On 18th July we had a medium sized cast settle in a pine tree at just above head height. We think it was from the Paddypines. We got it straight into a nucleus box fairly easily.
We went through the Dolphins and Posties again and decided we were wrong before and it's The Posties who are developing laying workers. We therefore moved them across the field so the flying bees will return to the Dolphin hive. The next day there were very few bees left in the Posties hive and the new queen arrived. We put her into the Dolphins hive and renamed it the Gettys.
Went through the Paddies and found lots of random drone brood laid in worker cells and very domed and knobbly - laying workers! Decided to start moving it towards the new nucleus (The Paddycasts) to combine.
On 21st we checked the Paddyelms - no sign of brood yet. Stopped feeding them and added 2 more bars. We will carry on feeding the Paddycasts and Gettys though. We gave Paul a comb of capped brood from the Paddypines to put in his hive with his new queen.
The next day the Paddycasts were behaving strangely and there was a large group of bees on the ground in front of the nucleus box. We think it must have been the queen who had fallen while attempting to go on her maiden flight. We put another nucleus box on the ground near them and they gathered on the front of it. By the next day they had all gone and the Paddycasts didn't seem happy. We think they may now be queenless.
We had a message that a swarm of bees has moved into the attic of a large house in the village bordering the nature reserve. We went down after dark and investigated. It was in a small attic space above a dormer window. Lots of old comb that a swarm has moved into. We decided it would be too hard to do a cut out but would seek advice.
We tried to get someone with a beevac to come but they were too busy so rang another beekeeper who gave lots of advice about how it could be done. As the alternative is that the home owners get pest control to destroy them, we decided to give it a go. We'll have to wait until next week though when the owners are away because of danger that the bees might get into the house.
Meanwhile they had found another colony in an apple tree. These had built several combs, so have been there a while. We got them into a nucleus box by cutting the comb off and laying it into the box. There was brood, but very little stores.
We returned the next day and hung most of the comb under the bars slung with strips of cloth. This was quite difficult and we are unsure if it is going to work. We also gave them a feeder board with a mix of candipolline and fondant.
The next day we cleared the remaining bees out of the Postie hive who we think were all robbers and got it closed up.
The Paddypines were very active and several fanning at the entrance. We think the queen went on her maiden flight.
We are going to take the Apple tree nucleus to Clovelly for a holiday together with the ones from the attic if we manage to remove them next week.
On Saturday 30th July we got a call from another neighbour in the village to say that some bees, or wasps, were building a nest in their garden. We went to take a look and it was a medium sized swarm hanging off a trellis. It was over some steps up to the garden. A bit tricky but we managed to get them straight into a nucleus box. Mick returned after dark to collect them and we set them up next to the Paddies.
The next day we started feeding them and moved the Paddies across the field so the flying bees return to the new nucleus - the Kings.
We also heard from the house owner where the bees above the dormer are that they have all gone. I had my suspicions that previous bees had been poisoned there. Maybe the bees decided it wasn't such a good place to live after all. We were both rather relieved as it was going to be a rather difficult job.
We moved the Paddies back to next to the Kings and will try again on the next sunny day. A lot of the bees had gone but not enough.
We went through the Dolphins and Posties again and decided we were wrong before and it's The Posties who are developing laying workers. We therefore moved them across the field so the flying bees will return to the Dolphin hive. The next day there were very few bees left in the Posties hive and the new queen arrived. We put her into the Dolphins hive and renamed it the Gettys.
Went through the Paddies and found lots of random drone brood laid in worker cells and very domed and knobbly - laying workers! Decided to start moving it towards the new nucleus (The Paddycasts) to combine.
On 21st we checked the Paddyelms - no sign of brood yet. Stopped feeding them and added 2 more bars. We will carry on feeding the Paddycasts and Gettys though. We gave Paul a comb of capped brood from the Paddypines to put in his hive with his new queen.
The next day the Paddycasts were behaving strangely and there was a large group of bees on the ground in front of the nucleus box. We think it must have been the queen who had fallen while attempting to go on her maiden flight. We put another nucleus box on the ground near them and they gathered on the front of it. By the next day they had all gone and the Paddycasts didn't seem happy. We think they may now be queenless.
We had a message that a swarm of bees has moved into the attic of a large house in the village bordering the nature reserve. We went down after dark and investigated. It was in a small attic space above a dormer window. Lots of old comb that a swarm has moved into. We decided it would be too hard to do a cut out but would seek advice.
We tried to get someone with a beevac to come but they were too busy so rang another beekeeper who gave lots of advice about how it could be done. As the alternative is that the home owners get pest control to destroy them, we decided to give it a go. We'll have to wait until next week though when the owners are away because of danger that the bees might get into the house.
Meanwhile they had found another colony in an apple tree. These had built several combs, so have been there a while. We got them into a nucleus box by cutting the comb off and laying it into the box. There was brood, but very little stores.
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| The swarm had set up home in this apple tree |
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| They had built several combs |
 |
| We got them into a nucleus box |
We returned the next day and hung most of the comb under the bars slung with strips of cloth. This was quite difficult and we are unsure if it is going to work. We also gave them a feeder board with a mix of candipolline and fondant.
The next day we cleared the remaining bees out of the Postie hive who we think were all robbers and got it closed up.
The Paddypines were very active and several fanning at the entrance. We think the queen went on her maiden flight.
We are going to take the Apple tree nucleus to Clovelly for a holiday together with the ones from the attic if we manage to remove them next week.
On Saturday 30th July we got a call from another neighbour in the village to say that some bees, or wasps, were building a nest in their garden. We went to take a look and it was a medium sized swarm hanging off a trellis. It was over some steps up to the garden. A bit tricky but we managed to get them straight into a nucleus box. Mick returned after dark to collect them and we set them up next to the Paddies.
The next day we started feeding them and moved the Paddies across the field so the flying bees return to the new nucleus - the Kings.
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| The swarm is hanging from the trellis above some steps |
 |
| It was a bit tricky but we got them |
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| Not sure if this was a primary or a cast, reasonable size though |
We also heard from the house owner where the bees above the dormer are that they have all gone. I had my suspicions that previous bees had been poisoned there. Maybe the bees decided it wasn't such a good place to live after all. We were both rather relieved as it was going to be a rather difficult job.
We moved the Paddies back to next to the Kings and will try again on the next sunny day. A lot of the bees had gone but not enough.
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