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I try to identify the colonies that really do a good job of drawing it well and they are given the job of producing drawn combs for use with the others . I get my combs drawn in an upper BC similar to Bailey comb change and feed syrup in spring until the job is more or less complete (and...

As a Show Judge I have been able to sample mead from all over the country . Some of the mead at shows tastes disgusting and maybe a risk to health but equally some is absolutely wonderful. Although in the minority there are some really good mead makers out there (particularly in Yorkshire).

What ever you cover the feed holes with they will stick them down with propolis. However it is worth levering them up occasionally to kill the wax moth larvae that somehow manage to get under some of them.

6 colonies had enough stores to winter on didn't need any (but gave three of them one feed of 3kg just in case we get long cold winter). The other 25 were topped up based on estimates of existing stores. Most were given 12 kg ( 3kg per feed using so called English feeders) but one was so light...

Off today to the out-apiary to feed 25 colonies with another gallon of syrup each . When done most will have now had 12 kg sugar so nearing the end of feeding. Not waiting for the ivy as none anywhere within a mile or so. Don't feed the three hives at home as always get Ivy in abundance...

£5 off £25 coupons for Lidl in the Metro (page 6) both today and yesterday. If totally spent on sugar (Lidl 65p per Kg) 39 kg bags at 65p in Lidl = £25.35 with discount coupon = £20.35 this works out at 52.12 p per Kg This beats Farmfoods 2kg for £1.20 is initially cheaper but their...

Took out the MAQS from 31 colonies (they were put in two weeks ago.) Had no problems with them : no bearding after insertion , no piles of dead bees, no queens lost although it looks like several stopped or reduced laying for a few days (but my queens often take a brood break in late...

I have the ElectiQ CD20LE-V2 ("Which" best buy in 2019) . Was purchased to dry out our rental property after major water leak . It works very well and can also be used as an air purifier. Now used to reduce water content of uncapped supers of late summer honey. They do make several other...

I run and winter my colonies on a double National BBs and not had a single case of isolation starvation during winter since I changed from single to double BBs (I think the bees space between the boxes allows the bees to move within the hive without having to transit via the cold parts of the...

I think you will find that the genes for susceptibility can come down both paternal and maternal lines. I think, if my memory serves me well, there are several gene loci involved so the genetics gets a bit complicated. If you have some existing knowledge about such things then have a look at...

My bees seem to like the "hairy one" which grows abundantly in damp ditches and near local streams

wasp

Changing the subject. Looking at the orientation of your langstroths hives and the space around them I assume you have to work them from the rear with the risk of back problems from lifting and twisting the frames to examine them.

Leaf cutter bee working my giant (so called scottish) thistle Onopordum acanthium a few days ago. It holds its abdomen up while it works so that it can pack its scopa (hairy Bum!) with pollen (these bees don't possess corbiculi)

Watched this bee working Balsam on the edge of reservoir at NewMillerdam (near Wakefield) today. I expected it to back out of the flower but it turned around within the flower and came out head first. It also seemed to have escaped getting the thorax coated with whitish pollen.

One of the double brood garden hives superseded in early May and the new queen killed her mother but then didn't get mated (bad weather in May) so became a drone layer. I normally have no problem finding queens but didn't find her on two attempts so I carried out a forced supersedure by...

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I find that supersedure cells are more or less all of the same age whereas swarm cells tend to be at different stages of development. Having said that, I find in my colonies they tend to only produce one or two supersedure cells and rarely more than four (although you can get 4 or 5 in Demaree...

We are all familiar with the fact that bees in a colony rendered queenless often become a bit more defensive in a matter of hours due to the lack of queen pheromone.. As a queen ages I believe it has been found that her production of pheromones declines with time. In response more cells for...