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:yeahthat: This happened to me only a couple of days ago. Having left one queen cell to hatch, and keeping my fingers crossed I didn't expect to get a 'your bees are swarming' call. I got there 10 minutes later to see a few hundred bees flying around nearby bushes looking a little confused and...

Thanks for the replies. It is more complex than I thought. Is there a geneticist in the house?

I've been raising my own queens for the first time this year, following a 2 queen system recommended by Ron Brown in one of his booklets. Essentially it's a form of artificial swarm forcing the remaining bees to raise emergency cells. So far so good but the queens are a completely different...

Milky sap which can irritate the skin.

Looks like a Heuchera. Tiny flowers but the nectar must be something special. One of my Mum's favourites and loved by Bumbles.

Made up my first apidea. They are now buzzing quietly in the garage in the dark for a few days while the queen hatches.

Thanks everyone for the advice. I will try a sharp knife and hunt out our cocktail sticks. I bought some cell protectors some time ago but I think the cells won't fit in with the extra comb I'll have to cut into. I have been watching their progress and know when they were capped so knowing when...

This year I have resolved to breed my own queens for the first time. I will be cutting out queen cells this week to put into two apideas. Does anyone have advice on how to do it best? The comb around them was warm and soft when I inspected yesterday and I don't want to damage the cells. Thanks...

Gave my strongest hive two pints of 2:1 syrup as they'd taken the first two down very quickly (feeding up for a 2 queen system attempt this year). My son's cocker spaniel was a little too curious and attracted the attention of the guard bees. He got five stings and I copped for one (first of...

Lost one hived colony and one nuc. over the winter. As many have reported there were plenty of stores but the clustered bees couldn't reach them. It looked as if as the colonies got smaller they couldn't even reach the fondant I gave them. The remaining three colonies look good and I cleaned...

After reading the thread about mouldy supers, I checked the seven drawn supers I'd stored dry after last season's extraction. Fortunately only one had mould, the others were as clean as when I bagged them. I put the mouldy one over a radiator to fully dry it and will rebag it today. I'll trust...

I started on nationals only four years ago and have moved to 14x12s. There are many pros and cons as you will find out, but lots of beeks find the national brood box on its own too small for their bees. Beekeeping is expensive at the begining as you need quite a lot of kit. If you can get the...

Checked hives to see if fondant needed renewing. My nuc. with the five legged queen (one back leg damaged in transit last year and hence a poor layer), looked to have died out. Opened it up and blow me down there she was in a small cluster at the bottom of the centre frame. Quickly closed up and...

I learned the importance of having sufficient queens, so this year I will be trying to raise my own. And I learned the importance of asking questions on the forum. I always got good advice- thanks everyone.

Whatever. It's just another belief system. The question is are you a believer or a non believer? We burn the non believers- metaphorically speaking of course.

There's a copy in 'What did you do in the apiary today' thread.

Finished painting a frame feeder I've just made and settled down to read an article on bees in a popular scientific magazine I subscribe to. I now know that a bee can count to ......

When they dry out they could be used to light the blue touch paper at the forum fireworks party.:rolleyes

Thanks for that RAB. I will wait until they have been in for a few days and also when the forecast shows they are likely to remain in for a few days after the move. I also take the point about a winter move stressing them and making them consume more stores. Fortunately they are all well fed...

Thanks for everyone's collective rubbing of brain cells, it's helpful to have so much experience at the press of a few keys. I will wait for a good cold spell, when they will be indoors for a few days.