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I live next to a Quince orchard, all the trees are in full bloom at the moment and the bees are loving it, third super filling up on both hives.

You win. Take 5 points. No, make it 7 ;)

As I thought. But always good to get confirmation from some of the wise BF gurus, and I didn't even have to climb a mountain. :-)

Do I still qualify as a beginner in my 4th year? Well anyway.... So I noticed yesterday that the entrance to the brood box on my national has been almost completely sealed with propolis, leaving only two inch-wide spaces and long queues of bees waiting to enter and exit the hive. Do you think...

Good advice, although beekeeperese is all a matter of interpretation :banghead: . It will come in time as will your ability to rely on instinct in beekeeping, which can get you a very long way.

Personally I'd leave the super and put down a small amount of fondant to make sure they get by while they become established. It's best to keep checking, if you see them show interest in the super and notice the bees managing the stores you should be OK, just make sure the queen has room to lay...

Exactly what I was looking for, thanks

I understand that. I'm just wondering if there are examples of healthy colonies not swarming regardless of space. I understand the benefits of extra capacity in the hive but I see no evidence that it is a deterrent to swarming.

In my 4th year as a beek and through discussions with fellow beeks I'm yet to find any examples of healthy colonies not swarming when given ample space in their hives. Clearly providing additional space at the right time can be beneficial, but if the colony is of a good size aren't they just...

Nothing wrong with a bit of madness when it comes to buzzy things

They haven't been added to a weak hive, they're 10 frames of brood, stores and bees in a brood box. As I said I know this is unusual but my objective is to lessen the chance of my two colonies swarming and not to start a new colony - although this would be a bonus if the workers manage to find a...

Thanks everyone. Hopefully they'll stay put until I'm back

I edited it after your message. So you were paying attention :thanks:

Thanks. The new frames I put in were mixed, some have some old comb and a couple were just foundation. The situation in each hive is the same, full brood boxes and a full super of stores sitting on top - and now an extra empty super on top of those. There does seem to be a flow on, there's a...

Ahhh yes. In the second sentence substitute 'brood for drones'. Lots of drones...

I'm off on a business trip tomorrow, I'll be out of the country for ten days. It was with some concern that I noticed many drones and a few queen cups in both of my hives yesterday. I really don't want them to swarm while I'm away, chiefly because my neighbours can get a bit spooked if I'm not...

No, but I watched both queens laying on the same frame in the main hive.

I made a split back in the spring, placing a new queen into a NUC and leaving one hatching cell in the national A couple of weeks later I marked the new queen in the NUC and the new queen in the national. The following week after an exhaustive search I determined that the NUC queen was gone...

I've seen plenty of pollen going in the last few days. I popped open one of the hives yesterday and it was teeming with bees but curiously was also full of stores....and brood. I'm half tempted to add another super (currently on 1.5) to give them a bit more space. Maybe a snap of cold weather...

If you have a lot of Ivy or Balsam in your area you may not need to feed.