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as per rab - possibly weak pheromones.

normally one uses masonry paint for poly hives. i use sample pots of homebase own brand. can apply different colours to different faces of each component so all hives mix and match appearance.

"in a wooden hive there is no sense in overinsulating just one side." sorry i should've been clearer - i meant gaps i.e. dummied down with colony in middle - insulation both sides. ....and of course on top.

of course you can - best to dummy down with kingspan filling all the gap.

"they are an unusual choice for a brood box" not in europe they aren't. i find them fine to use and a convenient step on which to rest frame after levering and before gripping properly to remove. remember jumbo LS/dadant frames are heavy.

squish all unwanted queens on a post and you have a reliable spot. Ron Hoskins swears by it.

how high? not advocating long ladder but how about brood frame on a long pole (or pillow case with a coat hanger frame to hold it open).

a big colony will beard around the entrance BUT mouse guards are for winter. reduced entrances are to prevent robbing and wasps towards end of season.

"Bit like herding cats !!" it's easy - once they know who provides the food they'll just follow you. must post a picture of half our herd strolling with us.

as per o2o - likely too few bees to allow HM to lay now. if you can spare it some emerging brood might help but probably best just to accept it as a winter loss. but as per firman nosema likely the underlying cause.

as above - merge with other colony(s) either directly or by shaking out in front. no point wasting money on a queen at this time of year. better boosting a strong colony.

you have a bee with pollen arriving - are you sure it isn't already occupied?

"Never calculated that." YOU don't need to - with experience the instinctual interpretation of what you see is what matters. However a "wrong" ratio might well be one of the subconscious cues that set you thinking about a particular hive. it's a gestalt process - in the same way that >90% of...

the other thing that many people forget is that the ratio of open to capped brood gives you an idea of the recent laying dynamics of HM (ok won't tell you why though). when going all guns blazing with adequate food, workers and space to lay ratio should be eggs: open:capped 1:2:4.

"Er no , these jumbos are 500 mm to the outer edge, you could just use the plastic QE on its own but they work better with an edge strip all around." you sure those aren't dadants?

slap bang in the middle of cherry blossom season.

Vote for Giordan from me.

"To fit an Eke you would have to remove all the frames, put them somewhere else" presumably you have spare national brood boxes? if so then you just swap frames during a normal inspection. or of course you add the eke when doing the traditional spring floor change.

mature drones will be needed sooner rather than later. hence to brood.

as per others - like the paynes ones apart from the thin roof. I have heavy deep wooden roofs with 50mm kingspan inside for winter use.