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I wouldn't worry. They prefer warm weather to draw out comb and hence the problem - the weather has been terrible. My nuc took 3-4 weeks last year to kick off and I got them in late May. By end August they were on brood and half. As difficult as it is with your first colony, don't go diving in...

Hi Need some advice from those gardeners out there. I have a willow that is falling over in our garden and frankly quite happy to remove it is as it rarely flowers. I am after a lovely bee bush that is roughly 1.5 x 1.5 x 1.5m or slightly bigger and suits a cottage garden. Any ideas would be...

Peter my nucs have been bringing in predominantly white pollen for the past 2 weeks. Without bothering to check I just thought it was chestnut.

Update......today found a small cast in the tree next to the apiary. I strongly suspect it's one of these two virgins as the original hive seemed a bit quiet but as they are not yet mated I'm not interfering too much. Anyway, bunged them into another nuc. Running out of kit with all these 4-5...

I'm currently considering some varroa treatment on my nucs as I see it as a good time to treat whilst little brood present. Having done both Autumn and Winter treatments and seen the amount of drop, I have no faith in counting the daily drop on the inspection boards as a barometer of the varroa...

Did AS two weeks ago ending up with QCs in two nucs. The one frame had two QCs which I left because they were joined together at the top of the frame and I was concerned I would damage both whilst trying to remove one. Anyway by all accounts both nucs have newly hatched queens as I've heard...

PM sent. :)

About to introduce HM to her new queenless colony this evening. Does one normally apply some tape on one side of her plastic cage to give her protection in case they bite her legs OR, just straight in as is with a spray of syrup and a puff of smoke? :)

Not a strong colony - just a normal nuc Does it matter whether one introduces a queen together with her attendants, into a nuc, or is it essential that they are removed beforehand? I ask because the company I have bought from say it is perfectly ok to leave the attendants with her but I know...

Still not convinced from the feedback how one can remove the mould once the syrup turns to yuk. Surely once there is mould present (on the sides of the box) it has to be removed before adding more syrup. Does that mean transferring the frames to another nuc whilst you clean it out? Anyway...

Cleaning out built in feeder Having placed newly formed QCs in new Payne poly nucs the question is; what is the preferred method of feeding (if required). I've painted out the built in feeder but my concern is - how do you clean out unused syrup that is perhaps even mouldy, as it does in rapid...

Drex I built a similar highrise block to you but I had the queen in the bottom with new foundation, then honey super (QX either side) with brood and half above BUT, that was to get them to make QC which I could then take off and place in nucs. You appear to have QCs already so curious why you...

MA - I knew it was fermented because firstly I could see tiny bubbles in each cell. This was confirmed when I stuck a matchstick into the cell and tasted it. Quite distinct. Sorry, probably wasn't clear here - it was a partially filled/ uncapped super which i thought I could store wet over...

I think fermented honey may give them some problems. I just soaked mine in a luke warm bath of water and the fermented honey floated out. Some needed a gentle shake to remove the last remains.

Congrats ErichA - fingers crossed all goes smoothly. Think you will find willing friends to take them off you. My Goldenrain trees are coming on nicely, all 7 of them. Thanks for the seeds. Going to plant out a couple in the woods behind my house and donate the rest to our local community run...

MA - I think you're spot on. I've also got some 1kg Neopoll bags which I'm going to slap on this weekend once they've eaten their small slab of fondant. I've been checking the inspection board this week and last (kept in to maintain warmth) and there is little evidence of pollen being brought it...

I'm eating some honey that was present in the super when I applied the Apiguard last year and can honestly say I don't mind the slight thyme/ herb flavour. In your case where you are applying a very small dose of Thymol into feed for brood stores I honestly wouldn't worry.

Not fortunate enough to be with the bees during the weekdays to see how active they are during this period of cool weather. Are they likely to be working the OSR 300m away in 10 degrees and cloudy or sitting at home and watching the weather from their landing board? Any of you fortunate to see...

Just interested how you ended up with 50 brood (deeps) of stores in the Spring when you only have 5 hives? Sounds a bit OTT with the winter prep ;)

Beebreeder - comments and advice are noted thanks. Strange that it attacks concrete and steel but not plastic. Finman - Sounds a good idea to put them in a large binbag. That way it is guaranteed air tight. Now just have to wait until temp rises back beyond the benchmark temp of 16 degrees...