Queen marking, pond digging, shed tidying, Varroa checks and "blackberry attack". These are the choices for the day but not necessarily in that order and the tasks at the bottom of the list may not get done.
Depending on the weather number 1 is to mark the Queen in the Nuc of Feral Bees recovered from Abbey Wood so that if we decide to unite our weaker colonies on the Apiary we’ll be able to find the spare Queen easily. Pond digging is a long term project which will be straight forward labour that any helpers can pick up on once the shape and position are established. Shed tidying is of a fairly high priority because we've decided that if you don't know that you possess something, perhaps because it's buried in the corner of the shed, you might as well not have it! It's also important to be able to "lay your hand" on a particular tool or item of equipment as quickly as possible when a hive is open and you're veiled up with a smoker in one hand. Varroa checks, by estimating the mite drop should be fairly quick as it only entails sliding the V. trays out and inspecting them but it is important because it has to be done soon. I'm hoping to use Api Life Var, a thymol based organic product, and it can't be used when temperatures drop below 15C. Blackberry removal is an on-going process which will hopefully result in the Apiary being free of Brambles except along the perimeter fences and hedges. We've concluded that if they're properly trained we'll have just as much, or maybe even more, blossom and fruit as if they'd been left to do their own thing and we'll have a great deal more room on the Apiary.
Late in the afternoon Colin and I plan to recover a feral colony from Farningham which should by now be mainly resident in our Nuc with, touch wood, a new laying Queen.
Barry
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