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A friend has a farm in Devon and would like to offer an apiary in some woods she has there. The site is a few miles west of Okehampton in a lovely rural spot. There is no direct access to the apiary, so you'd have to park and walk down. But when you need to get kit down or during harvest...

I have been thinking on a similar problem. I was preparing to remove the last of my honey last September when my old man went into hospital. He has been in and out ever since, but I lost my harvest in one Apiary because I had to go away for more than a week. But in the other, I had a stack that...

The old margarine style from Thorne would often be mis-shaped so the lid would never fit the box or vice versa. The-crystal ones just clip shut and look a lot better, too.

The 'margarine tub' type are useless, with a high failure rate. The crystal ones look much better and I haven't had one fail yet. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

I don't understand why you would be treating without understanding the status of the colony first. Inspect the hive, determine whether there is brood or even a queen and then you will know what's what. What is the point in treating a queenless colony? What are their chances of surviving the...

Is that right? I know of stories where that wasn't the case and have heard of stories where the quote did not include that. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Destroying the nest will not stop another colony accessing the space next year if you don't block up the access points. It will also still leave a decent amount of wax behind, which is flammable. Few beekeepers will have the insurance cover or building skills to do this, but you may be...

The Thornes crystal boxes are a major improvement over the old margarine style which were often a poor fit. I've used them since they were launched and would never go back to a two part box, plus you can see all round the comb. I use an old comb cutter, which I think is Thornes and this...

Often on a humid day, there can be storms we may never see, which they are attuned to. Had a normally calm hive go mental yesterday on first opening, and I think it was weather related.

And don't go up eating a banana or after having raw onion for lunch. A packet of mints can be useful for beekeeping.

I inspected five yesterday and one boiled up as soon as I cracked a super after smoking. When I came back a later, I cracked a super again and got three stings in my fingers and wrist. The others were fine, but this colony can wait until next time as always a bit arsed in stormy weather.

Surely this was manufactured in China, but by being sold through the U.K. Is now £20?

Have you considered the perception of increased thefts is not only due to interest in bees and the presence of social media, but the effect of insurance? It is now much easier to insure apiaries for loss of equipment, and like it or not, this makes it a more important crime. They're all...

You say paranoid, but perhaps he has experienced that. I know someone who found a hive robbed of frames with bees taken. We assumed by going in and out with a box, anyone seeing them would assume they had business there. If challenged, they would only have to say the box is full of bees and few...

Quite. But anecdotal evidence is useful in building a picture of what is going on.

Most of the questions asked in this thread have nothing to do with official figures, but about beekeepers' experience. FOIs can take a long time, and don't always produce results. Official figures are not always accurate, as bee thefts may not be recorded separately. So what better place to...

Love my BB Wear suit and had eight seasons so far. I also have a BB Wear jacket (far too big, but based o the same size as the suit) which I wear for quick trips. Great jacket and both are sage, so don't attract undue attention.

YEs, please.

I have no problem with reusing jars that have gone through the dishwasher, but not lids. Unless, of course, the honey is staying in the house or going to the family.

If you're selling honey and reusing jars, you should still replace the lid, shouldn't you? I don't find they corrode very quickly, at least not within about four or five years –-if they're used for pickle.