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How to test your roof insulation? If the snow on the roof melts quicker than the surrounding snow, your insulation is inadequate. Overnight 5cms of snow still there on my hives..

I have a permanent search on FB for insulation sheets. Every few months some come on - surplus new or used- and I buy cheap.. (ditto engineering pallets) But I am mean.

Crows and magpies peck holes in my PIR roofs. I don't mend them before summer when warm and dry. ZERO water is found in the damaged roof. (I fill the holes and repaint.. )

Hardly any. I assume many died in flight,

The small holes in capped brood are classic signs of a HEAVY varroa infestation. In fact so heavy , the colonies were doomed by September. The numbers literally collapse due to varroa numbers increasing as colony numbers dwindle due to less Q laying so more mites: fewer bees. Saw a 2 brood box...

A lot of bee keeping difficulty is related to local climate and weather. It is undoubtedly easier in balmier SE England than 300 meters above sea level on some windswept hill somewhere in Wales, Scotland or Northern England. And having expert tuition/help at an early start helps greatly.

I simply tell any prospective customer who asks about hay fever that lots of people buy my honey as they THINK it cures their hay fever, but add but "we do not make any claims ourselves". Convinces any doubters and is 100% true.

The joys of old houses: we have at least one spider apparently - in every room.

Today after lunchtime , we saw the sun. First time for over two weeks (literally). Hefted nucs, fed mini nucs. Two small nucs have fallen to wasps..(Total four to date). Still a few wasps around.

£0.01 per hour...slave labour rates.

I stopped inspections July..After that it is "invasion of the wasps"

I place clear plastic sheeting (think Clingfilm) on the top bars of mini nucs and weak poly/wooden nucs/hives which I am feeding. Feed goes on topbars under clear film. Advantages: : you can remove roof and see what is happening/state of feed w/o any disturbance of bees. Started doing it in...

After three weeks, no trace.

Ivy is not in bloom here yet. The OP is further North - York.. It may not be in bloom there either And the "bad case of varroa" may involve quite a lot of diseased bees you would not want (Darn Southerners!:)

You have one strong hive which should overwinter OK. You have one hive which is doomed: too late to requeen and any brood given will be wasted as a new Q will have no drones to mate with. Why risk a unite? Your weak hive has a varroa issue - which means it will compromise your strong one. Just...

We have a mark 1 Smart Meter - electricity only. When we changed suppliers two years after installation,it stopped working. Despite suppliers repeatedly denying it neither would or could be used to control your own electricity usage by switching you off, this is downright wrong and clear...

I have ten or so AH posters to give out at winter talks I do . All from BKA.

I now people who have simple coloring explained so they can differentiate wasps from bees - wasps have yellow tails - and still fail to do so. SO expecting more than 10% of the population to recognise a YLH from a European Hornet or a Wood Wasp is optimistic to say the least..

European hornets are expanding here.. So I suspect Asian would thrive.

Maisie's second Brood frames are on sales delivered at c £34 for 50---every so often on ebay..