Introduction

I came through the winter with two WBC hives in a corner of the garden facing due south over-looking open Hertfordshire countryside. Last year, in 2003, oilseed rape and bean fields were within sight.

Both hives have deep brood boxes of ten frames each. A third WBC hive has been acquired and will be used to manage swarms during the season and to increase the number of colonies to three. Both queens were virgin in 2003.

February 2004

A few warm days this month and the bees are flying. Mainly collecting nectar/pollen from the mahonia and winter flowering jasmine.

All of the surrounding fields this year have been sown with wheat and beans.

04/04/04

Spent the weekend cleaning frames, supers and queen excluders. The weather was cool, windy and mainly overcast therefore not appropriate to do the first full inspection of the year. Managed to clean the inside of the lifts and widen the entrances to about 10cm. Removing the lids showed that both hives seemed to have good colonies although a more detailed inspection will have to wait for warmer weather. Each hive was cleared of excess wax/propolis from the top of the brood frames, had a wired queen excluder added and a super of eight frames with good cell build-up. The plan this year is to avoid overcrowding by providing plenty of space to try and control swarming. The plan is to replace 3 or 4 of the outer frames in each hive each year.

Hive L (left)

Hive R (right)

Hive W

The brood chamber has a dummy frame in one position.

The brood chamber has a narrow spacer board.

The newly acquired WBC to provide room for expansion.

12/04/04

Warm and sunny with bees flying. Cleaned all 10 frames in each hive. Still need to clean bases and to add another deep frame with foundation. Will replace some older brood frames in coming weeks. No sign of any disease in either colony.

This hive has fewer bees than Hive R. Queen found and colony laying well. Destroyed early signs of a queen cell and some of the sealed drone cells.

No queen found but colony laying well. Destroyed some capped drone cells. Some nectar beginning to be collected (more bees in colony?).

18/04/04

This colony is not as vigorous as Hive R. There is no sign of nectar in the super yet. Destroyed a small queen cell cup. Removed spacer board and add eleventh frame of foundation one-in from the end.

I shall probably replace the queen in Hive L with a frame of good brood from Hive R.

The colony is expanding rapidly! Lots of good sealed brood and a large number of workers. No sign of queen cells yet although quite a few drone cells. Removed spacer board and add eleventh frame of foundation one-in from the end. Super is coming on well with about 30% full of nectar already. They need to build up the rest of the super frames as the edges are not complete cells.

Then if there are still signs of swarming in Hive R I will do an artificial swarm into the new hive.

Constructed a new deep brood box (bought from National Bee Supplies who I find make excellent quality hives) for the third hive.

25/04/04

Did a routine inspection to check on progress and and signs of preparing for swarming. I also had a brave observer (Ken) who declined my spare bee suit but kept a reasonable distance.

Hive L expanding but very slowly. The bees are preparing the super frames but still not filling them with nectar. This is a weak colony and will need to be built up (taking some workers from Hive R?) or by creating a nucleus from Hive R and re-queening.

Hive R continues to grow rapidly and one super is already 75% full. So I added another super of 8 drawn frames underneath the almost full super. No sign of queen cell production.

03/05/04

Bank Holiday weekend and typical cold, wet weather. Conditions not good enough for an inspection even though it should be done weekly at this time of year. This is a problem for beekeepers that only have time for inspections at weekends.

09/05/04

Because of the weather and work, neither hive had been opened for two weeks!

The colony is building up well but still very little nectar in the supers. Instead they are filling the outer reaches of the brood frames This must be a disadvantage of deep brood frames as there is more space to fill before moving up into the supers. The new brood frame of foundation is being built out well. Destroyed one queen cup – why are they thinking of swarming when they're not even putting nectar into the super yet?

What a difference two weeks makes. The second super is two-thirds full. None of the frames in the first (top) super have been capped yet but they are quite full. There is lots of blossom this year and I don't think there is any oil seed rape within 1.5 miles. On inspecting the brood frame I found two capped queen cells, two uncapped cells and a couple of cups. If only there had been better weather last week. Time to create an artificial swarm using Ted Hooper's method. I went through all frames four times but could not find the queen. I will definitely mark her when I get an appropriate pen. As it was getting cold and the bees were stinging through my gloves it was time to give up.

10/05/04

Another attempt. This time she was found on the second run through. She is quite small and very similar in size & colour to the drones. She was put into the old hive position on a frame of brood (no queen cells) plus eight new frames of foundation and two blanking frames. In case this colony still had the urge to swarm (and steal the honey), they were given only one of the filled supers plus a super of empty frames. The second super will be put back at the end of the week.

I don't intend to re-queen Hive R this year.

The weather remained cool for another 3 days so should have quelled any remaining swarming urges.

In the new hive (W), both of the capped queen cells were removed and all but one of the uncapped cells. (In retrospect I should have left all uncapped cells). A blanking frame was added in the eleventh position, the second of the supers placed on top and the hive closed up. It is placed 3 feet the left of Hive R and will be moved to its final position in 5 or 6 days.

16/05/04

Hive L has one capped queen cell and a few uncapped cells. I found the queen and placed her in a matchbox. I considered removing her from the hive so that they wouldn’t swarm. I didn’t want an angry (queenless) colony so decided to clip her wings instead. The super is now being filled – perhaps 50%.

The artificial swarm in Hive R is building up the foundation well so hopefully they are established. Many bees still cover the landing board during the day as if they want to swarm still. The second super is nearly full so another will be added in a few days.

Moved this queenless hive to its new position about 2m to the right of Hive R. The colony has created another queen cell which I will leave. The original queen cell remained capped. The flying bees are still collecting nectar.

19/05/04

Hive L swarmed. As the queen was clipped the swarm collected in nearby bushes and after a few hours returned to the original hive. Will they try again?

Another super of eight frames (some part built-out foundation) added to Hive R.

23/05/04

Hive L has four capped queen cells (two on each of two frames) and the bees seem agitated. Maybe the clipped queen didn’t make it back after her excursion on the 19^th. Removed outer two brood frames (all honey stores) and placed in freezer for autumn feeding. Replaced with frames of foundation placed near centre of brood. Removed two queen cells (one from each frame) and placed frames on either side of new foundation. Hopefully this colony will not swarm but instead the remaining two queens battle it out. Super is about 75% full so another will have to be added in a few days time.

Hive R – the foundation is being built up with two frame containing eggs, larvae and capped queen cells! This colony really does want to swarm. About four queen cells were removed to try and prevent this artificial swarm from swarming again. Two good supers with some frames beginning to be capped. The third supper added only 4 days ago is filling up well.

Hive W – very quiet. The queen has emerged from the cell but could not be found. Replaced the spacer frame with a new frame of foundation. The super is filling well and may need a second very soon.

25/05/04

Another swarm! This one settle about 5 metres from the hives at head-height. Collected it and put it in a standard nucleus box, placed midway between hives R & W, with two undrawn frames and two super frames as a temporary measure. A quick inspection of hives L & R indicated that it was not these that had swarmed.

31/05/04

The queen must have hatched because there were signs of other queen cells having been broken down and the larvae having been stung. Four full and capped super frames were removed, extracted and replaced. Another super of empty frames was added.

Two more undrawn frames were added to the brood chamber of Hive R and a few queen cups destroyed. Four very full super frames were removed, extracted and replaced. The queen was found and marked with a yellow pen. She is surprisingly small and black.

Opening Hive W showed that one of the hatched queens must have produced the swarm on the 25^th. Another box was placed on top of the super with a queen excluder and newspaper between and the contents of the nucleus box placed in it. Despite the fact that this colony had swarmed, it was collecting nectar well and the super was nearly full.

These eight frames produced over 30 lbs (13.6 kg) of a pale coloured honey. Hive W has one super, Hive R has three and Hive L has two.

06/06/04

Two super frames were removed from Hive L and replaced with undrawn frames. The other super frames are almost filled but not yet capped.

Two super frames were removed from Hive R and replaced with undrawn frames. The other super frames are almost filled but not yet capped. A close inspection of the brood chamber showed that there are still queen cups being built on one brood frame so they were removed.

Hive W was opened and the box with the captured swarm was smoked so that the workers would go down leaving queen above the excluder. The queen was found and removed and the extra box and queen excluder removed. Four super frames were removed and replaced with undrawn foundation.

These eight frames produced another 27 lbs (12 kg) of honey (•). Despite thinking earlier in the season that there was no oil seed rape within flying distance, a few late-sown fields came into flower. As it is near the end of the oilseed rape flowering, I will remove most frames next week even if not capped. The nearest oilseed rape field is about 1 mile away.

13/06/04

The brood chambers was not disturbed this week it contains a new queen.

More queen cells were removed from Hive R.

The brood chambers was not disturbed this week it contains a new queen.

70 lbs (31 kg) of honey was removed from about 17 frames taken from the three hives (••). About 130 lbs have been taken so far. This last batch is setting quickly.

19/06/04

The new queen was found in Hive L. She is large and brown and was marked with a yellow pen.

Yet more queen cells were removed from Hive R. The queen hasn't laid as many eggs as before and the brood is concentrated on 2-3 frames only. Perhaps the replacement cells are to supersede her rather than to prompt a swarm. I will check next week for more eggs and more queen cells.

The queen could not be found in Hive W and there was no sign of any eggs. However the workers were placid as if the queen was present. Because of the absence of brood they were stocking up the deep brood frames well for the winter. Still only one super on top which is filling slowly.

This weekend was the start of a long period of cold and wet weather. Wimbledon fortnight was marked by excessive rainfall.

25/06/04

Hive L has got tetchy bees even though there is a good, strong queen. She was spotted on this inspection even though she has lost some of her yellow marking. Four frames of honey were removed.

The amount of brood in Hive R has grown since last week. Some small queen caps were removed. The colony continues to thrive. Six frames of honey were removed.

Hive W continues without any sign of a new queen. Two frames of brood (one each from Hives L & R) were added containing a good mix of larvae at different stages of development. If there is no queen, new queen cells should be created. Two frames of honey were removed.

35 lbs (16 kg) of a light-coloured honey (some late oil seed rape is still in flower) was removed from the 12 frames (•••).

03/07/04

This hive continues to thrive and a good brood pattern has been created.

Ten uncapped (but high viscosity) frames were removed and produced 28 lbs (13 kg) of honey (•••).

Queen cells are still being produced and the queen is no longer laying at the same rate. I suspect superseding is about to happen so I have left the queen cells this time, having first taken the frame to Hive W but changed my mind and brought it back.

As expected, queen cells have been produced on the new frames. The colony is getting weaker and little honey being produced.

04/07/04

Two supers (14 frames) were removed resulting in 42 lbs (19 kg) of light, rapidly setting, honey (I).

07/07/04

One of the worst storms to have occurred in July swept across the country.

11/07/04

Two supers of cleaned-up frames were added beneath a single super. No more frames were ready for extraction. The brood chamber was not examined.

Only one frame was ready for extraction so it was left. It will probably set as it will be oil seed rape nectar. The brood chamber was not examined. The hive has three supers, but they are not very full.

The brood chamber was not examined but there was little activity from the top of the single super. The queen cells should have hatched by now so some good weather will be needed for mating.

17/07/04

The brood is building well in preparation for winter. No more honey available for extraction yet.

Still building queen cells! This hive is determined to swarm. Perhaps the queen needs to be superseded. One frame of brood and queen cells was moved to hive W and the other queen cells left to allow nature to take its course. Only one frame of honey had been capped.

The colony was very weak and, although the queen cell had hatched, she could not be found. Another frame of brood and queen cells was added from Hive R.

22/07/04

A hot sultry day caused this hive to finally swarm.

The swarm was captured and immediately put into an empty super on top of a queen excluder newspaper. The workers will strengthen this weakened colony and the queen can be removed.

01/08/04

The brood chamber was not inspected. The frames in the top of the three supers were quite empty but they had been repaired well after spinning. Hopefully some late summer nectar will be collected.

At least one of the queen cells had hatched. The colony was quite calm so a queen must exist. No eggs were visible.

Later... (see right), did the escaped queen go back to the hive that she emerged from when it swarmed 10 days ago. If so, what will happen as there is now a new queen? We'll see next week!

The queen that had swarmed was found above the excluder and put in a matchbox. The newly captured workers had merged well and the colony is now quite strong. No eggs were visible. Some honey frames are building up well and will be ready for extraction soon.

The matchbox was taken 5m away so that the queen could be destroyed but she was very agile and escaped...

10/08/04

A routine inspection showed that the queen is laying. This colony is doing well.

No sign of any eggs yet.

Some brood was found so the queen must have mated.

One of the wettest Augusts since records began with about 175% average rainfall.

08/09/04

A super of about 25% full frames was removed. The brood was inspected and the queen located. There are good stores of honey in the brood frames. One tray of Apiguard was placed on top of the brood chamber and it was closed up for two weeks.

About 6 frames of honey were collected from the three supers.

This colony is still queenless and the bees a little unhappy. With a reduced colony there had probably been some robbing as there was no store in the brood chamber. I decided to merge this colony with Hive W.

Another 2-3 frames of honey were removed.

The colony was calm and some brood observed. The honey stores were low so will need feeding. One Apiguard tray was added.

The brood chamber from Hive R was placed on top of newspaper to merge the colonies to over-winter.

Two supers of almost empty frames were placed on top to be cleaned up.

14 lbs (6.35 kg) of honey were extracted (II). 246 lbs (112 kg) altogether! A bumper year.

Hive L (left)

Hive R (right)

Hive W

Hive L (left)

Hive R (right)

Hive W