Recent content by itsbruce

No need to get complicated. This year I converted a conventional stand and floor to UFE. The height of the entrance space is just wider than some spare red cedar board I have, so it was easy to cut a shape a bit deeper than the distance to the back of the space and a bit narrower than its width...

As a law-abiding citizen, I'm keen to cooperate but I worry how I'll go about getting my bees microchipped.

Aye, our lavender has been flowering for a wee while now. Primula doing well, Saxifrage and Aubrieta opening up.

Been fortunate enough never to have a wasp problem (as opposed to the usual minor wasp predation outside the hives). It's the honey bee neighbours I'm worried about ;-)

Late the the party compared to many on here, I know, but last year I experimented with an under floor entrance (bought from Thorne) under one National hive; was happy enough with the result to start converting the rest. It's not hard to convert an existing National stand and floor (and saves the...

I don't think anybody is saying fondant won't be robbed if robbers have invaded a hive. I think the point is that using fondant is less likely to trigger robbing in the first place.

I have that same flat tray feeder. I've found that if I start by pouring a little syrup directly onto the top of the transparent cup, it gives the bees some notice that something's happening. I guess some of them head upwards just because there's some syrup dripping through the small holes in...

Your local association really is the best place to start. Many beekeepers are reluctant to take on swarms, not knowing the provenance of the bees and concerned at the risk of introducing disease into their apiary. But some people have isolation areas where they are prepared to put swarms or...

It looks more as if he's disagreeing with you but it's hard to tell.

Citing a single science paper as unquestionable authority is entirely unscientific. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientific_method#Confirmation https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Argument_from_authority Raising it as worthy of consideration would be reasonable.

How were those hives designed? On the typical National/Commercial with a standard mesh floor it's never the right thing to do. Have you ever looked under the base of a mesh-floor hive? Bee legs poking out on a regular basis as bees misstep and put a foot through a hole, occasionally one falls...

Sheesh, you could just have said so. If you thought I wasn't saying enough, I certainly thought you weren't. OK, I'll drop back to defcon 5.

You wasted the last page with pettiness and misguided pedantry, for no obvious reason. Don't be surprised if it irks the people you target. So yes, more water in the feeder means less urgency to find it elsewhere, in condition where water might be more needed and harder to find. If that's...

Heavy syrup. I didn't think that was rocket science, given that the virtues of light versus heavy had been discussed in the immediately preceding posts. So this was that a comment that, whether or not it makes a difference to how bees decide whether to build comb or store, the higher water...

No, it isn't. Both the punctuation and wording are different. Are you dyslexic?