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VERY helpful advice. Thank you.

OK. I appear to have innocently broken the forum rules by linking to my own website. Given that the website is non-commercial, doesn't sell anything and is entirely about beekeeping I can't help but feel that I have slipped between the cracks, but I recognise that the rules are there to protect...

URL is being blocked for some reason. This is not a commercial site, and it's not spam, so I have no idea why. Google 'Diary of a nervous beekeeper' and follow the links.

I don't know why the links are not working, but the URL appears to have been blocked. The missing bit is ****************.co.uk

That's odd. Not sure why. Here are the links in full. How to make a honey warming cabinet out of an old fridge: http://www.****************.co.uk/How_to_convert_a_fridge_into_a_warming_cabinet.pdf Corgi PCS dual pipe/cylinder thermostat wiring diagram...

I've produced a set of instructions - based on my own experience - on how to convert an old fridge into a honey warming cabinet. They include instructions on what type of thermostat to buy and how to wire it up. I hope they're of use to others. How to make a honey warming cabinet out of an old...

The rain probably hasn't helped my cause either, so this may turn out to be just another good learning experience. Mrs Nervous Beekeeper is getting a little impatient for honey however! Thanks for your input.

Again, I'd never heard of a Hamilton converter, and I love to leaf through beekeeping brochures. Somehow missed that one! For anyone else reading this who doesn't know what a Hamilton converter is, it's a device for converting a national brood chamber into a 10-frame commercial. had I known...

I discussed a very similar idea at some length with Deryck Johnson before taking the route I did. The reasons I didn't go that way in the end were that it seemed to involve almost as much faffing as my alternative method, and I didn't have that many dummy boards (which granted wasn't an...

I had never heard of a Bailey change until I read your reply. It sent me scurrying to my text books and, when I drew a blank there, to Google. Having read up on it, and if I correctly understand what a Bailey change is and involves however, it doesn't take into account my desire to get a crop of...

I've just written a blog post on migrating from commercial to 14x12 frames. I'd welcome any constructive feedback members would care to give (either here on on the blog) on how I'm proposing to go about it. See Diary of a Nervous Beekeeper. In my case an otherwise potentially straight-forward...

Thank you to all forum members for providing this novice beekeeper with a lot of useful advice and not a little amusement. The latest instalment of the Diary of a Nervous Beekeeper is out today. It's about my first swarm collection. (...Let the criticism commence)! May all your bees do...

I really appreciate the feedback, and the information on different sub-species. For the avoidance of doubt, I'm the first to recognise that I have a lot of learning ahead of me and, yes, beekeeping books feature heavily on my Christmas present wish list! I take the point about being fast and...

I have just written a blog post about 'black' and 'yellow' varieties of Apis mellifera. I know that this is not a forum for selling things, but the blog is completely uncommercial (no ads, no spam). My reason for flagging it here is that I would welcome practical feedback from experienced...

Really useful. Many thanks to you all.

Many thanks. In a way I find it reassuring that I haven't had a torrent of replies telling me that the information is available everywhere. I'm not concerned about 'pure' bred (or even UK bred) bees. I'm just curious about these two most prevalent varieties.

I'm in Saffron Walden (Essex). Most beekeepers locally seem to have either dark coloured honey bees or very light chocolate brown ones. All the lighter coloured ones I've encountered so far (including my own) are very docile, but the darker ones seem far more productive. I'd like to find out...

Sorry about the delay in responding. There was no evidence either way of varroa infestation because I hadn't been monitoring it correctly (I am now). Despite my not having access to a microscope several factors led me and others to suspect that it might be nosema: apart from the slow build-up my...

That's very helpful. Thank you all. You have allayed one of my concerns: that the old queen might be allowed to pose a threat to the new one and that I should therefore remove her. I won't now. I cannot disagree with idea of offering treatment 'blindly'. I was simply following advice and, at the...

Fair comment about my lack of understanding about swarming Duncan, although the none of beekeeping books I did consult described this scenario. Having seen fellow local beekeepers dealing with colonies bursting at the seams, and having been advised (by very experienced beekeepers) that my...