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Exactly as I do it. It's just as easy to run it into jars on an electronic scale as it is onto any other surface. And that way I am sure the weight is adequate, and fair to customers and to me. Dusty

Oh, you smoothie! Just doing my little bit for the cause. Dusty

Thanks, everyone - apart from JBM of course. (Can't we send him on another safari? To Outer Mongolia, for example?) Of course, you're all right. I was just hoping someone on the Forum was doing a PhD in honey contamination, and was going to offer to buy it from me for research purposes. So...

Wow! That thunderstorm was fierce! Lasted a couple of hours of the heaviest rain I can remember since being in the monsoons in the Philippines. A veritable river ran through our garden, into the undercroft, knocking out our electrics. Past the hives - reaching within half an inch of one...

You opinion, please. Went to inspect the 4 hives on the roof of the PrintWorks in Manchester this morning. They have an area of raised beds where they cultivate fruit and veg. The weather was overcast, slightly breezy, a feeling of rain in the air, but no actual rain, no thunder etc. in...

Thank you, fans. I love you all, darlings! I've not listened to it myself yet - too busy with my public. But someone has just posted me the link: http://bbc.in/2bO5QDd Dusty

Sometimes I still need to ask simple questions! I use 14 x 12 brood boxes - which are great because they provide sufficient stores for winter, in a single box. However, over the years I've accumulated a number of 14 x 12 frames of stores, which haven't been consumed over winter. Some have a...

In your experience, dpearce4, how long does the Maybelline last on your hives, before requiring reapplication? Dusty

Which is more than can be said about Jenkinsbrynmair after 5 years. Dusty

Does anyone know of a supplier for Apivar? The RBI has recommended it and my vet is willing to prescribe it - but can't find a supplier. [I used MAQS 4 weeks ago, but a week after removal, I put the varroa board in and got a week count of 78. Then on Saturday I saw 2 bees with DWV. This is...

I feel slightly nauseous! Yes, she was a good queen - one of HiveMaster's best. But not perfect. We've had a constant battle with varroa in that hive. Even with treatments, they've not been able to break through that problem. We treated with MAQS 4 weeks ago - only to find a weekly drop of 78...

Remove the supers! Good grief! It's only August 13th! My bees have just found some balsam today. I won't take my supers off for another month. Then there's plenty of time to treat for varroa and feed them up for winter. Dusty.

I think Poly Hive is partial to pie and chips. A large portion should prove filling. Dusty

I regard Waspbane traps as essential gear, like varroa treatments. The craziness of inviting wasps to visit jam jars with jam and water in, into an apiary, never ceases to amaze me. I am persuaded by the theory behind the Waspbane trap - of ensuring wasp scouts can't escape back to their...

What do you use to fasten them together, ericA? It looks like parcel tape, but I'm not confident it would survive a wet and windy winter on the Cathedral roof. Dusty.

Same thing happened three weeks ago, to my queen in her fourth year. She started to slow up laying and the colony threw up two queen cells one week, then two more the next week. I decided the bees knew what they were doing and left them alone. Result: I saw a new queen 8 days ago and both...

National, 14 X 12 - but top bee space. In cedar. I like the size of brood box, as it gives sufficient space for both a hive in full flow, and for enough stores for winter. The standard National is too small. But, all other things apart, I'd prefer top bee space, as i think it's easier to work...

From what I've read on the Forum, best practice is not to mark a Virgin or newly mated queen, until she has established herself and is laying normally. What if the bees take objection to their new (untested) queen, with paint on her back? If they dispatch her, with what are you left? A...

And which one of you was the sadist who set the questions? Dusty

Sorry, but this post makes me cross. Whatever persuaded the OP to use gloss paint? How totally inconsiderate. Sorry. I retract that. How stupid! Bees aren't wood or metal or plastic. Just the tiniest bit of research would have revealed the existence of special marking equipment. Why does...