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IF you have a varroa problem, get rid of them now, before all the winter bees are affected. 111 mites, if that is all there were, is not a great number. Multiply by 3 for those in cells. However one check on the board does not necessarily mean a great deal….

No particular problem with that - the carpet samples are likely quite air-tight - and the metal mesh will be propolised, provided you give the bees long enough to get the job done. There is no reason why a 3-4mm gap cannot be left between box and floor, to provide sufficient ventilation when on...

Too many glsses (or bottles) Sunday afternoon, Enrico. Either that or your maths is not too smart!:):):) RAB Edited to add that ‘technically’ it is over £100, so you are, to some degree, correct. But as my wife just said “it’s not going to get him a degree in mathematics”.

Is that her mother’s grandfather?

echidna, I couldn't imagine a new queen getting mated with so few drones around and cool temperatures in Yorkshire, … Let’s think about this sensibly. Temperatures may be difficult, but exaclty (or even just approximately) how many drones are needed? Drone congregation areas are where they...

Enrico, I (almost inadvertently) joined up to twitface (second part of that word) recently when I needed to contact a company, but simply will not go on it. I am thinking of only changing my leccy to Octopus. Virtually all the gas charges since April have been standing charges - the...

What you don’t want is detritus building up on a tray below an OMF. It is likely to get damp and infested with all sorts of fauna and fungi, etc.

Enrico is not insane. I expect he is on the ‘Octopus Go’ tariff. Unfortunately my wife refuses to even think about time of use rates. I reluctantly had a smart meter fitted when my fixed rate tariff came to an end, so have reverted to a variable tariff (to avoid any exit fees), expecting to...

I wonder whether the WBC hive adopted British Standard frames or whether it was the other way round

an invasion of wasps which is devastating my colonies, especially the weaker ones Some good suggestions. Main reason, I expect, for your travails is likely having weak colonies at this time of the year. Do make a note to avoid this next year. Strong colonies with narrowed entrances will...

One or two fingers up to those that say uniting is to be completely off the possible agenda. If done properly in the appropriate circumstances, there is nowt wrong with uniting - even where both colonies are known to be queenright. It is just amatter of ensuring all the conditions are correct...

Do the omlette crowd still make the ridiculous claim that a beehaus is a two colony hive? Any basic Dartington design is of a single colony hive with the ability to a) extend the basic hive lengthways, by several frames if necessary - both for brood or honey storage - and b) for colony...

Often, I would say. January has been the month in the not too recent past.

Wool- only sherp related? Clearly never done any soldered plumbing, for instance - where steel wool is used. It’s s bit like saying ‘bread’ should only refer to white sliced bread - or something silly, like that.

Most people use paper!:)

Yes, Dani, but whatever fish they may be masquerading as, they are still shallows.

I used to argue with Finny years ago (see the archives) that trickling oxalic acid in the middle of winter was unnecessary for colony survival, aggravated nosema and was cause of some colony losses. I trickled only one or two years. After that it was then a case of ridding the colony of...

Do you have a sheltered life? Try here for a start. https://cornishhoney.co.uk/product_info.php?products_id=158

Perhaps you should read back on the forum (for a few years). There is plenty of corroborating evidence in the archives. There have been a fair share of i diots that have preceded many of the present bunch of new-comers.

Not sure what solid floors have to do with it. It’s a simple fact that poly is a better insulator than 19mm of timber - and my polys are likely twice that thickness, so the insulation is far superior to that of a typical timber hive.