Recent content by Blaz

Brood and a half - there was (and is) plenty of room. Reading up on Demaree method this seems the best course of action. I don't want the colony to swarm, neither do I want to capture the swarm to start another colony. Three hives are sufficient for me. The world of bee keeping - Why did I open...

Third year beekeeping = still learning! OK so my bees swarmed end of May. A new queen was present in the hive, she eventually mated and is now laying well - sealed brood is everywhere but there is also room for her to lay more. Last week I found 4 new queen cells with larvae so clearly the...

Yes I have fed to encourage the swarm to draw comb. They have stored that syrup! There is a little pollen going i not the hive too. I'm not too worried at this stage. Thanks for reply.

Update on my queen question, she is now looking like a "real" queen - nice elongated body and she is calmer/less shy. Does this mean she is now mated? Weather has not been great of late - rain and wind so maybe no mating flights? I'm asking as I checked the hive yesterday - two weeks since...

It looks like the wild clematis, Clematis Vitalba.

This is definitely not the original queen - she was much longer and not quite so shy! This queen is a fast mover and wanted to "hide" away on the reverse side of the frame. I work in the week so no idea if I lost the prime swarm and this is a cast. It was about rugby ball size? I do know that...

Wow! Thanks RJC, I'll let her get on with things then. Hopefully she will mate soon and get laying...

Hi - this is my third year keeping bees - a steep learning curve! Last week my bees swarmed - I caught the swarm and have housed in a spare hive. They are drawing comb nicely. I searched for the queen and think I have her - but in my inexperienced eyes it could be fat/nicely coloured worker...

Either Osmanthus Burkwoodii or Yunnanensis

I don't know if this is relevant, but after I treated with MAQ's strips, I had varroa still dropping a few days later (that is, after the end of treatment). Could it be that the dead mites remain attached to their host until dislodged? This did worry me at the time but now the drop is down to 2...

Hey Finman - I not at all afraid to open the hive - quite the opposite. I need to stop myself opening just because I love looking at the bees and gaining an understanding of what they are doing. But I also understand that at this time of the year it's best to leave them unless necessary. Which...

Thanks Eric - that would certainly explain the full combs in the brood box.

I put the stores under the brood beginning of September. At that time there were 3 full frames of honey. My observation 3 weeks ago indicated that the empty cells in the brood chamber above were being used as honey storage so maybe I should simply lift the brood off to check the stores in the...

Hello - first time bee keeper here. I have a National hive with OMF. I've set up the hive as follows and would appreciate advice on whether this is the correct way to have my hive as we go into winter. I have a section with honey stores just above the entrance block. Above this is the brood...