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Instead of using smoke mist with sugar water,sometimes works.

This year things are not all flowering at once.Dandelions just going over ,Apples are in flower and Sycamore still a week or so away no sign of the Hawthorn yet.Might even get a reasonable crop of honey this year if the weather holds.

The 3 yard 3 mile rule doesn't always have to be followed have a look on the forum how others have done it , you could get away with just one move.

First inspection of my three hives all got through winter ok.Stroppy hive from last year had become stores bound and decided they wanted to swarm because they had run out of space ,gave them more room hopefully they change their minds for now . They were pretty nasty last year but today no...

I have a field near my hives with sheep fodder (looks like kale) that is in flower. Anyone know whether the honey has the same properties as rape seed?The sheep have grazed half the field so still loads left.

Had a quick look at my hives today they are all bringing in yellow pollen.The one hive that I intend to requeen that are nasty were really well behaved prompting me to rethink requeening.I wont know for sure until I do a proper inspection which could be a few weeks away if the forecast is correct.

I,ve made a few things over the years for our auction ,they quite often turn up again and are resold.

I have family in Ukraine ,I can remember the time when they were controlled from Moscow it was pretty bad .I understand why they don't want to go back. At the moment the internet is a bit patchy most people are living in fear afraid of what horror Putin will do next.

I did a cut out in my neighbours wall some years ago an old vent into the kitchen.I built a bee vac and made everything ready lots of buckets, plenty of fresh water,extra bee suit so they could watch .Not quite as simple a job as I first thought the combs were all over the place and the mess...

In the past I,ve found that a queenless hive can become angrier, knocking down emergency cells isnt really the answer you could end up with laying workers if they decide not to make any more queen cells. IMHO its better to buy in a queen from a known source or merge with another hive a much...

The hive that I need to requeen came from a swarm a really strong hive of very dark bees.I went to strap the hive up yesterday and they were out like a shot before I even did anything.What worries me the most is that lots of beginners are given a swarm to start with not knowing what to expect.

I think there has been a misunderstanding I do wear clothes under my beesuit I meant to say wear an extra layer when requeening nasty bees. I,ve seen on the web nudist beekeepers but I dont want to frighten the neighbours.:eek:

I have a swarm that I collected last year that are really bad,I,ll be moving the hive as Jenks suggests and adding a new queen under a push in cage . Also donning a second layer under my bee suit for that extra bit of protection.I,ve been through this before and know how intimidating it can be...

I sometimes think the season is in the lap of the gods how it goes.;);)

Saint Valentine is also the saint for Beekeepers not just lovers.

No sign of Snowdrops but Primroses are in flower plus a few Dandelions ,Its a strange time.

I.ve had some nasty bees in the past, Thinking that they have improved in the spring is wrong its just that there are less bees .Once they start to build up they become nasty again and finding the queen is harder.I soon learned that from experience.

I was told some years ago that one of the reasons nasty bees have more honey is that they tend to be the ones that are robbing the more placid colonies don't know if that is true or not.

Watched loads of Bloodhound missiles be fired off on the Aberporth range along with all the other sorts of missiles that were tested.

Had three swarms off of bait hive on shed roof last year,All rehived but trying to think of a better way of getting them down this year as a ladder isn't the safest or easiest way.