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Mine are a hybrid. Lansing board and fill width front entrance low down, then into a small covered area and up an internal board, about 4", to the nest. Best of both worlds, easy to add mouse guards, block, reduce entrance, but gives them immediate shelter when landing. Also its a bit of a...

Yes, this does my head in when people say this. What could possibly be the reason for putting honey up in supers if they're not going to go get it when they need it!? I would certainly hope so. We are forever cautioned about taking too much room up in the brood box with stores, and then five...

All that remained of my very large plastic supply box in the apiary, after setting a "cool" smoker in the "damp" grass. The heat was so intense that jars of nails etc were melted. Got a phone call - " Is there any reason there should be smoke coming from down near the hives?" 😱 But then...

"Bee beetle" of course! Trichius fasciatus, a type of chafer. Not uncommon but a real delight to see such a strange creature. So many flying beasties wear "bee" clothing!

The cow parsley's suddenly all opened. Went over to see a bee and got a surprise! What a mimic, even his little head is very bee-like.

Absolutely not and I think they're illegal now? They should be. I caught a robin in one the loft years ago, I had put the glue traps out for a rat. What a cruel, horrific way for any creature to die, whether hornet or rat.

The nearby avenue of ancient limes is loaded with buds so maybe another week to start. The meadowsweet is just starting to open. A bit of rbwillowherb is open on the sea level roadsides. We drove out west yesterday (Ullapool way) and saw heather in bloom along the road - a month early.

We have an old beech on the farm with an partially healed split in the side way up, and every year it's humming with bees too! I've set up a hive with a few old brood combs nearby in the unlikely event they decide to swarm. They are some specimens! Completely and utterly exposed to the north...

Yes I had to scrape all sides to get them apart before replacing the boxes. Some Smith frames had slid and were welded along the side too

Thanks for the timing, it is alarming seeing empty brood comb and but I forgot how long it can take for egg laying to start again. The cell was opened, emerged I presumed and hopefully still in residence.

Update on mine . . . no eggs and no QC drawn on donated frame. Also QC in upper brood not hatched. So, hoping for a virgin or newly mated queen present. They still sound content and weren't tetchy. They're busy sticking everything down again 🙄. I left a working super on but put the fullish one...

Thank you. I will collect my thoughts and make a plan for inspection tomorrow with options depending upon what I find.

3 DLQ questions and thanks for your patience in advance for reading through this. Massively strong colony, or was. Pretty sure I had a DLQ, plenty of organised clumps of capped drone brood but the only "normal" frame is in the upper box (brood and a half). It has capped worker and comma shaped...

Staple gun with tiny nails works great, just be sure to have the other side bottom bar braced against a block of wood. Aim slightly upwards so it doesn't split. I put two through the bottom and have never had a problem. I don't like the thought of really warm wax just hanging from the top with...

I'll try that next time I'm checking.

It is as you said. They build through the wire either side as if it is foundation. Another thought arises - I have the wires in line with the frames, should the QX be crossways on the frames?

Another question about separating the boxes - patches of drone brood where the bottoms of the top frames touch the top of the brace comb. Does any harm come to the hive from having to scrape it all off?

@Anduril do you find that it alters their pattern of usage on the combs because they're having to jog over to go up to the next level?

Thanks, that is the very problem! It gives them bee space above the bottom, the top box has bee space below - so there's a bee space of bridging comb. I can understand though in a busy BB that they need plenty of space so it really just seems to be a hazard of using that type of excluder.

So glad to see this question!! I have this problem also and was thinking of using wire. But is there any chance the queen would be caught up in the path of it? I have drone on the bottom of the top frames so she's been in that area. Or is it true that once the crown board is off she'll dive down...