smugly announcing that both our colony's had made it through
winter, Nosema, chalk brood and no queen/laying worker has hit one of our
hives. It is all but a write off despite our best efforts. The other hive is
booming with 20+ queen cells built every week with at least half with
occupants. On the honey front, we have a rape field about 10 doors down from
us, so Nectar and Pollen are flooding in. Getting it out might be another
matter.

 

Regards

 

Dave aaaaaand Jane

 

From: riseholmebees-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:riseholmebees-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Steve Pickard
Sent: 17 May 2010 09:07
To: Riseholme Bees 
Subject: [riseholmebees] FW: Notts BKA June newsletter

 

Notts newsletter attached.

Had a bit of a setback in my solitary hive this weekend - the regular
inspection showed no brood cells apart form a couple of drones.  I'd not
seen eggs in the 6 weeks or so I've had the colony, but had seen larvae, and
up to this weekend brood, as well as having spotted the queen a few weeks
back so I'd assumed that all was well.  Big mistake!

Having talked it through with Neil Pont (who I got the colony from), it does
indeed seem that they have swarmed, although there is still a sizeable
population - or at the very least the queen is dead.  Going to leave it for
a week or so in the off chance that a new queen has been raised (and that I
didn't successfully wipe out all queen cells in an earlier attempt to stop
the swarm) and mated, but if that doesn't happen, Neil has very kindly
offered to come down and introduce a new queen.  Fingers crossed, because at
the moment I still have a healthy bunch of even tempered bees, would hate to
lose them so early in my beekeeping career! Hoping to get a second colony on
the go soon.

Hope yours all faring well - any other stories?

Steve 

 


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