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Dangerous question to ask on this forum ... someone is bound to tell you where to stick 'em!:ack2:

Neither (if I can avoid it). I leave them with a super of honey, and they seem perfectly able to cope on their own.

:blush5:

Have you thought of a pitcher of iced G&T and a tray containing a pyramid of those foil-wrapped nutty chocolates? It may not always work for the bees - but I'll be round straight away!

As a dead bueaucrat, I am appalled at the thought of breaking rules. ...I do, however, interpret them fairly flexibly on occasion...;)

Things have never been the same since those Romans invaded!

I would mark them if I could find the blighters! Then I would know that they had not been superceded or flown off with their friends in a fit of pique (as I suspect some of them have).

I do the same as the unclothed apiarist! So far, I haven't lost a colony through the winter - now if only I could stop them swarming in the summer!

Coming up with different, convincing, excuses each year for a pitiful honey crop.

:iagree: (with Mel) We had a very small quanitity last year, and it has gone mainly into the stomachs of our bed & breakfast guests - which is fine by us. One jar each to siblings and nieces/nephews. Others seeking to benefit are told that all the proceeds will go to charity - and that we are...

Arrived to check my hives today just in time to see my very best colony swarm (ungrateful blighters - I had done an AS in early May). I believe that with the valiant assistance of the current Lady DD I have caught them and convinced them (so far) that the new home I have offered, complete with...

Don't know if it quite qualifies as a tool ... ... but I do find it helpful to carry with me a hip flask containing a mixture of gin and quinine water ... .. purely as an aid to reflection should I come across behaviour at the hive (the bees' not that of the current Lady DD) that I do not...

:iagree: Or use the old super as fuel for you smoker?

Only if you promise not to enjoy it!

Got a call last night to my first ever swarm. Checked (I think) all of the things that might prevent a wasted journey: thousands of bees; all clustered in a tree; just eight feet up; a few scout bees about. Seemed too good to be true for someone who has several spare hives due to laying...

The dog and I take a bracing stroll on the beach at 5:30am. Thus refreshed, I find that 6:30-ish is the ideal time to check on forum events. BUT (and don't tell anyone else!) - I have been known to pop back into the old coffin for an hour afterwards.

Everyone else has said all that I could have - only they have put it much more eloquently. The only thought that really strikes me (apart from note to self about separation of car and smoker fuel) is to wonder how many other fora would have been populated by so many people so anxious to express...

:party-smiley-050::music-smiley-008::party-smiley-050::cheers2::hurray:;)

If you have been queenless since March, where are your bees coming from? Average life expectancy in Summer +/- 6 weeks.

You could also have a look at some of HP's excellent offerings on this forum