Looking back over the year shows it has been a busy one and
we have achieved quite a lot.
In
March/April we did quite a lot of clearance and tree maintenance work in the
apiary to make it more open and safer
regarding the trees that displayed problems with the potential to bring them down. Expertise and equipment
supplied by Andy Bucklitch.
Through
April we had novice's apiary visits as part of the practical follow up to the
course run over the winter. It seemed to
be well received and a few came to some of the subsequent regular apiary meetings which started in
May and ran through to the beginning of September.
During the
year we did Bailey comb changes, a shook swarm, uniting colonies, re-queening and Nosema checks.
There was a
visit by the West Midlands branch of the Royal Society of Biology and that went well.
Quite a lot
of equipment was replaced , including brood boxes, supers, frames and foundation, floors and roofs. Also a set of
new twin stands were made and supplied by Alan Woollhead.
There was a
Statutory Inspection by a National Bee Unit inspector looking primarily for EFB and SHB and we got the all clear in
this respect. Incidently he was quite complimentary about the apiary regarding it's layout, condition and
suitability as a teaching facility.
Through the months.
We had six
colonies coming through the winter and at the beginning of January checks for any problems from the wind, fallen branches
etc. were done and all the hives hefted. All seemed
alright.
Early in January
we applied Apibioxal and placed an eke ready for fondant then, at the end of the month, added 1kg of fondant.
Most colonies were active with cleansing flights and a little smoke was needed for some.
February,
at the end of the month , four colonies were given another 1kg of fondant.
March,
as mentioned the apiary maintenance work was carried out.
April,
at the start of the month the first full inspection was carried out and a few
days later the first of novices visits
took place. Samples of bees were taken from each colony to check for Nosema.
Early May,
Bailey comb changes were started. One Shook Swarm was done.
Early June, Bailey comb changes were completed. Mid-month
the NBU disease inspection was
done and nothing significant was found.
There was a little chalk brood, sac brood, bald brood and some varroa damage but at low levels and scattered
across the colonies.
Some queen
cells were used for re-queening and setting up a nucleus.
July,
some re-queening was done with apparent success, in one instance for a slightly
aggressive colony and another for
an old failing queen. At the end of the month the visit from the West Midlands branch of the Royal Society of
Biology took place.
August,
from early to mid-month we extracted honey from the main colonies, amounts ranging from 2 supers to a few frames
which we merged to fill supers up. There was about 130 lbs in total.
September,
a nuc and a main colony were united. Started feeding all colonies and completed by mid-month.
Then applied MAQS to the six main
colonies.
October.
Towards the end of month, all feeders removed and mouse guards put on. Cleaning
up of equipment on-site.
My thanks to Alan Woollhead, Andy Bucklitch and John Gower for their help and expertise through the year.
January 2019. Plan to apply Apibioxal and fondant.
The year ahead.
My thanks to Alan Woollhead, Andy Bucklitch and John Gower for their help and expertise through the year.
January 2019. Plan to apply Apibioxal and fondant.
The year ahead.
Looking
to find a new apiary manager and some experienced beekeepers to run some of the
inspection/apiary meetings.