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as above - how are the roofs anchored? if not strapped/weighed down then possible to have blown off and found by passer-by who recognised a hive roof BUT was unaware of the importance of the scrap of builder's rubbish nearby.

"The frame traps are however quite pricey to buy." you don't need one - just place the frame with queen on above a QE within an eke, at a slant - you can make notched ekes to support the lugs. http://www.apicolturangrisani.it/tecnica-apistica/652-blocco-di-covata-con-favo-orizzontale.html

same reason why we use pounds and miles. established standard.

sorry if that sounded rude but i was trying to make a point - when in Rome etc. you actually only need a relatively limited beekeeping specific vocabulary in order to converse.

"I live in Andalucia, Spain.......the village beekeeper, who doesn't speak English" do you not speak Spanish?

photograph board and count at home.

MB kit (LS) has bottom bee space. the thing people don't like with them is the raised lip.

how much are your bees worth? how much does under half a 1.2m x 0.5m sheet of 50mm kingspan cost? bin the bubble wrap and get down to wickes or local builder's skip.

how about a strip wood eke and a decent custom snug fitting deep sided well insulated roof.

try another slightly less local baker? but as stated you are probably best aiming for 3-5 boxes given that you have 5 hives. that's one block each OR half a block each and a half to spare.

as per others - we've not had proper clustering temps yet this autumn (only a couple of mild frosts max) so you should be thinking of disease as the cause of the problem. get the bees checked for nosema.

most would put on top of hives at end of summer to allow the bees to clean up.

"Say, "yes" and spray it with Febreze. That's what everybody else does" personally hate the stench of fabric conditioner on some items.

as o2o will confirm, a FULL 14x12 box (i.e. brood and a half equivalent) or dandant or LS jumbo will be fine over winter. a half empty national brood box will need emergency feeding. why haven't people been feeding adequately this autumn? lack of confidence or poor advice? even with increased...

"Hi, my local apiary lays strips of fondant across the tops of the frames which i tried last year. It worked ok ish but when i tried to administer oxalic acid by dribbling it in the seams any remaining fondant had to be scraped off first." most would add the fondant immediately after the oxalic!

"bits of dead dried monkey" not really go into solution/suspension though? would have to be more like chunk honey.

IMHO 1/3 to 1/2 a block, flattened, direct on top bars (in your apiguard eke, with a clear crown board on top, and kingspan on top of that

as per others - you have struck gold. you can cut the sheet in half to give 50mm thick or just use the 100mm stuff. whatever thickness you use it should be placed within an eke or super that the roof fits over; although many would also advocate using extra deep roofs anyway. although derekM has...

as per others - don't remove unless you know they are definitely abandoned BUT righting a hive is a courtesy most would wish to have done to their colonies - remember many won't be revisiting out hives for any active purpose until february.

"6 packs (75 kg) .... I know that must sound like a helluva lot of fondant" That's only enough for 12-18 hives if used properly if necessary rather than tinkering/trickle feeding over winter.