Recent content by biggles

We met a bee farmer there last year. He told us they get honey all year as there is always a flow on. He also said the first Veroa mite had been found and asked if it would spread, real shame.

Glad to hear most people have got their bees through the winter and lots of advice (good and Bad) and even got people posting that haven't for a while. Have a good bee year folks

I'm hoping for at least 3 or 4 weeks, Last year I didn't open some until may

Just been out to look at our hives, looks like only 1 in over 200 have not made it through the winter (so far), all the others had bees buzzing about today like it was a summer day and still another few weeks before I have to open any. Seems like ages since i had to do anything with them.

It's a real shame a swarm now could give loads of honey next year and be useful incase a queen is lost etc

Agreed we should have time off but 17 phone calls and 5 to 10 possible more beekeeper at the show and none of them could spare 15 mins.

Today for the first time I was on the other side of swarm collecting. Normally I collect 1 -3 a week through the summer. A friend called today saying he had a swarm in his garden only I had another one to get, i was at work and would of had to do a 50 mile round trip to put them I a box and...

There is a chance that the next generation of bees will not be nasty, I've seen that happen a few times before so might be worth leaving a QC and seeing.

Got to get one mines just cotton and I can get stung through it. I also didn't know swarms are full of bees with full tummies so are very aggressive!

Done all my spring feeding in September last year.

I've seen a .243 bullet ricochet off a fence wire before, well more like I heard it. All bullets can ricochet even A max and the like

Did you mean a 17 rem? I would not recommend a 17hmr unless the fox is 60 yards or less away and you can head shoot. We shot a few coke tins a while ago at 300 yards and most shots did not go through the tin! Far batter off with a .204 .223 + A farm near us lost 15 lambs last year to fox...

You will find once the numbers get above 50 you just get more bees than you want with artificial swarms and swarm calls. I think we ran out of hives in May! Let us know how you get on. ATB

Dont think we will quite brake even and at the end of this year we will have a lot of repairs on hives to do. We also built a shed that was falling down into a honey shed and spent a lot to get it up to hygiene standards. The cost of that will take a few years to get back. Where about are you if...