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Personally I'd get the other colony at that price and let the other get on with producing a queen. The weather is set fair for a week or 2. Then you'll have 2 colonies going into winter so if you lose one all is not lost .

Me too, now I have an out apiary it's too much lugging a battery and leads around. The gas vap will enable me to treat via the hole in the crown board so no getting down on the ground to shove the varrox underneath. For £46 I could probably have made a few myself but time is a precious commodity...

The queen is dead...... Long live the queen? I finally got a break in the weather yesterday so I went up to the out apiary to see what was what. The calm hive had very little stores last visit so I took some syrup and a feeder, went through the hive and spotted the queen (a very dark fat one)...

Yes I was worried about the angry little beggars as they outnumber the calm hive by about 3-1 at least so it's calm q+ on top and nangy q- down below. I'll post the progress once I know the results. Thanks for everyone's input, much appreciated 👍

Ok thank you 🙂

What's the process after they have passed through the newspaper? Do I simply transfer the frames of brood from the bottom box into the top? The q- colony is on 8/10 frames whereas the q+ is only on 4-5/10. Or should I leave as double brood until the colony retracts in the autumn?

Thanks JBM 👍

Ok, so I went to do my weekly inspection at the out apiary and all is as I left it. The angry bees are still angry and the calm bees are calm. I've decided to follow the line of uniting the colonies so I have just a couple of questions I can't seem to find the answer to. 1 should I put q+ hive...

I've noticed a cluster of bees on the landing board most days and late evenings even in the p£££#ng rain, when they're not flying. I think they're making room for airflow through the hive to reduce the water content of the nectar. Think I'll put some matchsticks under the roof....... Only...

Somebody made a helluva lot of money from "COVID screens"!

I did think of that but as I only have 5 colonies total and the colony on the site was also a swarm I was worried about them going the same way and me ending up with a massive hive full of angry bees. Ideally I'd like to use a carni queen as that's what I used on my first hive last year and...

It's rarely used, just the odd rambler now and again and through the trees and undergrowth so very slim chance of anybody getting got. I think I'll put up a couple of signs warning anybody to move on quickly while I'm doing the manipulation just to be doubly safe. I'll also do it this week...

Thank you, that's brilliant. I'll order a queen and get cracking.

Thanks, so should I use a frame of sealed brood, a frame of stores and a drawn frame with a couple of shakes of nurse bees from my home apiary then take them up to the out apiary and introduce a queen to the nuc. Wait until she's laying then do a newspaper/ glade intro? Not sure of the process.

I caught a prime swarm a couple of months ago and they're good productive bees however they've become quite aggressive. I moved them last week to my out apiary so they wouldn't bother anybody but they're a beggar to work with come inspection time. I know I need to re-queen but how, I don't want...

Those poor pooches, my cat had a fat lip from trying to eat a wasp last year it's not funny. I think (imho) that wasp stings are nowhere near as bad as bee stings. May be the amount of venom. Back on topic I recon your dog could smell them under the floor. Regards doffing them, good riddance...

I learn something new every day here 👍

We have a 4 month old jrt and she's got an amazing nose. She also loves to try disappearing down holes. Must be a trait of the breed and why farmers use them for ratting.

Very limited view and would take forever to see all you need to see, I tried it and gave up after 5mins it's just too tight in there to see anything of use. I use perspex crown boards, eBay is chap as chips if you search thoroughly for 4mm stuff. Works out at about £10. Very useful for checking...

I didn't think of that, I remember the days the scrap man would take anything. Now it's just the other buggers. Thanks for the tip.. if you pardon the pun 😉