Hi this is likely a stupid question but.
One of my hives swarmed yesterday alas i lost them as they settled too high in the tree for me to collect.
Anyway I was going to to treat the hives for varroa using Maqs as I was unable to do it early in the year due to bad weather and work.
Is it ok...
Probably a stupid question but is fondant and the pre made icing you can buy in supermarkets the same thing?
Just I look at the contents of pre made icing and it has additives which I do not will harm the bees at all.
Just everyone mentions fondant but I cant find that at supermarkets and...
trouble is I am uncertain how much food the bees taken in before the winter. I am new to this and could never work out if the hive was heavy enough by hefting. I could stay on solid food but was wondering if now was the time to switch back and if not now when would seem right. I lost a hive last...
the additional super was because I wanted to make sure they had plenty of stores. the number of bees in the hive was much bigger but i think got impacted by lack of food. funny have not seen any queen caps to not sure if they swarmed or just died.
As to the lack of confidence i got stung last...
Thanks for all the support everyone. Yes I do belong to a group but they do not seem to be that hot on mentoring. Basically did the course then had to go alone. :( It is a completely different prospect having a couple of sessions opening hive in a club and then doing it on your own for the first...
Hi i am a newbie. Got a bit frightened last year but resolved this year to do better. Any way did my first complete check of my hive today. I know should have done it earlier but lost courage. Anyway I had a super above a brood box and queen excluder above the super then another super on top...
so far i have collected two swarms. While i was sorting out their new hive to put them in they have started to build natural comb on the roof of the boxes I was storing them in. Is it worth trying to put these combs in an empty frame. So far trying as soon as i cut the comb away from the roof it...
I read somewhere that bee are less likely to draw comb if the super is above the queen excluder. The recommendation is to put the super below the queen excluder until they draw then move it up. But make sure the queen is not in it
bumble bees are endangered as well so try not to disturb them they should not hurt you if you leave them alone. they will tend to leave the nest by mid summer. I had some above my front door. zoomed over my head every morning but didn't do any harm. My kids loved to watch them
Hi I am a bit of a newbie as far as bee keeping is concerned I am now due to collect my first swarm.
The swarm has started to build a nest.
I aim to put them into a commercial nuc which has frames that have not yet been built on
I need advice around 2 questions
A) Should I just brush the...