Vanished!

Where there was bright yellow there is now drab green, with only a hint of yellow. The Rape has finished. Time to extract!

Flow

As I drove over  to a bee keeping friend (Chris) tonight the fields of yellow had almost a hint of green; the Rape on the wane? Chatting to Chris has me formulating when to remove and extract the supers though there may be a couple weeks more before the yellow finally disappears. The last 12 days or so have seen a tremendous late flow (almost like someone pouring jugs of nectar into the hives)  and colonies have gone from the point of starvation to overflowing with honey. The recent wet weather followed by the current wave of heat and sun has driven a yield I thought wouldn't happen.

Lucky,Sixth Sense or Common Sense

A hive I inspected the beginning of the week had 2 queen cups with eggs in which I knocked down and the queen had reduced her brood. So I felt I had to check tonight (5days on): there were two sealed queen cells and charged cells and bless (Phew!) the queen still there. I obviously missed the charged cells earlier this week and was lucky(?) that the cells must have been sealed late this afternoon as no swarm had issued. What was very obvious was the queen had clearly been slimmed down, her appearance almost virginal (her abdomen smaller than when I saw her last a few weeks ago and more shapely than her usual form!). Obvious signs to look for?

Turned The Corner

After the rain again (all morning!) the weather changed for the better. I managed to inspect all my colonies and it appears that most are now bringing in nectar and pollen in sufficient amount. I have been able to take the fondant off most and even put supers back on to my bigger colonies. Lets hope we have turned the corner at last!

TOWARDS NATURAL BEEKEEPING

GIVING IT LOTS OF THOUGHT.LOTS OF THOUGHT!!

Ray Of Hope ?

The weather today was much better, (I was allowed out to play) and so was able to check some colonies! The sunshine and heady 12 degrees saw all my colonies flying at one site. I carried out full inspections on them all, including one artificial swarm, and saw all the queens. It was also quite re- assuring to see drones and some stores in most of them, although the fondant remains on for now.

Worried

Today has been cold and wet AGAIN!
This is of concern. There is little or no nectar flow. The bees are having to be fed to keep them alive - In May!
Has anyone noticed how slow some trees are to come into foliage this year.
Lets hope it warms up soon.