Recent content by AdrianSmith

I've been using that one for about 6 years and it's alright for my 3 or 4 hives. I can't say I like it, but I've not been tempted to spend lots of money on a better one. Mine had some sharp shards of metal round the honey-gate hole too.

Unfortunately, she does appear to have left the nest. I've checked the last three nights and it's been empty. Letting it develop would have been a hard sell to my wife, so I'm a little bit relieved as well as disappointed. I've just brought in in. There are eggs in it too: I've spotted my...

Know anyone who wants a nest in Warwickshire? If taking its picture hasn't disrupted it, then I've got one starting up in an old bait box behind the shed. Being in a box, it'll be easy to move, but where to? <edit> There's meant to a picture above, but I cant see it...

Is this the sort of thing you have in mind? http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Infant-and-Childrens-beekeeper-bee-Suit-Choice-of-3-sizes-/281190696847?var=&hash=item417845878f:m:mlJDRQogJgNg0Ny946eUp9A You might find the average age range in the sizing charts useful if you're thinking about how long it...

That's interesting. Thank you. Can you quantify the risk then? I admit to having switched off recently, but as far as I'm aware, the closest we've come to quantifying risks was when you raised some Hansard fgures. They showed about 5 fatalities a year, over a five year period, from wasp...

I'll ignore the "wasps are dangerous comment" (we know I don't believe it), but I would like to ask a question about their sweet feeding behaviour. When I see them sweet feeding, I wonder "where are the queens getting ready for hibernation?" Would we know that bees exchange food if it...

Well, my experience is limited, but I'd say "Don't worry, but give them fondant anyway". Last year, none of my hives took much sysup (I was tempted to convert to Ambrosia), but they all survived. I've got got no idea really, but as someone once told me, they've been around for millions of...

I'm not disagreeing with anything, but if the number of results surprise you then it's worth trying other queries for balance. From "Myocardial Infarction wasp sting", google gives me "About 13,300 results". From "Myocardial Infarction bee sting", google gives me "About 47,400 results". From...

I can see a whole new line in Karol-baiting coming up:) This one clearly wasn't up for that. It had a quick drink of the syrup on that tissue but was agitating to take off. The camera flash disturbed it and it hovered just in front of the camera for while before coming to study me. It went...

I thought this thread was over until I came back from work this evening to be told there had been three hornets in the room where I had seen the other one. I thought it must have come in through a window, but it seems it came down the chimney. There was another one when I looked. Could we have...

Hi Kaz, thank you but I don't think kudos is deserved really:) I had recently seen someone on the telly demonstrating that hornets were really quite gentle creatures and not deserving of the fear they generate (that's the thought that prompted me to post). If I'd known that it wasn't a hornet...

You're right! I should have realized too. It was bothering me that it was so waspy and that I could think of the other one as being bigger, browner and more "hornet"y:) I was under a bit of family pressure to get that one out of the house so opened a window and shoo'd it out before thinking of...

I've seen two recently and one was much bigger than the other. The following is the smaller one. I found it by the bins looking a bit dopey and gave it some syrup soaked newspaper. It enjoyed that and then went walkabout on my arm.

Can you put a name to them? They are brighter than mine. Here are a couple of older photos of mine. The second doesn't show the bees very well, but they wouldn't go in the box either. I put them in and they came out again. I got tired of waiting for them to go in, so carried them round from...

Here are some photos to show what I meant. I went down that night, intending to follow your advice, but changed my mind - it was a bit dark; they were covering the entrance so might yet have gone in; the baitbox is ridiculously heavy and I just didn't fancy being up a stepladder. They were still...