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I use 14x12 for most of my bees. The size of the hive was adapted to suit various sub-species. A National hive will hold about 40,000 bees the size of a AMM colony in summer. 14x12 will hold 70,000. Dadants and Langstroths hold considerably more and were developed to house more prolific bees of...

I went to check in my main apiary today expecting to have to feed the bees. I had checked an out apiary hive on Sunday and it was short of stores. Armed with sugar syrup and feeders I opened 5 main hives. Each had refilled the supers I had extracted and had at least 2 full supers per hive. I...

I collected 6 abondoned hives at the request of their former owner. They were in a very sheltered area surrounded by trees and shrubs. Despite being unused for 5 or 6 years they appear to be in remarkably good condition. There are 2 commercial brood boxes and 3 Nationals plus 5 roofs. OMF could...

Me Too!!!!!

I Use my Honda leaf blower, works well every time

Rhododendron is generally poisonous to bees. The bees on Colonsay were victims of it when forced by a shortage of flower sourxes to use it some years ago. The bear was lucky. Some bees in the areas where the plants grow have become immune to the toxins. There is the story of a Roman Legion...

Sat in the garden yesterday reading and dozing. Was aware of a number of bees passing by, not on their usual flight path. Just thought that they had found a new food source. About 4 pm I went indoors for about 15 mins and came out to a lot of bee noise and activity. A swarm had started to take...

My ssociation asked me to sign up today. I urge all forum members to add their name to the petition.

This chap, a Lime Hawk Moth caterpillar, fell out of the lime tree providing me with shade on the hottest day of the year. I awoke to find him climbing up my bare thigh!

Temperature yesterday 39C in the shade. This morning a chilly 21C!!!!! I visited 3 apiaries. In one I placed a second 14x12 storey on a 14x12 Paynes NUC box. In the second I had to battle 50lbs of filled free comb built in the roof of one hive. !0 days ago they had not started to fill the super...

Sat in the shade of the lime trees yesterday I was aware of this chap crawling up my bare thigh!!! It is a Lime Hawk Moth caterpillarr

Brilliant!!!!

I have to say I was very disappointed upon inspection yesterday. None of the grafts had been accepted so i looked further into the cell raiser box. It was full of eggs and young larvae. Obviously a queen was present. I had taken every precaution to try to ensure that no queen was present. I had...

I made this grafting frame on Sunday

I made my first concerted attempt at grafting larvae today. I set up a box overflowing with bees containing sealed brood stores and a blank frame of foundation to keep them ammused. I placed a new cell frame in the box having brushed diluted honey over the cells and frames to get the bees to...

Collect the cluster and pass them into a box through a QE. Use plent of smoke to drive them down. This will rid you of the drones and any queen. Also as DLW tend to be a little fatter if it is a DLW you may spot her. Place the bees in a NUC with a frame of BIAS and one of food and leave for a...

I have used mini mating NUCs with very limited success over the years. If any of you are regularly successful can you provide any tips, please? Secondly can you say whether you use ripe QC or virgin queens?

My Lime trees near the hives are in full 'flower bud'. Will be blooming next week. The bees have changed their flying pattern in the last few days. Instead of crossing the drive and flying to the gardens to the East they are rising vertically and going South. I think the Limes in the garden of...

I think this is a little exaggeration. I was reading yesterday an article in the March edition of the American Bee Culture that studies of DCA are showing that AMC drones tend to be flying much higher than AML drones. Amc at the top of the column and AML at the bottom. Where Buckfasts come in...

Same here in the green Buckinghamshire desert. I am watching several NUCs very closely. This is the June gap as far as I can make out and it is being exaggerated by a reluctance of the bees to fly very far in this showery weather.