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Not just in the south west, but I suppose if a group has spent a lot of money buying syrup they want to sell it on to recoup the costs.

Put a piece of muslin or clean net curtain on the top of a bucket, tip the cappings onto the cloth and leave for a couple of days. Stir if needed. Most of the honey will end up in the bucket.

You don't need very much lavender to scent a smoker so if you know somebody who's got a plant or two you could ask for their prunings, then dry and break up the bits of stalk and mix a little in with whatever else you use. If you've got a balcony maybe you could grow a couple of plants in tubs...

Thanks.

From your garden? We used to grow it in Aberdeen.

You're right, and that is enough achievement for a lot of newer beekeepers who seem happy enough to raise and look after healthy bees and don't give a thought to a honey crop.

Dummy frame or division board size?

Bees will collect pollen from almost anywhere, but it can be in short supply at this time of year when there's so little in flower, so they're lucky to have a rich source nearby.

Try uploading to your forum photo album and then link to/from there.

I thought Bakers Honey or cooking honey was honey that had been overheated, I didn't know it could be stuff that was fermenting.

Do you know of any good quality solar powered pond pumps?

Colonies do not expand at this time of year, they decrease. Check out the graphs on Dave Cushman's site to learn more. http://www.dave-cushman.net/bee/populationdynamics.html Your swarm (developing colony) is unlikely to need the super this year, and should store enough food in the brood box to...

It really isn't a good idea to use this type of feeder, not unless you want to feed all the bees in your area. If you've registered on Beebase you'll know how many apiaries are nearby! Best to use a Miller-type or rapid feeder that stays inside the hive where the colony can access the syrup...

I can't see why it should be a problem. The workers will know they're somewhere new, I'm sure they'll make sure the queen knows where her home is. But I'd probably do my best to protect the queens during the journey, just in case something goes wrong.

I use poly Jumbo Langstroths and would probably do exactly the same if I started again, and would still end up wondering if I should downsize slightly to standard Langstroth - also poly - but end up not bothering. My bees are local bees, they mostly fill the brood box during the warmer months...

I use Jumbo Langstroths, which use the same frames as a Dadant hive, just about. All my boxes are poly. I have several nucleus hives that take this size frame, each one will take six frames (the full hive will take ten frames). The smaller box is suitable for splits and for swarms. The colony...

I think you may have added your post to the wrong thread Colin. Even so, it's good to hear of a happy beekeeper :)

To be fair I think you're doing most beekeeping associations a disservice. We'll train anybody who wants to be trained and are more than willing to support people with a wide range of disabilities, and certainly don't make any mentees feel stupid. And, you know something, we do it all for free...

It's isn't really a highjack because it's still about feeding with sugar syrup. I almost always feed a swarm after three days although I know that some say they should be left for between 5 days and a week, but sometimes they won't get very much - just enough to get them ahead with drawing comb...

During a frame/comb change and to encourage wax making use 1:1 syrup to sugar. You can feed a newly hived swarm from about 3 days. In the autumn, for storing, feed them 2:1 sugar to water or give fondant. Top up as necessary, but always make sure there is room for the queen to lay - so don't...