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I always thought that this was how it worked, but I have since been told that the older bees form a "mantle" around the cluster. So, if they drop off and die, it's not as great a loss to the future of the colony as it would be if they lost the newbees. Any advance??

Ron Hoskins, Swindon Honeybee Conservation Group, suggests that the bees smell the wound inflicted by feeding varroa, rather than the varroa themselves.

Ahhh, that's it! Thanks, Swarm. I think my brain must be carrion.....except there's nowt to scavenge in there!

Does anyone know if anything predates dead hornet nests? (or do I mean preys on? Predates always sounds a bit previous...)

My first winter project is always to forget the bees for a little while...

This arrived in my garden as a volunteer, too. It's a bit of a survivor - chopped it back to ground level last year and it's come back even stronger and taller - and with more flowers. I've never seen anything, not bird nor bee nor owt else on it, though!

Have you been in touch with the BFA? (Bee Farmers Association) http://beefarmers.co.uk/

I say! :)

Once you've had a mouse overwinter in a hive, you'll know why they are used! I prefer the "portcullis" type, rather than the ones with round holes. I don't have many deep entrances any more, but have amended the remaining few entrance blocks by banging nails - well, gimp pins to be precise, -...

IMHO a good piece of cut comb, cleanly cut, evenly built and drained properly is a thing of beauty, and best appreciated from "all sides". I don't think I'd trust the clear, "crystal" containers not to leak...though, of course, there shouldn't be any liquid honey to leak! Honey bee suite...

Bees here are going mad for ivy, even in the rain... I know Hartley very well. (Well, at least I did many years ago, when I were a lad).

Do many vegans eat almonds/drink almond milk?

something like this? Not pretty, but free! I think the slots are for a hive strap to pass through, but I've never used them...

Ditto

Don't be cheap - is damage to your lungs worth it? I use my mask for OAV and when using MAQS. Having tried both without, and having read all the Safety Data Sheets, I realised what I was risking....

...'til the rats gnaw their way in!

There is a possibility that once the wasps have finished their free gift, they might start looking to the next nearest supply.....:eek:!!

Buzzard numbers here seem to have declined - I blame it on the red kites, oh, and the requirement for farmers to disposed of fallen stock, rather than leave it for the carrion eaters.... Indeed. Not soo long ago, you'd see a kestrel hovering over a motorway "verge" every mile or so. Not now...

Thank you, Hivemaker, that looks spot on. I looked at loads of pics of moths, but their eyes looked too small. I can see now that I didn't allow for all the fur that surrounds the eyes. Now that the bees have removed the fur, the eyes are so much more prominent! The cornish honey pic...

Thanks, E. I thought that, too, but having goggled a few pics, I don't think the eyes are right for one of them. My very first thought was one of the hawk moths, with all the scales nibbled off, but the eyes are wrong for that, too. The eyes look very dipteran to me, but I couldn't find any...