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You won’t be able to extract them if the stores are granulated so check first

Having requeened my share of defensive hives, some definitely take time to come round p

The bay tree has come into bloom

Those putting swarm traps out early in the season make sure the entrance is reduced or in some way restricted to prevent nesting birds moving in

In spring I like to equalise the strength of colonies. With this weak colony I would shake bees out of super, move super to stronger colony above QE. Consolidate weak colony into a smaller space or nuc & feed. Allow to build up on its own or add frame of soon to emerge brood to speed up development.

The broodless colony almost certainly has a defective queen. As others have said not a lot to do at the moment. By the time new queens are available the colony will have dwindled.

My only reason to take a peek inside early is if I suspect a dead out. Clear the dead bees off the frames before the. Mould sets in.

Does anyone know what insurance cover the local BKA have in place for their summer apiary visits? You’ve paid a membership fee & sometimes a pound for a raffle ticket so not sure whether that counts as a contract?

With double brood I prefer a more gentle approach to brood nest organisation at this time of year. My ideal configuration going forward with a strong expanding colony is brood just below the QE with an empty super above. Avoid that honey band developing in the top brood box by swapping some...

Bees are new to Anglesey but from a choice of celandine, ****, dandelion, plum the’re consistently going for the Alexander.

Tut tut some folks will expect top dollar from what you refer to as ‘not very nice tasting’ brassica honey.

May well like a bit of a sauna or Turkish bath- nothing like it for a real clean!

What I would do would be wait for a sunny day & move the hive 2-3m and replace with empty hive. Wait 10min for the foragers to return to old site with empty hive leaving calm & gentle nurse bees.

‘Fourteen beehives that were stolen from a site in North Wales have been found and are reported to be in a "reasonably healthy state." The theft, which took place between July 28 and July 31, occurred at Blackwood Lane, Mynydd y Garth, just outside of Llangollen in Denbighshire.16 Aug 2023’...

Nice to see an honest post. There seems to be a stigma against those who admit a colony starved if on a warm day a couple of colonies aren’t showing any activity then I’ll crack the CB and take a look. Like to identify dead outs ASAP so can clear any dead bees before combs go mouldy. Then...

Nice to see an honest post. There seems to be a stigma against those who admit a colony starved.

Secret is to run them dry before putting into storage, same with 2 stroke outboards. Carburettors gum up.

Just a suggestion. How about selling as 5 frame nucs the 7 you don’t need. Any frames/bees left over can be united with existing colonies. We were getting 300 per nuc at auction last year.

When necessary a few bursts of water stops them flying & guides them home.

Opportunity to recycle those old nitriles in your pocket.