28th - 29th - 30th September 2013 ~ House Move

How we left the hive last night after a failed attempt had to be aborted
 

Front door all taped up with duck tape; one small strip folded in on itself lengthwise then laid across a longer length like a sticky plaster. This stops the bees getting to stuck to it on the inside. Nylon straps in place and ready to go.
 

In the boot with frames in line with direction of travel so they do not sway about too much
 

House Move!
Job done

We decided to leave them with their front door taped up so they were in for 24 hours. They have a mesh floor and vents in the roof so will be fine.

However when I go to have a look in the morning I find they have dislodged the tape and a few are out flying.

Tape dislodged across entrance

A few bees are out exploring ~ not sure if they moved it, or the weather

A tip we had read about was to display shrubbery across the entrance so the bees 'know' they are somewhere new or their environment has changed.

 

The hive in its new location with Snowdrops & Crocuses planted right in front of them ready for some early spring forage :-)

16th September ~ Apivar and autumn checks

Some very quick checks around now as we are in the process of moving house and preparing our bees for their second move of the year.

Hive inspection and application of veroalife strips
 

Nectar & Honey stores in the brood

Nice amount of sealed brood and nectar

Wednesday 5th - Sunday 9th September 2013 Preparation & Hive inspection

Wednesday 5th September ~ Porters on

 We put the crown board between the two supers tonight and put porter escapes in place ready to remove the empty super on Friday.

Hive Inspection

 Capped Honey and more being worked on

Nice bit of honey with yellow cappings from being walked over with pollen laden feet!

A nice cluster of bees on an outer frame ~ no idea what they were doing except maybe being lazy and keeping each other warm 

!! 

Cluster

Good amount of sealed brood

Honey & Nectar

 

What a lot of bees!

It is amazing how heavy this is. 

Queeny

A playcup and a possible Supercedure Queen Cell

 So, we took off the now empty super and prepared it for winter storage ~ we hope!

Deep frozen overnight and then double wrapped in cling film then back in the box before being sealed into a bin bag. We hope this is enough