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Even SWMBO was furious with the GMB piece on Asain Hornets. They have no idea of the gravity of the situation. Its not just beekepers. They will interrupt the food chain by their predation of insects. Birds that feed on insects will diminish in numbers and other spieces higher up the food chain...

Page 10 of the Telegraph today article on Asian hornets found on Wimbledon Common, Picture provided European Hornet!!!!! How do we put up with these ruddy idiots who don't even use the correct photos????

This is precisely what I was trying to call for in my earlier post. A collective co-ordinated effort to fight back against this invader. It requires commitment from the NBU, BBKA, beekeepers in general, and the general public. The government and civil service need a kick up the a***e from us...

The point is the queens will have dispersed last Autumn and set up the colonies this year. This is not the time to panic or bury our heads in the sand. We have had incursions in other years but seem to have learned little. I believe we and all our organistions need to be pro-active. The lure...

The current official reports of Asian Hornet sightings are disturbing 22/08/2023 So far in 2023 there have been 24 Asian hornet nests found in 22 locations. London     The NBU responded to a credible sighting of Asian hornet in Thamesmead on the 20th of August. A nest was located yesterday...

I went to check yesterday and found that the wasp issue had nearly gone away. Killing the 2 nests had helped but the wasp traps have removed the bulk of the blighters. I renewed the attractant in some traps and placed 3 more at stategic points. I make the attractant to the following recipe in 1...

I note that others are having wasp issues this year. Mine all came to a head this week. On Sunday my beekeeping buddy said she had located a wasp nest in a disused hive. I have been having a series of eye operations and have been leaving Sylvia to check the hives in the main apiary. Monday...

I have a purchased swarm catcher bag that screws onto an aluminium telscopic pole you use for a roller on the outside of a house. We have used it for several years shared amongst 3 of us and probably use 4 or 5 times a year on average. I used the pole extended to 25 ft a fortnight ago and...

Very sad. I had a long chat to him at a conference sale day a few years ago. He was a proper gentleman.

On Friday I was in the garden and heard a swarm emanating from the chimney of a neighbour. Normally they come to my home apiary but I saw them heading away in a South Easterly direction. I checked the 2 nearest neighbours on the flight path but they had not settled in their trees. Saturady...

I enjoy the challenge of bringing up a small swarm. I have had some amazing colonies that started out as a cast swarm. The discrepancies in the weather pattern at present are perhaps the reason that some areas are reporting more swarms than others. Here, in Buckinghamshire, we are enduring very...

Quite correct JBM

I have only picked up 6 swarms this year. Only one was a good prime swarm. Two others are definitely caste swarms but have successfully mated the new queens. The others are poor quality queens and will need replacing. I get the feeling there are less swarms around judging by the number of fellow...

After the visit by the SBI I made up six by three frame NUCs from a colleague's hives. I sprayed them with sugar syrup with a touch of thymol and placed the new queens in their cage with attendants on the top of the frames. The following morning I checked and the queen cages had groups of bees...

Last Wednesday the SBI came and inspected our colonies in the AFB exclusion area. He gave us the all clear and indicated that the affected hive had been destroyed days earlier. There was a clear link between this affected hive and 2 others about 7 miles away. I gave him a map of the location of...

Some beekeepers who use II mark their drones on emergence so they know the age of the drone and the queen from which it came. This is important if you are using II to produce pedigree queens.

I received an AFB warning last week. The SBI is coming to inspect on Wednesday. Only 3 of my apiaries were included in the 3 km radius zone and so with a little bit of drawing circles on maps I think I have narrowed down the area that contains the outbreak. I am pretty certain that none of my...

Following my recent request for advice on the forum regarding whether I should remove the workers from a queen cage and a comments forum members made on a similar thread can anyone confirm their queen introduction procedure,pleas? Do You Leave the escort workers in the cage? When making a split...

Thank you all for your suggestions and comments. I have cursed disposing of the OHP acetates but searching on the internet I found some 0.25mm acetates at a good price and I am awaiting their delivery. Thanks again.