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A year or two ago, I decided that I was going for zero tolerance of bee stings. Mostly I'm managing, even when some bees got into my suit on two days last week - till I found the secret gap in a seam (thanks for the tip, Emyr). So when I was dealing with four big colonies this evening, and was...

I've seen a talk on this by the same person at the National Honey Show. I'll listen to this version as a refresher course.

Will this still work for swarm control? I'm following Dan Basterfield on this. He says that swarming is prevented by depriving the queen of a large chunk of the foragers.

I know! In warmer weather I'd be wearing less under my suit... Not nice.

Bingo! I found a gap in the seam in the crotch - so the bees have the option to go down or up :ROFLMAO:

Thanks. Which box do you put the queen in, upper or lower?

In the past, if I had a bee inside my Sherriff suit, it was because I was chatting while zipping up and didn't do the job properly. This season, a couple of times, I've had a couple of bees inside my suit - and I can't figure out how they got in. After the first time, I taped over where the zips...

This, according to PlantNet, is Garlic mustard (a brassica) and it is flowering in huge quantities on untended land here just now, especially margins. I see it's also called Jack-by-the-hedge. I looked up mustard as a crop. It's yellow (no surprise) and, according to my source, flowers in late...

I did a vertical split on this colony a few days ago. They were already double brood and there was a lot of brood in both boxes. Very little stores. I made sure the queen was in the bottom box, rotated it 180°, gave them some fondant in an eke below the split board with the entrance facing the...

Checked hives in this apiary yesterday. The bees were quick to come out if the sun came out, but otherwise kept away from the chilly air. One hive had a drone laying queen. I was able to replace her a couple of weeks ago with a queen from a friend but the new queen, though accepted, is not...

I'm be very pleased to hear that a bald bee can still be a healthy bee! I've had a few colonies get full blown CBPV and I know the look (and smell!) of it. So when I see the odd black shiny bee, I think maybe there's a trace of the virus around. I don't worry about it (what would that achieve?)...

Saying something is simple doesn't make it so. Reminds me of George Monbiot ('It's simple: just leave the oil in the ground.')

This year I'm hoping to prevent swarms with vertical splits. I've made loads of split boards with mesh on both sides of the hole. Some (eg David Evans who wrote a nice piece some time ago) say that a vertical split is like removing the queen in a nuc but keeping everything in the one stack...

A balanced view. Nothing is simple when it comes to doing what's best for the planet. It seems every 'solution' comes with its own side-effects.

I've thrown out my old frames till now but I don't feel good about the waste. So, with suggestions on here, I got a 45 gln drum, cut the top off, drilled a hole for a tap near the bottom, got a double gas burner, and made a stand. The only trouble is, there's a problem getting started with...

Yesterday was my baptism by lanyard. I didn't trip all afternoon, and I didn't lose my hive tool. But it wasn't plain sailing. I used shock cord, about 5mm. The weight of the tool doesn't stretch it, but I thought it might be safer. I fastened it to my forearm. The thing that really surprised...

I had a proper look in my hives at the other apiary yesterday. It was 10C but the forecast for the next week was much the same. (It has been revised up a few degrees today.) I reversed the car down into the field and continued beyond the furthest hive. It gave me a view I'd not seen before with...

Everything to do with yachts, right down to the loo roll, is expensive.

Yes, clearer in this picture. I presume we don't say where and spoil it for others 😉

Ah, so you were looking for some help!