Novice Beekeeper

  Image dated 3/10/2021. MEREWETHER 5/10/2021 #1   High population.  2xDs +"new D.  Robbed 3xFs.  Needs Splitting.  #2   1×D + 2x Is.  Robbed 3Fs. #3   2xDs. Took Excluder. #4   2xDs + 1xI. Excluder had locked Q in higher box. Dead drones ++lower D empty. Swarmed today, used D to become #7 . #7  1×D new  8Oct (ex #4) MARTINS CREEK #5   2×Ds. 3/4 × honey stored. Ex removed. #6   2×Ds. Full, Robbed 1Fs only. Swarmed earlier but returned during Inspection. Q piping. #8   1×D @5/10. Ex #5. Work Ahead Merewether  #1   &  #2 Split Martins Creek #6 Split. Build    - 3xIs               -  3xB/Bs               - 3xLs

 Well my bees beat me up these last two weeks. To be fair though  it was mostly my fault. So,  I started with radix hives; two at coastal Merewether and two on my property near Paterson.   Obviously the Merewether hives produced through winter and with a bit of an up-change in the weather they needed space for brood and honey.  This caught me out (Lesson 1: don't procrastinate or aim to do the least amount of work. In other words don't be lazy.)  I then had to rush around buying and assembling frames. Penders Bees reported that from their orders it's a bumper season. But I  really need to not be so unprepared again.   Adding Supers and extracting helped create space,  but I'll be extracting again very soon with my spanking new machine. Unfortunately in hive #4 the Queen spent the winter above the Excluder and it really knocked them about. Removing the Excluder (which was a third full of dead Drones) got them working ok again.  ...

 It looks like Blogger has combined all my blogs,  so reading about bees and bikes ... Anyway! My Merewether bees have ramped up their collective presence these past weeks. There has been a feaux swarm and a bit of aggro. So after a few "emergency" calls from my sister I needed to get to the bottom of it.   Adding Supers is a stock response to the Spring Expansion.  The bees,  like the flowers are growing and being more productive and need space to store nectar.  So steps one and two,  were to add supers and extract honey.  This was for all for hives. But this didn't solve the crowding issue and there was still some major bearding of #2.  So,  I read up on Queen Exluders. Truthfully,  i cannot recall exactly why i twigged to this,  I guess it was just intuition? Once I'd read how some Bee'k's refer to then as Honey Excluders and how Workers are reluctant to pass through them and tend to ashore too much honey in the Brood C...