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@@olddave4833 thanks David

@@martindale7559 ta Martin, I have tried hard to prevent swarming this year by doing splits and inspections, but obviously took my eye of the ball, wasn't expecting the colony to swarm. Lucky that I was about when they swarmed or else I think they would have gone fairly quickly.

@@chrismatthewsflyfishing7724 thanks for the advice Chris, didn't think of that, much appreciated.

@@alexward8510 ta Alex, as the weather is lousy I have now given them a bit of feed to help them out, but don't want to overdo it, will do an update in a week or so to show how they are progressing. Ta for taking the time to watch and comment.

Thanks David. Yes, if I see a mated queen I use a crown of thorns cage and mark her. I don't have the confidence to pick them up but may try this, also I tend to use thicker gloves as I don't react well to stings! This does limit me somewhat. Look forward to a clip of yours sometime!

Thanks Chris, very helpful. Hadn't thought of that.

Thanks Alex, will keep you updated, good or bad. If all fails, can always buy in a mated queen.

Thanks David. Had a good look for a queen but could not see her, but perhaps I did miss her. I will check the frame in a few days to see if that gives an answer. Or perhaps the nuc is just a bit too small and now a bit old to be viable. Hope it's not too hot where you are today.

@@eastsussexbeesandwildlife5801 I did read that you really need a reasonable size hive to draw decent queen cells so I suppose the size of the nuc may be a contributing factor as you say. I’m surprised they didn’t even try to draw some though. Weather here is great…bees busy on the bramble, clover and especially the lime which has just started to flower

@@davidianoliver thanks David. Hope you manage to get some honey soon! My attempts at nucs are a bit experimental, suppose it would be easier just to buy in a mated queen or two, but I enjoy trying things for myself, even if they do fail!

The bees are quite clever and can create multiple queen cells. All the best to you

Thanks so much, just had a quick look today, even more bees, plus a few emergency cells now up the top which I can use elsewhere! Ta for viewing and commenting.

They certainly teach beekeepers a thing or two!

They can have their bad days! I did buy in a mated Buckfast a couple of years back, all my colonies are now headed by her daughter's or granddaughters, I think the calm genetics are living on, but suppose depends on my local drones. All the best.

Thanks Chris. Be nice to get a bit of honey this year. I am also hoping that my nucs will be ok as I think lost a couple of virgins on mating flights.

It has been a real struggle for the queen breeders. Almost no suitable mating days.

Thanks Alex. Have a good weekend

Thanks Scotty. Yes, I could have done that but by putting right up the top, well away from the queen, they should make a few emergency cells which I plan to harvest. Will keep you updated.

@@eastsussexbeesandwildlife5801 Ok, Yes I re-watched this and I heard you mention making a cell in the top, good idea.

I start with a few balls of newspaper then dry rotten wood, also have used a mixture of woodshavings and wood pellets. It's good to get the smoker going really well first before inspecting the bees. Ta for viewing.

Thanks​@@eastsussexbeesandwildlife5801

Thanks David. Can always use an entire frame, but that can be a bit over the top if resources limited.

Thanks David. It's only a short river the sea is about 6 miles away, wish I could go back in time to when there would have been a run of sea trout! Hope your bees are ok.

Amazing to think there would have been sea trout on such a small stream. Do you go sea fishing as well? What a great location you’re in! My bees are ok but I’ve had to feed two of my four colonies. The weather seems to have turned a corner in the last couple of days though so hopefully things are looking up!

@@davidianoliver glad your bees are ok. The stream is one of the maintenance tributaries of the Cuckmere, sadly some old mills prevent upstream passage of migratory fish, perhaps one day fish ladders will be installed. Only done freshwater angling.🙂

Thanks Chris. I had intended to use worms, but stupidly left them at home, so hopefully will do better next time!😊

Thanks Alex. Just hope the weather gets better so that she can have a good mating flight.

Thanks Charlie. I quite like making a few splits each year, they don't always succeed, but helps minimise swarming of my main colonies. All the best to you.

Thanks. She is a daughter of a bought in Buckfast, so has mated with local drones, so will just have to see how she progresses!

Found quite a decent capped queen cell in another colony today so have put it in the nuc, as a bit of an experiment, might work, might not!

@@eastsussexbeesandwildlife5801 lots of trial and error the things you don't think will work sometimes do and vice versa

Thanks Doug. Will keep you posted.

Thanks David. Yes, when the sun comes out they are so active, but seems to happen for only an hour or so a day. There is still lots of stores, but not so much fresh nectar/honey, but so much brood which will hatch very soon, so thought I would start early. Had it been really springlike probably would have done just a single frame, but as conditions not ideal thought I would give her a bit more brood and bees, hence the three. Ta for taking time to view and comment.

Thanks Stuart. Probably not essential, but just incase a queen cells in the top did escape me, it would mean that she could not go downstairs to fight with the old queen. Some beekeepers do this, others don't. Ta so much for viewing and commenting, it's always good to have feedback.😀

@@eastsussexbeesandwildlife5801 so is there no excluder on the bottom box

Thanks for that

Thanks so much for your comments Jason. I had checked the colony the previous week and they seemed fine. If they are angry next time I will certainly consider replacing, at this stage not certain if it's a permanent trait or just weather conditions. Will keep you updated and ta again as it's always good to hear others experience.😊

We breed for Localised bees. I call them "Apis Melifer'ish" 😉

Thanks

Thanks for watching and taking the time to comment Rob. It's definitely a bit of a messy system as far as the beekeeper is concerned. I will probably go back to single brood boxes and feed with a big slab of fondant. Good luck if and when you start up again.

Thanks David. A bit of an experiment. At least they can clean the frames up a bit, might work, might not! Did yours survive winter ok and what are your plans? Have a good Sunday.

Yes they’re all ok so far. I’ve got four. Two are strong and two are smaller. I’ve double brooded the strong ones in the last few days. Will wait and see with the weaker two. Might try demareeing them at some point

@@davidianoliver ta so much. The demaree is a good method, so will definitely do that again on my strongest one also.

Thanks Scotty. Also looking very green here, certainly good for the soul!

Cheers Scotty. Keep a lid on those swarms!

Thanks Scotty. I know I am only a minnow (with four colonies) compared to a salmon (like yourself) but just as enthusiastic!

Thanks David. Don't think it was varooa. The colonies were both large in Sept and I thought they would continue to grow. Didn't really check them after this. I suspect the one with no brood at all had an early queen loss, the other with the small amount of dead brood was just too small. Will definitely just keep single brood boxes next winter. Perhaps poly would have been better also. Always easy with hindsight. Ta so much for commenting, hope yours are ok, look forward to your update in the spring.

@@eastsussexbeesandwildlife5801thanks Peter, so far mine are ok. I can see the clusters under the clear crown boards. Two of them have big clusters and the other two are a lot smaller. It will be interesting to see if the smaller colonies make it through to spring ok. I did an oxalic acid vape a couple of weeks ago and there was a large drop of mites (even though I vaped them four times in September…). Hopefully we’ll both get some bees through

Ta David. That sounds promising, you are a bit more organised than me. 😅

Hi Pete, sorry to hear about your colony losses. I always run double brood, but you need to make sure you still have the bees bubbling over the top by the end of August. You need plenty of bees to keep the temperature steady. There did not look like there was much in the way of brood, so I think you have had a lot of summer bees but not many winter bees and of course the summer bees will just die off. With four other colonies, you should be able to bring them back in 2024. Keep up your videos as they are a great watch.

​@@thevectisbeeman6820 Thanks so much for your kind words. Always easy with hindsight, so will try to be a bit more proactive next Autumn and if the colonies not progressing I will combine them or at least make sure they don't have too much space for overwintering. I am looking forward to longer days and a bit of warmth. Hope yours are doing ok, have a productive 2024!

Thanks so much from Tailor and me. Greetings and Felicitations.

Thanks so much. Best wishes to you!

Thanks Tokki