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MJB, it is entirely possible that the scout bees you have seen came from hives where the beekeeper undertook some form of swarm management upon realising that thier bees were thinking about swarming. Colonies can easily be built up ready to over winter at this point of the season. Dont ignore...

Murray, how is the Ling shaping up? Does it look like it will come in early? Everything my bees forage on has been around 3 weeks early this year.

In the late evening, you will find that many bees prefer to climb/crawl - usually up your beesuit/trousers. The ones you dislodge from the crown board and frames will test how well sealed up your bee suit is. Sometimes you have no option but to check bees in less than favourable conditions but...

I have a "few" Chinese grafting tools (plus spares yet to be tried out). So far i have only found one that I like to work with and it is closely guarded! Yet to try the paint brush method but currently doing OK with the grafting tool. My current favourite cell bar frame takes 18 grafts. Last two...

Its but a part of managing colonies in a way that means they will not inconvenience a neighbour.

My understanding is that they are viewed in the same way as caravans (Caravan Regulations) and do not fall under planning legislation as they, like caravans, can be readily moved. The same legislation applies to certain designs of log...

Brother Adam had the benefit of isolated mating stations in his work. They are hard to come across in the UK and Ireland but his Dartmoor mating apiary is in good hands and is now being put to good use I believe. I work to try and flood the areas in which I have apiaries with drones from...

As long as the queen is mated, it is rarely "too late" to clip a wing. IF you get it wrong and damage her, at this time of year there is plenty of opportunity to replace her with a mated and laying queen. From Spring onwards, if I have unclipped queens, i clip them when I see them. I tend only...

8'x20' - converted shipping container? No planning required: http://donnellycabins.com/shipping-containers/#iLightbox[gallery-1]/6 A few years ago a forumer picked up a couple of shipping containers that had been modified into site huts. One became an extracting suite, the other a store. A...

icanhopit, What quantities of pollen do you see in your AMM stocks in the run up to the "June Gap"? It was a criticism of "the old bees", that they would supposedly fill the brood box with pollen and yet this kept them going through the June Gap. My bees go into overdrive on pollen foraging...

Quite an assumption to make. Most organised beekeepers will be able to identify supercedure queens in their hives by referring to their colony records and pattern of marking and clipping queens. I would think it more likely that such beekeepers would simply have older queens in their colonies...

There are amateur, commercial and semi commercial beekeepers who do contract to provide pollination services in the UK. Hobby beekeepers are less likely to seek payment or get paid for bringing their stocks to commercially grown crops. Their main goal is to get a crop of honey and for many hobby...

Busibee, You have noted that your colony experienced a pause in the nectar flow. This is usually associated with what beekeepers will refer to as "The June Gap". [Apologies if you know this already]. Some years the gap is pronounced and other years it isn't noticable. Not only is there a gap in...

Try the Bee Farmers ASsociation in the UK for an informed view.

In terms of Apidea usage and weather, i'll record my observation that in 2016 my bees propolised up the front vent, even after i raised the "door" to its upper limit to reduce the draft. This year, none have begun to propolise the vent and the bees have been very quick to draw out the three...

Why break them down? There is no benefit in doing so. You are not really leaving them "to see if they create QC's".... Over time you will see that colonies generally maintain a few play cups on the comb throughout the year. Monitor the condidtion of the play cups: watch for the bees beginning to...

Levels of absconding seem to vary from year to year even when following the same practices in the same mating apiaries. I entirely agree about keeping them shaded. All mine are at the base of hedges. Also, it can help not to put queens or cells from the same batch into mating nucs that are close...

Not being awkward, was really just looking for clarification of colony strength/size and stores status and a bit on the local weather before adding my thoughts. All give a clearer picture, an important point since my beekeeping circumstances are likely very different to the beekeeper referred...

Scout bees investigating an option for a new home. They will overnight in the prospective new home on occasion and will also "defend" it against scouts from other colonies. This would seem to be what you have observed. Scouts may completely disappear from your hive if other scouts find a...

It would be nice to have more details about the colony when the frame was added and exactly how it was found 9 days later before commenting on what might have happened...