Spruce's honey bees

A lovely worker bee from a hive I think?
Jenny

 

Yes i think so-was trying to work out whether it was male or female. It was really big in size compared the to the other bees that were about.


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I think it may be a hoverfly , not a honey bee , just so you know honey bee boys dont collect pollen or nectar , only the girls do ...

 

Yeah, the Boys hold the Fort stay at home, feet up, watching the box with a crate of beer....

 

or I'll get the rolling pin out son,

 

Hi Jens

you not that wrong , basically just waiting for a queen to fly by (lounge lizard) , they have a fab time during the summer but all coming to a end soon when they will be dragged out of the hive and not let back in surplus to requirement over the winter, its sad to see as they try to get back in they get bitten and dragged out by legs anything the workers can grab hold off, great big pile outside on the grass. Just not needed so they dont want them using the stores over the winter .

You want to be careful Armandii same could happen to you and I know one or two on here that would .....

 

Oh no, is it really a hoverfly?!!! :( i was convinced it was a big bee!


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Hi All

Well had a busy Saturday and have taken off the honey supers all 4 of them so I think about 100lb + I will extract (honey) this week and give you the final total , so they have September and early October as long as we don't get a frost they will stock up on Himalayan Balsam and hopefully the late Ivy flowers nectar and pollen.

Both hives looking ok and no wasps trying to get in and I have also replaced the entrance blocks so only a two inch gap for them to defend which will make it more harder for the wasps to get in as they are after the honey as well given a chance.

Also started to treat for the Varroa Mite , this takes about 28 days so all looking good and winter preparations well underway , any new bees hatching out this month and next will be the winter bees so rather than just living 30/35 days as they do Spring/Summer they will live until Feb/March/April next year, I didn't see any drones (male bees) in either hive so thats there lazy summer over with all been booted out by the female workers, anyone experienced that on here

Has been no reports of the Asian Hornet in the UK or nothing confirmed yet that I know off but we all have to be on the lookout as reading on some of the stories please see attached I wouldn't want to meet one !!!! they arrived in France in 2005 in a consignment of pottery from China and quickly got established in the locality and have fanned out over France just the Channel keeping them out at the moment.


http://www.bbka.org.uk/help/asian_hornet

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/wor...warned-as-Asian-hornets-terrorise-French.html

Spruce

 

Spruce, so glad your bees are earning their keep in the equivalent of the Mayfair of London district and that your yield is looking promising. It seems to have been a textbook bee keeping season for you this year. Is that down to luck or your good husbandry?
Jenny

 

Glad your bees are doing well Spruce.......don't like the look of those Asian Hornets though I think I'd get my skates on if I saw them coming!

 

do they also kill the bee's Spruce? i never realised they were such ferocious little things until this year, we say one take down a butterfly in mid flight a couple of months ago & yesterday a wasp landed right in front of me on the garden table, i didn't know what it was doing until i took a closer look & realised it was ripping the legs & wings of a Daddy Long Legs (to say i leapt from my seat would be an understatement...im pretty sure I was airborne there for a few moments as i fled to a safe distance )....it then flew off with the torso leaving the legs & wings behind im not convinced a few legs didn't go into my coffee!