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Just finished putting the supers on which I guess isn't too bad but I hate removing them when they are full. I need a slave, (and some new tea gowns) Chris

A few weeks ago I thought I had a colony of bees that had failed over winter, the only one which in itself is more than a tad remarkable and I expected far more. Anyway having kicked it about a few times without seeing any sign of activity even though it had a cluster of bees inside I took it to...

This year for the first time one of the Maize fields, some 50 hectares, has been sown with peas, not as a green manure but for the peas which are harvested for the animal feed industry. The maize is no great loss and there is plenty more of it around but my question is does anyone have...

When the rape stops flowing. Chris

A very pale or pale lemon yellow and always on the face as in the photo, nothing else we have around here is like that. Stating the obvious it's a result of the flowers structure and the way the bee reaches the nectar, I never see them bother with the OSR pollen which mine source earlier in the...

OSR faces here now....... Chris

Made a start putting on supers this afternoon. Chris

Not here, no chance, shrug, shrug.........and anyway here they always lie about what they are using. Chris

Without knowing the crop or its stage of development it's not possible to say whether it's fungicide or insecticide or both. I don't know any selective herbicides that are used on crops other than roundup ready Monsanto GM maize. Selectives are usually used on pasture. Chris

Hope the colonies are OK, sprays are ****. Chris

Not at all, they occupy a niche in the way of things and are no different to any other species. Strong colonies have no problem dealing with them although it's possible to get "one or three" tucked away in a corner they won't be a bother. Arguably Bee keepers have increased their numbers by...

No shortage of wax moth in my part of the world but they never bother full colonies, only empty ones like this one I was cleaning out today. Chris

I expect they will be OK if they cuddle up. Chris

None the less I still don't open the BB from the end of September until mid March and I rarely remove frames from my hives, but that's me a relatively non interventionist remarkably successful basic bee keeper that doesn't treat either. Each to their own and until you can judge a colony any...

No, I know it wasn't and I like being a basic beekeeper, no frills and bells with me. That's that then and don't anyone even consider otherwise or they will get detention. Chris

That's 'cos I'm a basic beekeeper. One way to get the hang of hive weight is to get the feel of a more or less empty hive, perhaps best with a new colony / swarm that has a little more weight than an empty hive, then again four weeks later, perhaps again 6 weeks later and finally with a hive...

This can't be true. I agree. A colleague of mine hefted hives, felt they were of sufficient weight, but when he peeked in, found a starved colony surrounded by pollen. With the best will in the world a colony can't go from heavy to starved in the blink of an eye and pollen weighs next to...

What sort of weather are you expecting? Chris

Sex trade industry, mostly young girls. Chris

Which is what I thought. Dandelions busy today and so far only one sting this year. Chris