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They are from Holtermann in Germany - frame spacers that come in 5mm and 7mm. I bought 7000 which were opened coming through England by HM customs - must have looked suspect as they crossed JBM's desk!

If you cross an Italian with the native stock you could recreate an original Buckfast.....

Ivy pollen NW Irl.

The original objective was to change to point spacing in the brood box (as described in Killion/BA) to speed up inspections without the use of smoke. It developed into using 32mm spacing (25mm straight frame with 7mm spacers) allowing extra brood space in the same volume. The results so far are...

The figures used in the calculations have to reflect the measured parameters of wasp biology which already exist. Your first calculation used 0.5g/flight which is obviously impossible and the second used a totally unrealistic frequency and proportion of insect prey flights for a worker...

‘Winter’ bees are produced in situations where the colony has adequate food stores, no (or almost no) brood, and low foraging activity. These can include swarming, loss or supercedure of queen and long periods of adverse weather/lack of forage at any time of year. It is basically a survival...

I think the New Zealand research is valid, calculations designed to arrive at an arbitrary figure are no substitute for peer reviewed science. Overwintering is restricted to germanica in NZ, except for isolated cases of vulgaris, and seems to occur in only around 10% of colonies. Vulgaris has...

Genetics plays a part in pollen hoarding and high pollen hoarding strains can be, and are, selected for in breeding. Feeding on the flow can also promote higher pollen collection. A couple of weeks ago, I put a pollen trap on a hive which had good stores. The collection was variable but added up...

You have answered this .... To put it into context, the larval brood maximum in an average nest of wasps in the UK would cover half a national brood frame. You are mangling wasp biology beyond all recognition. Based on Archer 2008 Taxonomy and nesting biology ….. In both England in mid-July...

I use cut up milk cartons for apiguard. Some of the colonies go to great lengths to try and isolate the card with propolis 'curtains' ...

The basis of my remarks is the currently accepted science on wasp biology as taken from texts by Spradbury, Archer etc. If these cannot be accepted as a basis for debate then it ends up in unconstructive, diversionary argument over motive etc.. In my opinion, it is unrealistic to suggest that...

It seems you may ..... it's hard to disguise tone - even without volume.

The average mean numbers of workers present in the nest in England - Of the 1500 - 2000 workers present when the nest around maximum these will be divided into those foraging and those remaining in the nest, and the foragers further subdivided into the different foraging categories. Because...

A sheet of plastic over the fondant before putting on the eke will reduce the effect, and you could then put extra fill of insulation in the eke if necessary.

Accuracy is important and I have a genuine, if amateur, interest in wasps so if your information does not align with existing science you must expect challenge. I don't see why you should have a problem stating where you got the 4-5 tonne figure and it would be a more direct and relevant approach.

There was Dandelion out here to-day which I don't remember seeing this late before. Not much though, so there were queues ...

Lots of Bumbles still around in the badlands of the West of Ireland. This one was on ivy here today (a Queen I presume given the size)..

If you make a claim, which is not a previously established fact or otherwise qualified, then you should include a trusted source or describe your logic based on such sources. Varroa?

The average V. vulgaris nest in England completes the cycle in 170 days (180 for V. germanica),(Archer 2010). In New Zealand the colony cycle is longer, so the foraging period is longer, and there have been studies done on foraged prey biomass/season/nest. The maximum recorded for an...

Equally as important and much more work to do it right. If you are not in an isolated area or have access to a secure mating area, results may be variable.