Recent content by johna

I was intrigued to see that to move your WBC hives it is necessary to first run the bees into a neuc and then take your now empty hive plus the neuc to site where you re-unite everything. What a complete load of old tosh the programme presented.I don't think I will be taking too much notice of...

Well said Victor - It's what you get when mob mentality takes over.

Hope your ONE HIVE makes it thro the winter Pargoyle.

400 pounds off. My best year for a long time. The late spring seems to have gingered the flowers up with a really good flow here in S.W.Scotland.

Not only is the guy a charlatan , the cheeky b-----d is using one of my photographs - stolen from modern beekeeping to advertise "HIS" hives. I gave the photo to M.B. to use in their publicity. This cheeky s-d is using it without my permission. Keep well clear of him and his broken promises...

I did'nt think it would be long O90O before you degenerated the discussion into a slanging match which has very little to do with OA treatment and exibits your offensive and abrasive nature. My statement concerning the LEGAL position of OA in the treatment of bees is correct. The fact that it...

RAB, YOU show ignorance as well .OA is NOT allowed in the UK at present - officially - however its use is condoned by bee inspeectors and the ministry a) because it is in general use and b) because of its efficiency in dealing with mites. I've been to conventions where ministry inspectors...

Finmans mite figures are correct and KNOWLEDGE based - not some hypothetical imaginary theory. Varroa is THE most serious pest that threatens honeybees and EVERYTHING possible should be done to eraiicate it at every possiuble opportunity.

Dishmop, I've treated EVERY year that varroa has been endemic in this district of Scotland and yes I do record any losses. As i said in my previous post-.my losses have been for the reasons stated. The decision to use or not to use ANY treatment is yours alone and I would not attempt to change...

The purpose for using OA treatment in winter is to kill the PHORETIC mites - that is mites that are NOT in the cells feedind off the larva. Because the winter is a BROODLESS period the mites can only parisitize the ADULT bees. This makes the mites vulnerable to OA treatment which kills most of...

My next door neibour is a small farmer,running about 35 acres.Some time ago the government offered grants for " alternative farming".He decided to become a beekeeper and applied for a grant. He was awarded a total of £16000.00 toward the purchase and setting ap his bees. All he had to do was...

ITMA , I put a thermometer in my solar wax extractor this year and on a sunny mid-summer day the temperature reache 92 deg centigrade. Methinks it would take an asbestos coated pathogen to survive that day after day - so I'm pretty well convinced that this treatment will sterilize the wax. If I...

Put all your old bits of wax,comb etc in a solar wax extractor.This cleans and sterilizes it.Stick old combs in complete-then clean off dross -makes good firelighters.You can then melt the wax in rainwater and filter it thro muslin to get it very clean. Use coloured drawing pins stuck into the...

I would have thought that once the queen starts laying her ovaries become gorged with eggs and she becomes incapable of flight apart from swarming when the bees semi-starve her to reduce her ovaries and hence her body weight to let her fly.

Bit of very early white clover out here in S.W,Scotland.Sycamore trees still in tight but.What a crazy mixed-up season this year.