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As Dani.

Despite people reading my website and seeing that they have bumblebees which I don't deal with, I still get regular calls about them. And no, I don't remove them; some callers are quite disguntled as if the EXPECT me to remove them. I have had people swearing that they have honeybees; I now ask...

If a colony has swarmed, they will have left a queen or queencell behind. If you are not sure if there's a queen there now, a test-frame will answer the question. I would leave them as they are (or clear and take off the empty supers if you wish) until you know what's going on.

I have seen reports about flow hives - often it seem to be "the bees didn't use it, I'll try next year" and then not much afterwards. Maybe they will only work for an experienced beekeeper in this country? If they are full of set honey, they could go under the brood box and the bees should...

I looked at FB a few years ago and avoid it for the same reason.

I bought a couple of the original Paynes nucs which had a slot rather than an entrance hole and disk as they do now and like Pargyle, I cut out the feeder to make 8 frame boxes. I use a wooden eke when need to add a feeder. (Also see The Apiarist, April 2013). They are still being used although...

Good luck with that when you return!

I simply breed from my best*, don't mind what colour they are and not particularly isolated location either but enough colonies to hopefully have a little drone presence I would hope. *Best means what works for me, not necessarily what Nature would produce!

You could use MAQS first - no worries if the queen keels over in the process! MAQS only takes a week. I would be inclined to leave it a few days after removing the stuff before then introducing a new queen to ensure any fumes are long gone.

Icing sugar dusting has fallen out of favour on here. However some people have used icing sugar dusting and it has worked for them, so there's no reason to not have a go and write up the conclusions. If the conclusions confirm other studies, so well and good.

I use plastic takaway trays for the acid and leave paper towels hanging out of the trays on two sides so the acetic acid wicks up and over and is evaporated in a week. Completed a few large stacks of brood boxes and supers like that over the past few weeks. Don't get a lung-full though!

For mating distance, it would make sense for the queen to travel a shorter distance so she it at risk for the shortest amount of time. There is just one of her and she is vitally important to the success of a colony. Drones are ten a penny so can afford to have a riskier time in the air. And...

I wonder how many of those apiaries are active ones?

Yes you will improve your stock. I started with bees that would hardly stay in the box - would swarm on 5 frames of brood - but I selected well-behaved and least-swarmy bees to breed from that gave a decent honey crop. (Yes you need a few colonies to be able to select from - however if you...

I suffer from hay fever. Bee stings don't bother me. I hardly react.

Bee ID 2 could be a red mason bee. The third picture - may not be as the thorax is darker than some photos of them. That's why I asked if they are in a wall or on the ground as a minimg bee will not be likely to be high up in a wall.

Bees are stressed if shut in, so the entrance should be opened as soon as the bees are placed on the hive stand where they will live. They will re-orientate to the new location. You can move them into a full-sized hive that day or leave them for a day or two if the weather is poor. When you're...

Your friend needs to start off with a narrower spacing -make up a super without castellations and use 11 frames in that. As they get drawn or partially drawn they can go into a castellated box. Same thing can happen with Manleys. Sometimes bees don't like foundation and perfer to do their own...

As it takes a little while for antihistamines to work, you might take one before-hand if you are unduly concerned. Boots and Poundland sell them cheaply as over-the counter drugs. It goes without saying that no one here can give medical advice so a pharmacist or doctor should be consulted if...

Nice.