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In the new bit to the north, the Westmorland Dales - it is gorgeous here at the moment, especially with the heather out :)

Whatever I manage to salvage, should I put those frames alternately with undrawn frames, to try and persuade the bees to comb straight-ish, or put all the existing comb together and add the new frames to one side/either side with the existing comb in the middle?

Thank you, that’s really helpful and I’m grateful for you sharing your experience 🙂

Thank you for the reassurance I will investigate and decide what to do - I love it that everyone thinks/does stuff differently, even if that is a little perplexing as a newbie 🙂

Ah ok, my apologies, I misunderstood your intention, based on how many disparaging comments I’ve had about the top bar…which I completely accept may not be ideal at this early stage in my beekeeping career; but then in the rest of life I’ve rarely done things in the right order, so it is at...

Naughty 👿…I get enough stick for having a top bar!!

Thanks Drex but see my comment below, am I not going to just trash everything trying to fix it while the comb is so soft?

I think that may be the way to go rolande - assuming you’ve posted it as an example of how to deal with it rather than a dire warning! And I’m grateful to see it’s not just me that’s got into this situation 😁 The swarm has been very busy making itself at home in the nuc - including making comb...

Thank you Sutty that’s my concern too I’m just worried that we’re too close to the end of the season (I’m way up north) for me to mess them about…but possibly a smaller amount of chaos now would be better, I just don’t know enough to know!

Thank you Eric, that’s reassuring - I’m coming to understand that beekeeping is as much art as science, so following my intuition, with opinions and help from everyone on here and in my local Assoc, seems the way to go. I will no doubt make lots more mistakes than I have already, but hopefully...

I know it’s all far from ideal, but life outside bees is challenging atm so I wasn’t thinking straight! I will see if I can cut some top bars down so they’ll fit in the nuc - width is perfect they’re just slightly too deep to be able to shut the lid…

Top bar appeals for many reasons - having done a lot of research and been an observer in a group apiary on and off over the years, the different style of intervention feels like it might suit the bees, and me, better; I don’t need or want a precise timing for honey harvest, taking a small amount...

That’s my dilemma really - my priority is to get them through the winter, it’s a small colony and where I live winters can be brutal…or just long. I’m tempted to leave them to do what they feel they need to do and sort it out in the spring, rather than destroy the comb now and force them to...

Thanks, will do just that - I know it’s not ideal was hoping I could keep the brood box until Spring but he’s asked for it back.

Unfortunately as well as not being in great condition, the owner of the brood box needs it back…but I will delay thst as long as I can.

OK, she's cancelled (in a good way), and they were very understanding as you said they would be Swarm...what a lovely lot you are, so grateful for your help and I will do my best to chill out a bit and not make so many mistakes...I have a lovely mentor nearby but he's not at all well so I don't...

Thanks all - maybe I have made a mistake then, I didn’t see any Queen cells or eggs or capped brood or grubs, just workers and drones, lots of pollen and nectar, all of which, as a beginner, seemed to say no Queen…but it sounds like I should be waiting to see what happens…I will postpone the new...

My fault, I left too much space through not having enough frames…but the new colony has settled beautifully and made beautiful comb much more quickly than I expected… Bearing in mind that the colony is destined for a top bar in the spring, (winters here are cold/wet so with a small swarm I...

I’m mostly enjoying myself thanks - in between panicking that I’m getting it all wrong 😊

I have a queenless colony with a new queen ordered and due to arrive this week. I’ve also ordered a new hive for the colony as the loaned box it’s in will not survive the winter, which can be challenging where we live. So, do I put the new queen in the existing brood box (no brood to speak...