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Some people put petroleum jelly only around the edge of the monitoring board. This is not reliable as varroa not stuck to the jelly can jump off the board onto other bees. Was advised to use a thin smear of cooking oil all over the board instead, and it is easier to apply.

Pargyle, great design. At the risk of the thread going OT might I suggest you at least wear a light veil for eye protection, stings in the eye are not what you want to experience. Have fun but keep safe ;)

More likely they are eating the poly hive as some of my little Nuc darlings are attempting to do at present. Poly makes a crackling sound when they attack it.

Maybe the stores in the brood box are not totally OSR. Some types of OSR are hybrid and aren't as attractive to the bees.

Checked on a small colony which are just transferred to a painS 14x12 nuc. Seems like the entrance design is too small as they were struggling to get in or out such was the traffic after the rain stopped. Saw quite a few bees at the rear of the nuc box. On investigating I have either got a...

As a newish user of 14X12 with standard wired foundation I find they tend to sag unless turned in the textbook way that you get taught at training sessions. Just wondering how you will find yours to turn? Hopefully easier with the horizontal wiring which I think will give better support than...

I assume it was a Call of Duty - Black Ops :) Don't be tempted to do any Apple lookalikes cos they will sue you :)

I used one of these last year with good results http://www.beckysbeesonlineshop.co.uk/queen-introduction-cage-1076-p.asp Instructions The cage is pressed into sealed brood on a frame that you have first shaken the bees off. The new queen is introduced into the cage which can be sealed with...

Yes, I don't have an extractor to suit them but I think a friend has one. At least they are supered on top which will give a breathing space.

I have recently combined a commercial and 14x12 BB in order to transfer the colony into the new 14X12 hive. All went well and I was waiting until this week ( about 21 days) to check the old BB for hatched brood and then remove it. I got caught out as they are now going mad on OSR and have...

Leaving them in longer than the specified 6 weeks is not recommended by the manufacturer, as it apparently can result in the mites building up resistance to the treatment.

No, That happened yesterday :sos:

BBC 1 next Wednesday, 12th December at 8.00pm. Some video taken at a Blandford and Sturminster BKA Apiary. A BBC team visited the apiary during the Summer, headed by George McGivern. They went to film bees and their stings using a new camera that magnifies up to 7000 times. Should be...

That's how the NHS gets the bee venom for desensitisation treatments.

Seems like I may have a taker for the queen. Can some beek please tell me the best way to post her. At the moment I have no candy in the cage so do I need to add something like icing sugar to keep them fed. I have given them small quantities of water mixed with honey today. What way to...

Yesterday (Sun) I remove a queen from a failing nuc and combined the little colony with another weak nuc. Both were made up intiially as insurance when I decide to requeen two hives with Buckfast queens. She is a local 2012 queen and was laying in the nuc albeit just a small patch of brood. I...

When did you last do an inspection and how did they behave? If they are still active I would expect they would be noisy and bad tempered if they are Q- but that's only what I have experienced with mine as a second year beek. As others said you need to provide more info.

I have an old but treasured cardigan with a collar that folds down but when I zip it up and pull up the collar it covers the back of my neck completely. A baseball cap keeps the veil off my face.

I fed syrup for three weeks and they still have room for some Ivy. I think a mix is better than one single food source, that way if there is a very cold snap at least they can use one of the food sources.