Recent content by oliverkelly

Be careful when locking big colonies in. I moved two full (8 frames of brood plus stores) colonies last week in poly 14 x 12. I was only moving them less than a mile so kept them locked in. When I went to unlock them 72 hours later, one colony had basically collapsed. Almost all dead from what...

I have left in varroa floors, to see what happens, and if the varroa floor is close to the mesh, then you end up with a mouldy mess of old cappings dead bees etc as the bees can't clean between the mesh and the floor. Also the varroa that drop can climb back up. Even if there is a gap the floor...

Have a look at the gastronorm pans, which are available from catering suppliers such as nisbets. They are stackable, and some have holes, so you can have a large pan underneath with a pan above with holes...

I used an old freezer, and the following 2 components from Amazon. ARCELI 220 Digital LED... ARCELI 220 Digital LED Temperature Controller Module, XH-W3001 Thermostat Switch with Waterproof Probe, Programmable Heating Cooling Thermostat: Amazon.co.uk: DIY & Tools 220V 300W PTC Heater with...

They are wasps. Wasps do eat wood to make their nest, and also will eat plasterboard and insulation to expand their nest.

It will not fit your canisters but the rothenberger supreme is by far the best torch I have ever tried, and I've used all sorts.

Is this what you are seeing, as I was curious too. Sent from my Nexus 6 using Tapatalk

Thanks for the reply. I have removed the feeder, and the entrance has been reduced from day 1 with the supplied wasp guard which has 2 bee space entrances. I have a beehaus, and put the blanking/dummy frame after the last empty foundation. There were 3 small frames of brood (both sides) in the...

I installed a 4 frame (there were 5 frames but 1 of just foundation) nucleus on 29th June, and inspected today. There were new eggs, larvae of different sizes, and capped brood. Didn't spot the queen, but I guess she must be there. They have started to draw out almost 2 sides of deep...

Many thanks for your replies. In the morning I could see it was the same size as other bees. I am sure I will start panicking about something else soon ! Like why are there all those bees underneath? What are they doing? Why is that bee bouncing off the hive. Absolutely fascinating !

Can anyone tell me the type of bee this is ? I just spotted her outside the entrance to the hive. It was dark when I saw her. This is my first hive, and the nucleus was installed yesterday evening. Needless to say I am slightly paranoid that it's the Queen...