Recent content by Mark Bleay

Yes it is!! 😂

Might be a bit late to move them, they are quite big now. The compost is deliberately gritty with some slow release fertiliser and are in full sun. I will take your tip for next year.

I would get her out quick. You already have a queen in there she just has not hot going yet. Your new queen will probably get killed I'm sorry to say.

Same thing for us last year. Curtailed beginners course. Bait give up, two swarms in a week. Great start.

Exactly, My friend in New Zealand applies this principle to his commercial set up and he runs literally thousands of hives.

Some colonies in Spring get ahead of others in development. If you take frames of brood from strong colonies that gives them more space and a slower build up thus mitigating swarming, put those frames of brood in to a slower colonies to build it up. It means that all colonies are roughly equal...

I know a commercial bee keeper who does the evening up thing all the time to avoid swarming among other reasons.