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  1. ericbeaumont

    Where to find land for Bees 2024

    Why? Look on GoogleEarth; check for good vehicle access, that the site is not visible from the road esp. when leaves have fallen, and well away from livestock and public rights of way. Avoid flood & frost pockets and aim for a sunny spot (though noon shade is useful). Hives against a hedgeline...
  2. ericbeaumont

    Buying first hives

    Nothing; comment is entertaining but justification & explanation is more useful. Manley ran 1000 colonies before the war and must have had good reason to design a frame with parallel sides. That design difference results in an ideal frame for comb honey production.
  3. ericbeaumont

    Buying first hives

    Useful for two reasons: first, combs don't flap about when carting them full of honey, so avoid leaks from nudged cappings. Secondly, it's an easy place to collect propolis for sale as the joint is usually clear of seasonal hive debris.
  4. ericbeaumont

    Organic varroa treatments

    100% effective! 5-star reviews! Hang on: no ingredients list and not approved for use in the UK.
  5. ericbeaumont

    Propolis !!!

    Might be good if you have a sore backside because propolis is anti-septic, anti-bacterial, anti-viral and anti-oxidant. Use screens to collect and to sell it; I get £10/25g at market but prices online may be higher.
  6. ericbeaumont

    Organic varroa treatments

    Do you have a retail link?
  7. ericbeaumont

    Buying first hives

    Not if you use the BBs linked above: the box takes 11 frames with about 6mm wriggle room to allow the end frame to be taken out without rolling bees. Does help to compress frames together at the end of a check, and split the slight gap produced to either end of the box. More fiddly expense and...
  8. ericbeaumont

    Buying first hives

    This 9-frame Lega cage also fits a Logar extractor and perhaps others; it is designed to take any sort of frame, and will hold 9 Manleys radially.
  9. ericbeaumont

    Buying first hives

    For the bees or the beekeeper? Not for the bees, because wood is a far inferior hive material to poly, which gives significantly greater thermal efficiency all year round, reducing bee labour & stores consumption and increasing yields. In the short term, maybe, but beekeeping is a long game and...
  10. ericbeaumont

    Delay introduction of bought queen?

    Species or variety of bee is no guide to acceptance or rejection, because bees are variable, the outcome always uncertain, and why books have been written on the subject.
  11. ericbeaumont

    Weak Stores in Brood Box, Strong Super on top

    If you return it, nadir it with the entrance reduced to a single beespace, or extract and feed back (more work than nadiring).
  12. ericbeaumont

    Is it time to harvest the honey in the UK?

    Have you just begun beekeeping, John? Your local BKA may have an extractor for hire. Are you a member?
  13. ericbeaumont

    Too late to salvage weak nuc?

    Unite to this one, put the result in a poly nuc and feed; treat as Pargyle suggested, but do so with Apivar to prevent feed refusal due to thymol odour.
  14. ericbeaumont

    Too late to salvage weak nuc?

    Have heard of over-wintering in poly mating nucs; was it madasafish? Depends how keen you are to experiment. It was MadsaF: https://beekeepingforum.co.uk/threads/overwintering-queens-in-min-nucs.41458/ https://beekeepingforum.co.uk/threads/overwintering-queens-in-mating-mini-nucs.23509/...
  15. ericbeaumont

    Consolidating double brood to single

    Agree with Dani: extract 3-5 of the bottom BB frames and return them (flank the current brood combs); remove, extract and return on the same day. Suggest you leave them on DBB, unless you want the faff of feeding a single box and worrying over winter.
  16. ericbeaumont

    Fondant v syrup

    Yes. I invert an Abelo Ashforth poly box feeder over the block and leave them to it; can be done late summer or early spring. Double brood colonies need feeding rarely, though last winter I misjudged the strength of one DBB and they starved...
  17. ericbeaumont

    Cleaning after wax moth.

    I have a 4 year-old; will give it a try.
  18. ericbeaumont

    Niche beekeeping rant

    Underpricing will lead to good sales, as your customers have noticed. The 454 will in time reach a ceiling beyond which it will look too expensive - your current price is the same as my 340 - and if I were to ask £13.40 for a 454 it wouldn't work, even here in London. 340 is really no big...
  19. ericbeaumont

    Cleaning after wax moth.

    That works, but is the luxury option and relies on having plenty of other boxes. :)
  20. ericbeaumont

    Cleaning after wax moth.

    Surprised that you still have colonies on site; most reserves do not permit honey bees due to the risk of forage competition for the other 260 species of bee and all other pollinators. It is not certain that competition for forage deprives smaller pollinators, but as research cannot cope with...
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