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Have moved the bait hive . It was bloody heavy! It's only been there 6 days. Have put a nuc where the bait hive was. Have been thinking of an improved design for a Baitinator™ 4000. With a side that opens out with hinges at the bottom, to allow for easier removal of frames with significant bur...

They arrived, instantly went inside the box, and immediately started foraging in big numbers. So this situation has existed from the start. I just wanted to be sure the queen was laying before moving them, to minimise risk of absconding. I found this advice on how to move a hive a short...

I've had a lot of success moving colonies short distances after turning the hive 180 degrees and leaning a plank of wood in front of the entrance. I'm keen to move them soon, or they'll start filling below the frames with wax, which will make getting them out of the bait hive that much harder.

On Monday 29th April, I caught a swarm in a bait hive on the side of my house, I'd like to move it into the back garden, which has become my quarantine apiary. Although I've not looked into the bait hive yet, it looks like a large primary swarm, with constant heavy forage traffic at the...

Gwenyn Gruffydd are selling 10-packs of pre-wired, pre-assembled DN4 (£14.99) and SN4 (£14.40) frames - Langstroth also available. https://gwenyngruffydd.co.uk/products/pre-wired-national-brood-frames-10-pack-copy They require their own, slightly smaller than usual, wax foundation (£20.50 for...

Alkanet. We have it all over this area of Surrey. Second only to blackberry in propensity.

The Baitonator™ 3000 strikes again! Just caught my first swarm of the year. Let's hope they decide to stay, as this model doesn't have an entrance wheel on it. So I can't easily keep the queen in. Anyone else had any luck?

Ok. False alarm - thank goodness! The husband has poor communication skills. They just want me to water plants while they're away - phew! Don't know why he couldn't have just told me that. In fact they told me not to be silly, when I said I was worried they wanted me to remove my bees...

Talk about a timely post. Landowner just messaged me to pop over for a chat. I'm suspecting I'll be asked to remove my apiary (7 hives). Of course, it's entirely his prerogative. I'd much rather that than suddenly not being able to access my stuff. If that's the case, it's going to be awkward...

Be thankful it's not a Palestinian flag. https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12844467/Amazing-moment-man-takes-Palestine-flag-flying-Tower-Hamlets-attacked-passing-driver-battle-LADDERS.html

That sounds nasty. I would try to continue to keep all communications polite and courteous, so there is no barrier to them returning your property. I agree, a posted letter using a signed-for service is a good call. I also have equipment on private land and the owners weren't interested in...

I run all my colonies on Abelo poly. My colonies are ahead of local peers who use timber hives. When using poly it's necessary to be on your toes in the spring for early swarm control.

My wife borrowed the book "Planting for honeybees" from the local library. An interesting table of the alleged best flowering plants for bees, by month of bloom. On another table, they list a type of Clematis "Clematis cirrhosa Evergreen Clematis" as flowering from December to February. Does...

I agree with this. Swarming requires a number of stimuli and conditions to be in place. I've left a number of swarm cells in a nuc, gone back a bit later than I intended and all the QCs were destroyed some days before one was left by the bees to emerge.

Normally I don't like seeing ants around my hives, but yesterday they were sorting out a wax month larvae. Made me look at them in a different way.

Alkanet and Ground ivy are now in bloom and are very common in this part of Surrey. Along with brambles they make up the bulk of wild plants around here.

I've been wondering how similar our experiences of Beekeeping are. I really enjoy making a lot of my own kit, helping colonies grow, catching swarms and breading new queens. There's a magical experience when returning to a queen mating nuc, discovering she's mated, and imagining the...

Thanks. The 3 colonies I have in mind are filling all their 3-5 boxes. It's been an early season start for me.

Question: Is there a minimum temperature for a Demaree? We're likely to get down to 7c overnight in the coming week. Just imagining the queen being stuck in the bottom BB, under the QE, while the cluster moves up towards the brood, in the top box.

The Baitinator™ is a bijou, limited edition apiculture solution. Owned by only a very select few of the most discerning apiculturists. Historically, only a few were ever made. Not sure they can be easily picked up from Wish.com or eBay.