Recent content by happyculteur

Pargyle ! you have just invented the 3 dimensional Rorschach test ! Lovely piece of work.

CRICKET!! I haven't seen a cricket match for 45 years now. Watching a swarm trap waiting for some bees to arrive is so much more exciting.

Not to mention St. Ambroise, whose day is 7th December.

On the Riviera, which is certainly not the equator, the bees have winter forage so they keep going. In summer when the heat leaves little nectar, they stay in. So obviously different ecosystems sort themselves out. I don't know if your bees would adapt immediately though, or if you'd have to...

This year we have gangs of them; never seen so many. Perhaps they've come skiing. I daren't mention Brexit.....................................

The advice I would give is learn to be very calm and gentle with the bees, and then you can concentrate on seeing what's happening. The other advice is that if you want to expand then be sure of your system otherwise you may find yourself wanting to change equipment after a couple of years and...

As both posts above. My fencing veil has a velcro tab in front which when pulled down avoids all contact between veil and face. I've never been stung in the face when wearing it. Any hat brim I wear has a will of its own. Yesterday I was painting a wall with a baseball cap on Leaning down to...

I've always had cold way for my comfort. When I've collected swarms that are well installed between window and shutter, some are parallel to the window and some perpendicular. And some ;)just follow the ley lines :willy_nilly:

They will build downwards, though sometimes it's not obvious for crossing the top bars of the hive below. The problem is, that when there is a big flow, the speed of building down can be too slow to stop them feeling cramped and so they swarm. I now put boxes on top at these moments with drawn...

A Warré is just a hive , not really a method. Not any longer. It's very suitable for certain climates. As for stacks of boxes, you can super most of the time when there's a flow on, with entrances in the upper boxes. Nadiring can trap your beard.

Always an exciting time. I'm thinking of breaking out of my garden again. Last summer I chose several possible sites, but wondering if it's very wise at my age. Getting beekeeper's fingers.

What I think is amazing about Karol's original post (apart from David of course) is all the time effort and money that is dedicated to keeping him alive and very partially functioning. It speaks volumes for the values of the society in which we live, and for which it is worth fighting.

You couldbuild an adaptor, put the Dadant on top of the Lang, put frames of foundation in th Lang with a couple of drawn frames in the middle. Do it when a strong flow is on, or feed plenty of syrup to stimulate the queen's laying. David Heaf's beekeeping pages This gives a page with an adaptor...

In France it is mainly produced in the Vosges forests but only on fir trees. Here also is it not regular, and is much sought after and very expensive. I have always kept bees near to lime trees and there are always all types of insects on the leaves and flowers. I have large lime flows, but the...

I managed finally to stop by adhesion to a centre for drug addicts. 12 years on and I still love the filthy smell of cigarette smoke in the street.