Recent content by Mandeville

That's really useful, thank you!

At the moment, I can't get the lids off!

As I don't know exactly when it all went pear-shaped I can't be sure, but maybe up to 14 hours :oops:

My honey warmer thermostat failed and 10 jars of honey spent several hours at 60-70 degrees C. Is the honey of any use for anything now? Or do I just bin it?

Thanks for the advice - I thought that 19.5% would be just about OK as normal honey, but from Eric and Anduril's experience it looks like I might have to do a lot of cooking!! That's really helpful - I'll give it a try, thank you! That's useful, thank you, I didn't know that - the mechanism of...

I've a bucket of honey that I've just extracted which is reading about 19.5%. I'd hoped to use it for soft set - will it be OK? Do I need to do anything differently because of the highish water content?

If I'm right, you'll find such a comb in the hive making this dound, and not in the other hives. I think you've hit the nail on the head there! This colony does exactly that - chews the foundation away from the wires much more than any other colony I've ever had. And the pattern of the sound...

Great YouTube video - thanks for finding that! It's reassuring that it's not that unusual and doesn't mean anything bad. The clue to the cause seems to me to be that the noise stopped when the guy in the video moved one particular frame. As suggested, synchronised wing beating combined with a...

Can anyone identify this strange warbling noise? I first heard it a couple of weeks ago, late afternoon. It was loud enough to be heard from about 15feet from the hive. The bees were coming and going, and appeared to be behaving perfectly normally. Happened again this morning while I was...

As has been said - get a good quality bee suit. I nearly gave up beekeeping when I had an aggressive colony and a leaky jacket - it's no fun. Also transparent crown boards - being able to check that your bees are still there without disturbing them is very reassuring!

I started with WBCs because HWBMO wouldn't have a "pile of packing cases" in the garden. Like ElaineMary, I've never lost a colony over winter in 10+ years, so I think the double insulation is a benefit. I have only cedar lifts and boxes so no trouble with warping or rotting. But mis-matched...

I've used polycarb for years. They do lead to some condensation but it's never been enough to matter.

I've found that they quite often just make a hole through the newspaper without ripping it up. So I never get the shreds outside the hive to tell me they've united!

I would get the super on as soon as possible. Wear plenty of protection, get everything ready and plan what you are going to do, and then do it as quickly and gently as you can. If the hive is against a hedge or a fence, approach it from behind, that may buy you a few seconds before the bees...

When the super is full of bees, it's time to give them another one, you don't need to wait for it to be full of honey. I think in your situation I would add one anyway. It may not help with their temperament, but I doubt it will make it worse!