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To describe a broodnest I use the analogy of a boiled egg that has been sliced by one of those multiple wire cutters.

If you use a conventional hive system (e.g. Langstroth, National etc.) with a deep brood box and shallow supers, then you would normally use a QE. If you designate a box for brood and others for honey it is the only logical way. If however, you operate an unconventional system, especially if you...

If my theory is correct, the drones will find a thermal by feel (just as glider pilots do). Others will join the party and .... you have a DCA. The trigger features for thermals can help glider pilots by indicating where thermals may form but birds (and bees?) just search for the lift. Once one...

Made 25 Rose Hive box kits and a couple of "fat dummies" for Q rearing (Ben Harden method)

As any glider pilot will know, thermals (warm, rising air, heated by sunlight on the ground) tend to spring from the same place over a period, in the same way as drips of condensation from an Artex ceiling will always drip from the same place. These spots will vary according to the sun position...

Indeed, I was mistaken and you are correct Dani. Eclose describes both emergence from an egg and/or pupal case. 🤓

After getting the worst of the cold/dry weather in April, here in E Anglia we seem to be getting the best of May. We have had some showers but other than that things are almost normal ATM. The hives have plenty of wet stores, even some capped honey and I had to AS my strongest colony yesterday...

I clip my queens, not give me more time between inspections but to give me a chance to recover the inevitable swarm that I did not see coming, without climbing a tree in my neighbours garden. I use a one-handed queen catcher, which holds her in the perfect position and prevents her sticking a...

The larva ecloses from the egg (the egg just morphs into a larva) The adults emerge from the cell

Whatever the cause, I would wash that suit before using it again.

They are for his mating nucs. He does explain his rationale in the video at 7:25

Economy.

Research the Rose Hive Method.

Richard Noel using one:

I have a large oak tree towering over my hives. It produces a continuous rain of excellent smoker fuel (rotten twigs).

If is difficult or even undesireable to breed a pure race of bee, surely it is very simple and desireable to stop messing up the existing genepool all the time, by constantly importing new stock. I'm sure that the bees' natural behaviours will go a long way to finding the "best" (i.e. fittest)...

I do not think this cold spring in UK is an example of climate change per se. More it is a result of freak weather conditions; specifically the jetstream is positioned unusually south. Normally it would be north of UK at this time of year. It is the jetstream that drives the weather patterns...

Grow up man!

May, so that probably had some bearing.

All true. The saving grace normally here is OSR, but this year it is a scarce as hen's teeth.