What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?

[The15thMember]

I had my Dad with me in the apiary for the first time ever today.  I had planned to inspect just one hive with him, but he enjoyed it so much, he stayed for another!     

[Ben Framed]

I had my Dad with me in the apiary for the first time ever today.  I had planned to inspect just one hive with him, but he enjoyed it so much, he stayed for another!     

That is awesome! Welcome to Beekeeping Reagans' Dad!

Phillip

[rast]

Started pulling supers, I wore out quick.

[Ben Framed]

Are you having a good productive honey year Rick?

Phillip

[The15thMember]

Managed to get all my inspecting done before lunch today, which was good since it is very humid and hot here.  The sourwoods have just opened! 

[animal]

finally got around to getting them swapped over to the hive built weeks ago. couldn't find queen, but brood looks good and growing.
the nuc had been sitting on a bench I built 20 years ago out of spare decking boards. The seat lifts up and is compartment for junk. They had started going into there through gaps in the wood to build comb.... subtle hint they wanted more space, and I was too slow, I guess

[Michael Bush]

I added a bunch of supers yesterday.

[Ben Framed]

Awesome! What is the main flow this time of year in your area Mr Bush? My flow has fizzled down in my part of the South..
I still haven't tried them, but I am told that soybeans as well as cotton provides a good source for bees to gather. I might need to move a few hives to such places 'just to see' what is what for myself.. (which would provide me an additional flow that I have not taken advantage of here.)

Phillip

[Michael Bush]

>What is the main flow this time of year in your area Mr Bush?

Don't know.  The main flow seems to start about when the yellow sweet clover blooms, but there doesn't seem to be enough sweet clover to account for the flow.  Soy beans are probably blooming soon.  I need to go out and look.  Right now a lot of different things are blooming.  The milkweed, some wild mustard still (it started months ago), dandelions (it just rained), white dutch clover, chicory, cone flowers of various sorts, elderberry (has been blooming a while and is just starting to peter out),  my American Chestnuts, a lot of other wild flowers, many of which I don't know the names, but there are a lot of any given one.  They've been gaining weight since about the middle of May.

[Bob Wilson]

Summer dearth is here, and in spite of that I found a small baseball sized swarm.

[beesnweeds]

In southern states baseball sized swarms can be caused by Africanized genetics or stress.  Up here in the north its a sign of stress from disease and/or mites.

[AustinB]

The boys and I put together our new out yard last weekend. Its down on the river at the base of the mountain. Acres of poplar and basswood along with lots of good weed forage like milkweed, vipers bugloss, thistle, golden rod etc. Basswoods just started popping last weekend and the bees are drawings wax and packing it away. I think this one will be a strong producer. 

[The15thMember]

I put on several supers today and tasted my first sourwood of the year! 

[Ben Framed]

Yum!!!

[Occam]

Made my first inspection since moving the bees in from a swarm trap Teo weeks ago. They're doing well, building comb out on the foubdationless frames. Depending how the weather continues I may need to add more frames for them in a couple weeks.

Other hive was full so I put on a super with foundationless. Again depending on weather depends on whether they'll need to build comb on them or not. We've had unseasonably cool weather (mostly 80s and low 90s) and rain every other day so I'm hoping the flow has another lease on life for a couple weeks more if this continues. We'll see I suppose.

[NigelP]

Inspections today showed both my "bad girl" colonies have new F1 queens from Island mated Buckfast stock. But the change to all bleep cats is slow as they still contain some really vicious bees from their past queens.
Several newly mated queens in Nucs, which makes up for the incredibly poor mating success we had in June heatwave we had in the UK Interestingly it would appear that if temps inside a hive get to 42C then the drones ejaculated themselevs to death, which is a possible reason for the June non matings in the heatwave we had over here in the UK.
https://www.beeculture.com/42c-drone-honey-bees-ejaculate-themselves-to-death/

[Bill Murray]

Pulled supers and spinning honey.

[cao]

After 3 days of working bees and a couple days extracting, I have 30 gallons of honey in buckets, over 30 cut combs in containers and still have 7 more supers with frames in them.  It has been a good year so far. 

[The15thMember]

I put my first round of sourwood above my triangle escape board today.  I also found two hives with REALLY high mite counts and some bees with deformed wings.  I'm going to get FormicPro on them as soon as I can get my hands on some. 

[Ben Framed]

I put my first round of sourwood above my triangle escape board today.  I also found two hives with REALLY high mite counts and some bees with deformed wings.  I'm going to get FormicPro on them as soon as I can get my hands on some.

I hope you have a good crop of Sourwood Reagan. I don't have to tell 'you' be careful with the temperatures and timing of you treatment. As "Van from Arkansas" (Mr Van) use to say; those "ding dang mites!"
Wishing you success of both the sourwood crop, and mite kill..

Phillip