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Did you do a count over the whole video? I would say all three entrances are about the same but it will vary between nucs depending on what boxes have been combined/split and whether there is a flow on or not.

So here is footage from my treatment free colonies with multiple entrances - entrances also have a back baffle so bees move downwards into the nuc - this provides good protection against wasp attack. I find having entrances on every box very useful for efficient management with the variable...

It is clearly theoretically possible to generate biological islands at the ends of peninsulas or within isolated valleys provided there is a agreement amongst all (most) of the beekeepers in that area. Those locally adapted bees can then be maintained and will resist the odd incoming queen...

I have found mating nucs extremely tricky to restock with a virgin queen or queen cell - although there are only a small number of bees in there they are mainy quite old. I now simply combine the mated queen in the mating nuc with a queenless colony and start again with a new mating nuc.

I don't take out the attendants but usually wait a day before removing the tab so should have the same scent anyhow

I use entrances on the short side witha back to them so the bees have to move downwards to enter the hive - this works very well in late summer to minimise wasp problems - I now very rarely lose a new nuc. Attachments 20200501_114909.jpg 20200501_114909.jpg 2.1 MB · Views: 0...

The entrances have a back to them so the bees have to move downwards to enter the hive - this works very well to minimise wasp problems - I now very rarely lose a new nuc. The upper entrances get used all winter.

Hi Swarm – where I am located there is minimal chance of taking a spring crop but there are many good sources of pollen and generally enough nectar to allow for good colony growth and collection of enough stores to get through the early July gap. My main crop comes from heather and Himalayan...

I have found that if you put a frame with foundation and a foundationless frame with a small guide triangle strip on either side of a brood chamber the bees will draw the foundationless frame first !

None - I use wired foundationless brood frames throughout and mainly multi-storey 6 frame Maisemore polynuc boxes with ~2in entrances on each storey. Evidence of varroa resistant behaviour include extensive grooming at the entrance and extensive removal of drone larvae

I am one of those treatment free beekeeeper - I have over 35 colonies and have built them up from a swarm that occupied an empty hive in my garage in Glasgow in 2002. I subsequenty moved to a rural area close to Loch Lomond and started to expand from a steady-state of 3 from around 2014

I can certainly recommend Murray's frames and I use them in a near foundationless format. The small triangle of foundation encourages initial drawing of worker comb and is a friction fit with the lollipop stick so very quick to insert. Have observed consistent drawing of flat wired combs with...

Hi Chris Keep on going - I have been treatment free for well over a decade and have over 35 colonies. I am sure I benefit from some degree of isolation being in a rural area near Loch Lomond and running foundationless my bees will likely dominate the local drone propulation. I select my breeder...

I use foundationless frames and do not treat - I see that often there is a proportion of drone brood that has been expelled. So left to their own devices the bees practice "drone culling" but in a much more targetted way.

If you get a small syringe and a slightly bent needle you can suck out the bubbles - quite quick for a few jars if you want them to look their best but not something I do routinely

If you make the 2021 nuc queenless a few hours before combining it will mimic swarming

My advice would be to now leave them alone for 3 weeks - if you keep going in they may supercede her

I like to make a lot of very small holes so the scent from the hive below penetrates quickly to the one above but there is very little in the way of an edge for the bees to start chewing through. I have even made myself a "bed of thin nails" tool so I can do this quickly. This solves the...

I would probably stop trying to graft futher this year and simply carry out walk away splits with all your strong colonies - can then do an audit later in the year of what colonies are best to breed from next year. Mardy bees can produce calm queens and if they are left alone will be less hassle...