Search results

H1 will be on poly brood and a cedar half (wanted it the other way around really) H2 will be poly brood with a nadired cedar super, H3 will be double brood, cedar below, poly above H4 will be cedar brood with nadired poly super. I’m hoping to remove the nadired supers early Spring and get the...

Sorry Harry, but the way you’ve written this has really made me smile. I agree the fishing option does seem attractive at times..... I expect they’ll sort themselves out and I wish you well.

Press on, do your best for your colonies and perhaps next year will be better. The good thing is these diseased sites have been dealt with?

I’m on Nationals with OMFs and leave varroa boards in all winter, entrance blocks out, full length mouse guard in place. The bees have ventilation through the full length entrance and a gap at the rear of the hive above the varroa tray. I mostly use a box beneath the brood chamber to reduce...

I release the hornets I trap, they generally don’t do much in the way of predating the colonies. Marvellous beasties and not aggressive. It’s the wasps I can’t abide.

I had a Sierra Cosworth stolen from a hotel car park there. I still had the keys - the thieves literally uplifted it onto a flatbed apparently. Never saw it again.

I tend to pull the brambles up, or cut down, tie them into bundles around themselves and put them in the council recycling bin. I have a Titan shredder from Screwfix, which is a crusher rather than a cutter. I’m impressed with it overall, but again, fleshy brambles don’t crush into pieces.

To duff up.... This year I’ve seen “bundles” fall out of the entrance - three or four bees with a wasp inside the bundle. They writhe around a bit and the bees peel off one by one, generally leaving one bee to ensure the stung wasp is finished off. I don’t know if the wasp has been stung before...

I think they duff them up as a collective. I’ve read that when wasps get through the entrance they skirt around the sides of the hive to remain as hidden as they can. A tunnel entrance that causes them to exit towards the hive centre / brood cluster area, leads to more certain duffing up.

Leave them alone to get on with things. If original queen she could be on a brood beak, if virgin queen, she needs to be left alone to mate, (still drones around here), return and start laying. Your location isn’t available so you need to decide if there’s still drones and a mating chance in...

What a shame. Still doves can nest and breed over a long period, so I guess they’ll start again.

Sounds like a good day’s work👍

You witnessed a virgin queen mating flight/return?

No it’s me too! I have to then download again to see the whole picture

Elaine Mary - I followed the advice above from Jenks and Dani, earlier in the season and all went well. As Jenks says, why make things more complicated than you need?

So will I from here on....

It’s odd that in some locations it’s been a good year, but that’s awful for Devon! You have my sympathies and thanks for the heads up I’m not that far from you!

Which ones?🚾

That, Boywonder, is really interesting. I guess time will tell, but it’s a curious “one off” if it is. Perhaps David Beckham could shed some light on this....😜😜

Hi Swarm, Shame we didn’t have this exchange a month ago. I could have used one then and from what you post about your black bees, I would like to experience such a colony. Never mind eh?