Merioneth Beekeepers' Association

Tuesday 14 June 2010

Photograph

Chris H writes (about his Warré hive): Having returned from holiday I decided to build a new floor that would incorporate a varroa mesh so that I can monitor mite drop and also allow me to get a few photographs from the rear of the hive instead of through the entrance. The installation of the floor went well and I also managed to retrieve the piece of comb that had fallen during the installation of the bees in their current site. There were still bees cleaning out the fallen comb but there wasn't any evidence of old brood in the remains. The bees soon settled down and had been calm all through the process and are now continuing to forage and bring in lots of pollen. I'm still not having much success with the weighing device, it's a little precarious so I don't think it's worth the risk. Oh well back to the drawing board.

Tuesday 01 June 2010

Photograph

Chris H writes (about his Warré hive): The bees have been busily collecting pollen and nectar over the past week. They seem to have settled in since the initial absconding episode but I have put a bait box on the shed roof just in case they decide to swarm again, which I think is unlikely but I prefer to be prepared. I have fed them for a couple of days during the recent cool and rainy spell using a home made feeder created from a jam jar with holes in the lid, they have taken all of the feed I have put out. I plan to take a few more pictures by the end of the week so hope to see some progress. I have obtained a weighing scale and just trying to put a 'heath robinson' device together to weigh the hive, I'll report back on my success or failure with this activity.