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Most of the swarms that take over 5 and 6 frame nuc boxes in my out apiary and in my garden are secondary swarms complete with virgin queens. I get two or three of these most years and they often arrive about a week after a prime swarm presumably from the same colony has taken over one of...

Warm sunny day so quickly checked al 31 hives today. Brood and plenty of stores in all of them. Several combs with Nectar probably from blackthorn. Looks like another year without needing fondant. Two of the strongest ones had some sealed drone cells on the fringes of a couple of combs. I...

2005 found dead shrew on floorboard presumably stung to death September 2014 lifted roof and found mouse on top of crown board . It froze like" rabbit in headlights" enabling me to take the photo before if regained its senses and leapt off to disappear in the undergrowth.

JMB quote "nothing like a bit of open feeding to give the bees a boost" Strangely bees don't tend to fly at night or come out of the hive during the day at subzero temps. Obviously much hardier bees in Wales than here in Yorkshire! Also I don't store wet supers so there would be nothing to...

Got interested in bees at 10 yrs old after seeing them in an observation hive at Dudley zoo. Managed to pass 11 plus and went to Dudley Grammar school where I joined the school beekeeping club in 1958 (organised by one of the teaching staff , a member of Hagley and Stourbridge BKA). With...

This time of the year put them outside for a few frosty nights. That should sort them. Be aware combs will be brittle and easily fracture when cold.

Suns out and strong scent of Sarcococca attracting the bees

For pedants : It is "superseded" not "superceded" i.e with an s not a c (since the second part of the word comes from the latin "sedere") In first case : Bees sometimes break down supersedure queen cells after the queen has emerged leaving no evidence it has occurred. That said, the mark...

Found a leopard slug in an Apidea once

A few decades ago, I fed home made 1 lb pollen patties each month during spring (february, march and April) for several years using pollen mixed with Soya flour and sugar syrup. The mix was weighed into poly bags and rolled flat to fit under deep lipped crown board . A couple of slashes were...

Drones that can't fly can't mate so keep Varroa numbers as low as possible to reduce chances of drones getting deformed wing virus

I understand the perfectly valid reason for wanting more drones in your colonies to increase the chances of passing "favoured" genes on but I was simply pointing out that this will likely increase the number of Varroa drones in the colony (with the implied inference that good and more frequent...

More drone brood also means Varroa likely to build up faster.

Brings back memories of Taylors crimped "strong hold" foundation was vertically wired

Have used both. Prefer Nicot system as the completed "cells" fit into the "gap" in my apideas better.

I use the lids off food containers beef gravy red, chicken gravy orange, drinking chocolate purple etc and paint the numbers on.

If a beekeeper hasn't used Apistan for 4 years or more years you will find that resistance falls considerably and can then be used effectively again for a year. During the time you don't use it natural selection works against the resistance genesin the mite and favours normal susceptibility ...

Alternatively learn to pick up the queen and mark her while holding her gently but securely between thumb and 1st two fingers. You can then move on to learn how to clip her and so get a few extra days between checks for swarm cells. Practise on drones first until confident you can do it.

When I took up beekeeping in 1958 as was the custom I prevented them going up my trouser legs using bicycle clips but still got stung occasionaly through my socks. After a really painfjul encounter with a colony of "ankle tappers" I soon discovered the benefit of wellies. The only other...