Search results

What makes you say that? Stick a full / part full / chrystalised super under a BB in Autumn. Take it out empty at the 1st inspection in Spring. I found it very easy and it saves space in the bee shed! Also it means the cluster is higher up away from the OMF during Winter.

More likely that you left it on too long! I found that after 4hrs they had all but cleared from the supers! Any longer, ie overnight, and they can learn to get back in (talking about rhombus clearer).

I could if I wanted as they have capped all the outside frames and are just back filling the frames as brood hatches out but more likely I will just leave them with it and not need to feed!

I can't stress that enough. I built my own boards for rhombus clearers and the first attempt didn't have enough headroom and they just glued them to the topbars of the box below!

Finally inspected the last 2 hives after up to a month since the last inspection. A strong colony on double brood and two supers have filled 90% of the top BB with honey and are still on something like 12 frames of brood but seem to have removed all the honey from the super! A weaker colony...

Bees draw comb for a reason. 1. They need more brood space 2. They need more space to store incoming food (nectar / pollen / syrup). They don't draw comb unless they need it. Feeding can promote comb drawing but it's a fine balance between they drawing comb and filling all available space...

All of the above. Some wet are put back on hives for cleaning and then stored dry. Any containing granulated stores will be sprayed with water and nadir'ed. The last one's to come off and be extracted will probably be stored wet depending on the status of colonies / time / weather. I have...

Is it not normal orientation flights?? Not sure about dipping when they leave the landing board? Honestly, all my hives (colonies) seem to have their activity cycles (in terms of orientation flights or even foraging) at different levels at different times of the day! In terms of guarding or...

Do they supply them in different ages!?!?! :rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl:

No in the previous case it was definitely the frame of eggs that appeared to trigger the new queen to lay, even on the same frame! It happened that year in at least 2 hives. Right now I have some nucs that I am waiting to see if the queens are mated successfully in but they have only a small...

Getting mated and starting to lay are 2 different things. As I said before I have had queens that were successfully mated not come into lay until I put a frame of eggs (test frame) into the hive something like 6 weeks after emergence! Then suddenly they started laying! I have a couple of Nucs...

Whatever you do, combine / buy in queen you MUST first find and despatch the 'virgin' Queen in the hive. More than likely the younger queen will be more agile and would kill the existing older mated queen but either way it is not worth taking the risk imho. In terms of finding her there are...

From my personal experience I would say both! Definitely some strains (genes) of bee are more generous with the amount of propolis they use inside the hive than others. Mid to late Summer is the time when you would expect them to start closing up gaps to protect their crop.

It may not help but my advice would be to move any hives being robbed to another apiary. As others have said once robbing sets in it is very hard to stop again.

Thanks all. Yes it's Oregano as many have said. I used that phone app to confirm and also crushed some leaves! Bees still all over it!

I'll try that next time I'm passing as well as trying to get a cutting!

I always use hive straps and never lost a hive despite a few being blown over in winter storms!

Just found a wider shot. It seems to like to trail down.

Whilst doing some work at my brothers apartment I wondered past a small shrub in the courtyard and was amazed how many bees were all over it! Anyone able to tell me what it is? To me the flowers had an almost mint smell.

Although I print my own labels and am quite proud about it I have the use of a colour laser printer (at work). I applaud anyone who bothers to design their own label, be it to print themselves or get printed for them. What I personally hate to see is rows of honey jars all looking the same...