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Checked splits with intro’d Queen cages made up on Saturday. Knocked down QC’s and then released the Queens. Will be checking back again in 7 days in the hope to see eggs and that all is well with all 10 colonies.

I would repeatedly melt it over water (approx 20% by volume water to wax) then leave to cool.. When cooled scrape of the detritus from the bottom of the block. Repeat till there is no more ‘dirt’ falling out of the wax, or till happy with the colour/ clarity of the wax. That should get it...

Got one of these and it works just fine for almost all my Beek wood cutting tasks. Have made a few jigs and ‘assessories ’ it’s as well though, to make certain repeat tasks easier/ quicker.

Tried using plain wax sheets without embossing them, but kept getting mixed results. Bees too often build comb on or parallel to the sheet rather that ‘drawing’ the sheet. I got fed up having to cut this off, so have opted to use a Thorne silicone mold press. Admittedly, this can feel a phaff...

…but then the bees are not the ones doing the choosing, the beekeeper is. I’ll take a ‘pretty’, well made hive over a rotten log every time.

IMHO rebates with good glue and screws may well do and will save a load of time and phaff, but box joints are stronger and ‘prettier’.

Not everyone’s idea of fun, but having made all my wooden hive equipment (bar my first Thorne hive), there is a pleasure in making your own kit - if you have the time. I envy you your equipment/ tools, the timber and the task. Enjoy! 😁

Sorry for the delayed response. Been in the poly, building a honey warmer for SWMBO. Swarm is correct, and they did work in harmony providing a good honey crop till the flagged issue, but I am now persuaded that the shared supers ( which were placed above a QE) had nothing to do the brood break.

Thanks, that’s good to know. I guess I can take advantage of the broodlessness and do an OA vape and look out for the Queens switching back on again.

The brood nest was across the bottom 2 and part of the third boxes at one point, and it seems as this has shrunk, they have back filled all but the bottom box.

At least 10. They are in 5 frame Nuc boxes, stacked three high, with the top two boxes are full of stores ,with the only ‘empty space’ in the bottom box.

Thanks JBM for the reassurance. I do hope they’ sort themselves out’. Point taken about feeding for stores. Fortunately both sides of the stack are well provisioned with all but a four frames in the bottom box with sealed honey if not nearly full of same. That said, I plan on feeding till...

This season, I decided to have a go at running twinned Nuc stacks on a single divided floor with opposing entrances, after seeing Michael Palmer’s brood factory setup. One twinned stack (3 boxes high), was so strong, it made sense to super it over a QE to give more space and get a honey crop...

In that case, the quandary remains and Perhaps you should consider Nige.Coll’s view.

Was your suit washed between visits? If not, the bees may just be honing in on the pheromone from earlier attacks. Just a thought!🙄

Most honey ever this year for me. Then again, I have been especially focused this year, trying to improve on my beekeeping practice and honey crop. So perhaps would have been disappointed if I had not made some progress on previous years.

Oddly enough, JBM, I came across this on the verge of my local footpath yesterday. However, the dog insisted on being in the shot as well. Marsh Orchid I am led to believe.

I wonder whether it is so that they can hold it up to a/ the light to check consistency / for impurities???? Much thicker and the light won’t come through( actually I don’t know if the light will be visible at an inch and a half)! Anyone know?

What I meant was, the doc is a useful starting point ( no adulteration, avoid tainting smells....), but what tips/ Xfactor makes for that winning block of wax???

Found the below guidance for judges, but it raises more questions for me than it answers. https://www.wbka.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/Show_Judge_Syllabus_2019.pdf