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I've been reading this thread with interest in that it presents a non-issue. There are too many variables to be able to use weight as a guide. The NBU publish a useful guide as to what to expect when buying a nuc: "As a guide a good nucleus will: Have a good quality, young laying queen. She may...

Please don’t underestimate the risks of cross contamination and overestimate your ability to spot EFB in its early stages. I know of one Beekeeper who seemingly harboured (and nurtured?) EFB for a number of years and spread it across several of his apiaries over a large geographical area. it...

Buckfasts are a variable animal of course, being hybrids of different races according to the breeder’s preference. Buckies with Italian in them will keep laying all through the winter and be in mortal danger of starving as early as February. Cracking open the crown board? Every time you do that...

Not all Red Cedar is equal. I'm afraid I've poor experience with home grown cedar.... Different climate, different growing rate, different grain, very different properties to Western Red Cedar..

5000 bees? Less than two full combs? Not viable. Think queen failure, varoosis, nosema possibly CBPV. The number of people who say they don’t have Varroa and I see them crawling over bees and combs - I’d be a rich man if I had a fiver for each one...

If you need reading glasses to read you definitely need them to see eggs. I always have a strong LED torch with me - almost essential in most cases where you are under a tree or in overcast conditions. The B&Q £6 LED torches are good enough.

Multiple eggs in cells can indicate a young Queen who has not learnt to control her egg laying. Look at the pattern and look at whether the eggs are at the bottom of cells (queen) or stuck to the walls of the cells (workers - with shorter abdomens). Not seeing the queen is not necessarily...

One problem is that honey should be labelled with sufficient detail to identify the producer and this might contravene show rules requiring anonymity to prevent possible bias by the judges.

I hope that when you day “closed up the entrance” you mean “reduced the entrance”?

training courses a potential minefield when you mix business with pleasure of course but with care and due attention to ethical behaviour all should be OK: 1. Our association charges for the beginners course and invests the income in equipment for use by members and in the apiaries. None of the...

Actually it was Rumsfeld who is famous for "the things we know, we know we don't know and we don't know that we don't know" (or words to that effect) I think it was about the only sensible thing he said.

Well, it's hornet's nest! 1. Hedgerow Pete - Association training site: is the presumption that these are all bad? If so, why? I'm interested in case I have to recommend dismantling ours! 2. Shabro - No, I wouldn't like it if someone got me thrown off an apiary site so that they could use it...

It seems you're presuming other beekeepers are not capable of providing for their bees?

I've just come across this thread and find it fascinating. Thank you "into the lion's den" for your common sense responses - of course the land owner can choose who to allow on their property. We would hope that by behaving reasonably, responsibly and respectfully one could persuade them to...