Current nectar flow

[Jon]

We have a massive nectar flow on at the moment. Colonies are filling a super in less than a week.

We have had a week of weather like this and it is set to continue for another week at least.

http://www.forecast.co.uk/belfast.html

I have more colonies than I usually work with, 16 at full strength and a few nucs as well, as they refused to die over winter in spite of the so called bee holocaust we have to endure.
I am about 20 supers short of field realistic levels so I have had to convert several correx nucs into makeshift supers.

These take 7 deeps so can potentially hold over 30 lbs of honey.
I remove the OMF mesh from the nuc and set it on the top of the super stack. (sorry no photo yet)
The space at the back is covered with a strip of correx.
I have no spare supers nor super frames but I do have a few dozen deeps. I have an friend with an extractor which can take deeps.
I reckon the main issue is to provide space whatever way you can and sort out the honey extraction later. A week ago I was contemplating having to feed. I have never seen stuff come in so fast as in the last 6 days.

[Neils]

Similar situation here at the moment and likewise gone from having to feed to 3 supers on the busiest hive in under a month.

For once I'm well planned. In a fit of optimism I bought 10 extra supers and frames last year. I've been using the stronger hive to boost the weaker ones so I'm expecting two more colonies to start taking supers next week so I'd better start building.

[EmsE]

In the west of scotland we're very much the same- 3 hives have 2 supers and the other has 1. About 10 days ago I fed one of my colonies enough syrup for a few days as there was nothing in the hive. In a short space of time the double broods are full of stores and brood. Cells of hatching bees are being filled with nectar leaving the queen no where to lay. The hive I thought wouldn't make it through the winter has gone from 4 frames of brood with fondant on the crown board to the brood box being jam packed in a week.

With the current flow and heat wave, the bees locally are taking advantage of the ideal swarming conditions.:cool:

[Jimbo]

As predicted the swarming in our area has started. I have AS 7 out of 8 colonies over the weekend. I had to add a 3rd super to my strongest colony and a few now have a second super, all the others have one super. I have plenty of empty supers but had to order brood and super wax foundation as I am running out fast. If this weather keeps up it could be a bumper year with all this spring honey aready collected.

[Jon]

No queen cells yet here which is a small mercy as I don't have spare equipment apart from correx nucs.
I saw the same as Emse today, brood frames completely bunged with stores. They will move this all up into supers if the supers are provided,

[Neils]

also still mercifully free of queen cells at the moment though I've been ensuring they've got plenty of room and swapping out stores and sealed brood for empty comb. These are too prolific for a 14x12 which is a bit of a bugger, maybe I should just bite the bullet and go double brood.

[gavin]

Much the same here regarding the flow. Supers filling quickly, light brood boxes turning very heavy and nearly full in a week, but the bees are going reproductive in a big way. A medium-sized swarm has been drawing out foundation in a Payne's nuc to a mix of brood and stores occupying all six frames in six days. But the bees turning reproductive is interfering with the beekeeping and with the prospects for a big harvest.

G.

I've moved the original part of this post dealing with Artificial Swarming into its own thread.
I've also moved some of the replies in this thread that were related specifically to Gavin's original observations.

I'm trying not to be too heavy handed when it comes to chopping up a thread, so there remain a couple of posts talking about both the current Nectar Flow and swarming that perhaps more properly still belong here.

Nellie.

[lindsay s]

Last Sunday I posted about my colonies being short of stores and how far behind they were, what a difference a week makes. After six days of warm sunshine and a good nectar flow I’ve seen a vast improvement in all of them. Foundation has been drawn out in a few days and the queens are laying like mad. I’ve found and marked the rest of my queens (the one with splodge is doing OK) and all colonies will have a super by the end of this week. The weather is due to return to cool northerlies later this week and because I’m a pessimist I’m worried this will setback the bees.
No queen cells yet.

[Trog]

Same here. Last week himself checked for stores but not queen cells as it was mini-winter. Second day of heatwave there were swarms going off all over the place but only one appears to be ours and we caught that, plus a cast in the same bush. This was a colony we picked up as a swarm from ferals so that'll be their way of doing things! Otherwise called out to 3 more 'swarms' which had already moved in to their new homes so are to all intents and purposes colonies! These appear to be from feral colonies which prospered and swarmed last year, too. Wish folk would tell us when the bees are starting their swarm or clustered, rather than waiting until they've moved to their permanent home (well, permanent unless folk want us to dismantle bits of their home!).

Three full supers on the double brood girls and an overwintered nuc needing a super already. Guess how I'll be spending the hot day! Yup! Out of useable super frames already! And roofs.