Recent content by jenkinsbrynmair

never found that to be the case

I find spacing them ten frames to a national super is spot on. any wider and you can't get the lid of the carton on properly

It's an illusion that fools many I'd leave well alone for now - your workforce is well depleted and there's not much forage at the moment, and if this cold period continues, they will need stores

I think they have already swarmed. Best you can do now is reduce the QC's to one open cell, mark the frame where it is, then go back in in a week and tear down any more QCs they've made (once you've confirmed your marked cell is still there) then just go on holidays, relax and forget about them...

Don't worry, stick at it, and in a few years time - like most of us, you will still be fumbling around, but with a bit more panache! :biggrinjester:

I keep my queens in the envelope they arrived in, in the shed at whatever temperature it is at the time, 8-10°C (shed is brick built, always in the shade and cool) sometimes for days depending on when I can get to the desired apiary. I'd just crack on and do it unless it was pouring with rain...

when I was at the Monday produce market there last year there were three or four stall there selling local honey, maybe they've run out and are waiting for the next harvest

how long are they going to be? any chance of just shutting them in the evening before and opening up again at the end of the day? if that was the case I'd be happy just to move the nearest hives to one side and live with the odd 'lost' bee, which would find a home somewhere

old news

I must say, having stood and chatted with the Hyde hives lads during the pre lockdown tradex (they had the stand next to us at Bees Abroad) the hive is a work of art, very well made, practical, but obviously as much a decoration as a practical hive - bonus of course is - no supers

they're galligaskins, not shorts, and poseur's galligaskins too, ultra short to show off the wearer's stockinged thighs

5)no need to give the bees 24 hours, you can transfer them to a hive straight away if you feel the need. 8-9 degrees is fine if you are just moving them over, rather than a full blown inspection. Unless the nuc is jam packed with bees and brood, it is safe to leave them in there for a while.

1) Throw away the porter escapes, they are a useless anachronism clung onto by the occasional dinosaur. 2) The two holes are another anachronism, a hangover from wartime 'economy' measures when the crownboard was a multi purpose tool, when not in use (for feeding) they should be covered over...

Sometimes a new queen won't start laying until the old queen's brood has all emerged.

:iagree: I've got stacks of poly nucs, all painted with garden shades, never primed, just given two coats when new, never been a sign of peeling. the oldest ones have been around for well over ten years and only now looking a bit thin in places, but then, they are always outside, even the empty...