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My bees were running out of bakers fondant. With freezing winds and snow blizzards I decided to try to make my own. Never again! I looked up a recipe = 2kg sugar, 500mls water, 1 tbs glucose. I didn't have any :ohthedrama:glucose and with hubby on his way home I asked him to pick some up...

'T' shirt weather you say? Come up to Northern England in the middle of winter when it is near freezing with snow on the ground. Then go into any town, and take a look at what some of the younger generation are wearing! Skimpy tops, short skirts, bare legs, and sandals. Brrr

Opening up hive I had to! Over the weekend I did a natural varroa drop check. No obvious varroa, but some defecation on the sticky board. Naturally I was concerned about possible nosema. Hence the necessity to check the health of the bees and combs. The weather forecast in Lancashire is...

Phew - ditto - so it's fondant Good photos

I am also worried - the bees absolutely refuse to come out. 8c today, and it was a little warmer a couple of days ago. I did have a peak in my 'best' hive, with my 'best queen' but no sign of eggs. Yet only 2 miles up the road at a friends apiary, the bees have been flying for the past couple...

You say that you have pre-ordered a nuc from a local beekeeper. I would strongly suggest that you ask if you could have a look at his bees when he is inspecting. This will give you a good idea of the temperament of the bees you may be getting off him. You will want nice friendly bees, not...

Well I use it. I don't know if it works or not, but it makes me feel better that I am giving them a bit of a treat after an inspection.

First full inspection of the year today. First hive ok Second hive - first signs of DLQ! no sign of old Q. Lots of dead bees on floor. Far too much mold on brood frames. So did a quick shook swarm. Now they are all clustered on a sheet away from the hive. I know that this hive is doomed and...

:iagree::iagree::iagree: And I refuse to shop there

Today I saw my bees take great delight in drinking from the finger/hand holes in the sewer man hole cover. Strange when there is a pond near them

I live within 3k from the reported case of AFB. It was found in/near Woodplumpton, Preston, Lancashire. To see any cases of reported foulbrood in your area click https://secure.fera.defra.gov.uk/beebase/public/BeeDiseases/afbReport.cfm This will bring you to the appropriate BeeBase page...

and hope you never, ever, get foulbrood !

Personally I would not introduce a new queen into a hive that stinks of thymol. The bees need to pick up the new queen's smell. I think you can re-start thymol treatment after the new queen has started laying for a good few days. THis way it gets to the fresh brood where the varroa like to...

Put a super on, then the bees can put food in their larder for winter. If you are using fresh foundation for the supers, then you may think about giving them some suger syrup which they could use to build up comb. Removing the queen excluder may encourage the bees to move up into the super and...

If you wait three weeks they may be dead of starvation by then if there is not adequate stores. Heft the hive and see if it feels to light.

Apiguard puts my bees in a dreadful mood. Nasty, really nasty. I would not dare look!

I think you would have know something was really wrong when you opened up your hive. Have a sniff at the board. Foulbrood has a distinctive odour. Try Beebase for images https://secure.fera.defra.gov.uk/beebase/index.cfm?pageid=89 I see you live in East Sussex. There does not appear to be...

looks like some wax shavings, pollen 'lumps', a few dismembered bees, and quite a few varroa. Did you make your varroa board sticky so that the mites can't just walk back into the hive?

I actually saw a bee poo this summer! I opened up the escape holes in a mini apidea and out came the first bee, crawled up to the top of the roof, stuck her bum over the edge, contracted her abdomen, then squerted poo over the edge. Squit, squit. Lots of it too! After which (I am sure she...

I don't think it was to do with marking the queen. She was marked on the 24th August and they balled her on 31st August - that's 7 days later. Not only that but I checked the other two hives where the swarms came from and I can't see any evidence of either a queen or eggs/lavea etc. I need...