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This pair ran in front of the car, staying on the track, as I slowly drove behind them for about 200 yards. I've seen sheep do that a lot. I don't know why I thought birds might be smarter.

The bees didn't stop for longer than about a second on the bramble flowers, whereas but some flies found plenty to savour.

The bees removed the one queen cell and kindly left the opened tip just so I could see that a virgin had emerged.

Very kind, Dani, but I've recently bought one - just not got round to using it yet.

I've been trying to sustain some level of optimism since early spring. All these flowers and barely any honey. Surely the whole season can't be a right-off? (I realise this doesn't apply for those who have an OSR crop.) Reading your post, Will, has all but dashed my hopes. Not that anything I...

Some pictures from yesterday. I lit them with the head torch I have for grafting. I sometimes wonder if such a bright light (12k lumens) does any damage to the bees (or larvae). I can't bear looking into that light for a fraction of a second, yet I shine it on them continuously for some time...

I posted some here last year: https://beekeepingforum.co.uk/threads/making-an-observation-hive.54442/post-867715 And here's one from this morning. I know it's not pretty, especially with the outer PIR covers off and the glass cover removed from the near side. A lot of the bees have gone round...

This is my seventh frame of grafts this year, and my first from a 12-frame queenless nuc, VERY full of bees, with no open brood when the cells were inserted. These cells are significantly larger than any of my previous batches. Presumably (or maybe just possibly) a good thing?

Had a look in the observation hive in my garden shed. I started this colony without a queen this year and was disappointed that there was still no brood. No stores either. I had a good look and found a laying queen. caught her in the act. But it looks like the bees are consuming the eggs -...

I remember that. The point was NOT well made because the bees were very calm and mostly not flying. I doubt that any if them noticed this solitary sting.

That's me. But what type am I? 🤩

I agree, that's a huge problem. I think the book offers something of a solution, rather than exacerbating matters. Anyone reading this before diving in to beekeeping will be far better equipped than they would be from self-guided online learning.

They say don't judge a book by its cover, but what else can you go on before you buy it? I don't recognise what you say (save the bees plea) in the publisher's blurb. The book really does present a balanced and broad perspective. I would recommend it for the handout manual for beginners'...

This came a couple of days ago! I guess most people first dream of beekeeping as a couple of hives (white WBCs) in the bottom of the garden. This is a book that was waiting to be written. As you would expect from Richard Rickitt (co-editor of BeeCraft) everything about this book is a delight. It...

Honey bees can't get enough of campanula. The weird combination above it in this picture is campion and hazel (Harry Lauder's Walking Stick) which I cut at ground level because it had outgrown its space. I thought that would be the end of it so this partnership is a delight. It's not easy to...

Sorry that this needs spelling out to me. Queen cells are sealed on day 8-9. I thought they were started on day 4. I'm thinking of the 4.5 days that it takes to build and seal a cell around a plastic Nicot cup. Are the cells are started on day 1, when the egg is just laid? I thought the process...

Okay, I think I know where I'm going wrong. I thought that the bees would start drawing a cell at day 4 - when the egg hatched, and like the scenario with grafts into plastic cups. But is it the case that a queen cell is started with day 1 eggs? I've never paid much attention to eggs in play...

This well-written post by Hanna Bäckmo covers the subject of honey and hay fever in a balanced and comprehensive way (IMO). https://hannasbees.ie/hayfever-and-honey/

I can't get my head round the arithmetic. It takes c. 4.5 days for a queen cell to be sealed / capped. A just-started queen cell will be sealed 2.5 days before you next open the hive, if you inspect every seven days. And that presumes that you can spot a new queen cell, less than a day old. If...

This gives a good picture of what's involved. I'm in my seventh season, and expanded my beekeeping most years. I want my retirement activity to pay for itself so I've kept a tab since day 1. A lot of money has gone out and lot come back in again, but I've not covered my costs yet. Maybe this year.