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Claro Bees in Harrogate. They are the retail bit of Harrogate and Ripon BKA. Good value and friendly people.

Being a engineer I use spreadsheets for just about everything whether appropriate or not. I attach a PDF of my equipment records because the forum does not seem to support .xls files. You can see what my records of equipment are and costs to date too. They costs are not to the penny and I...

Thanks finman. I really hope that they are not in trouble as they were my good bees this year. They were very low on stores and I should probably have given them fondant before now. The queen kept laying into late September so they went into the winter with lots of bees. I fed them a gallon...

Hi Rab, They are on open mesh floor with the insert out. No top ventilation. Alan

One of my hives is getting very light so I went up today to put 2kg of Fondant on. As soon as I removed the roof I noticed through the holes in the crown board that they were all lined up on the top of the frames fanning. Too hot? It was 11 degrees here in Yorkshire today. They are in a...

15 dead on the landing board the other day and all gone this morning. Took three bigs bangs on the hive before I heard a buzz and even then it was a bit faint. I guess that they were pretty tightly clustered. Both hives still quite heavy so nothing to worry about.

As a newbie this year I would heartily recommend a course with a practical element to it. You really need to know if you will be freaked by bees before you buys some. Also the stings don't hurt too much. I got one bee sting on the back of my neck which stung like he'll for 20 minutes. Four...

Mouse guards cost 60p each from Claro bees. Why mess about trying to do them cheaper than that?

That is the winner for me. I am also going to pull a large British black B from the hive. ( a4 paper with a large black B printed on it). I can hear the groans now!

I am doing a presentation to my sons school about beekeeping and thought that it might be fun to have some fake smoke in the smoker to simulate smoking the hive. Does anyone have any ideas on the best way to do this?bee-smilliebee-smilliebee-smilliebee-smillie

I went on a visit to Braythorne Bees in Norh Yorkshire and the lady who keeps the bees there told us that she used this technique with much success.

If you are in Yorkshire Spinks Compak in Leeds are very good. They will let you have the first order at YBKA bulk discount prices and thereafter you have to order through the YBKA. Otherwise there is a £100 minimum spend I think. The contact person there is Emma Speight. I paid 24p per jar...

I would also start to look at the source of your bees. The local association may be set up to produce nucs for beginners and they are a lot cheaper than commercial suppliers. In my view you should get bees which are suited to your local environment. My local association Wharfedale BKA...

Put mine on yesterday with the broad site up and the entrance block out. The theory behind this is that the space with the entrance block on is just too small. The broad side up allows the bottom row of holes to align with the bottom of the entrance. This allows the mortuary bees to drag out...

Is it really necessary to insulate a National Hive? If the roof needs to be thicker or have insulation in why does it not come as standard. Is this a flaw with the design of National Hives? I spoke to one experienced Beek locally who maintained that the done thing in his day in the...

Is it really necessary to insulate a National Hive? If the roof needs to be thicker or have insulation in why does it not come as standard. Is this a flaw with the design of National Hives? I spoke to one experienced Beek locally who maintained that the done thing in his day in the...

Forgive another question from a newbee. I was planning to arrange the mouseguard with the bottom row of holes level with the bottom of the entrance block. That way I think that a mortuary bee could remove the corpse of a dead bee through the holes and there would be no build up of dead bees...

Ok so now I am confused. Can mice get in through reduced entrance blocks? Do you put the mouse guard over the entrance block or remove the entrance block before fitting the mouse guard. Also when do they go on. I was taught that Octobeer is the time but the bees are still bringing in ivy...

Hi Darren That is not me I am afraid although my wife does work at Airedale as a midwife. I did the beginners course with Wharfedale Beekeepers Association this year and am very much a newbee.

That sounds like a good solution. cheers Kev