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You'll be fine, once you've opened the hive time will pass more quickly than you imagine and it'll probably be at least half an hour before you're ready to close it up again. Remember to light your smoker before you zip up your veil, and then remember to fasten the zip! :rolleyes:

Better this than to tell people to give them honey, which could have come from anywhere in the world and could even contain disease spores. :)

Not always the case these days thankfully, not proper 'meadows' that are used for fodder. Managed water meadows have a beautifully rich flora, and I've been to an 'organic' farm where they planted hundreds of cowslips a few years ago, these have now spread and look absolutely amazing when...

Lime flowers are open here, but not a single bee anywhere near them!

They absconded for their own reason. It could be because they didn't like where they were or perhaps because they didn't have enough space for the queen to lay or nowhere for stores. You say "all seemed fine" but was there any hint of a problem beforehand, for example, were the bees lethargic...

Why don't householders have a more accurate concept of measuring height above the ground! I spend ages asking questions trying to make sure exactly how high any swarm is, and explain what equipment I carry in my car. All too often when I arrive the swarm would only be within easy reach of the...

I'm a member of more than one beekeeping club because there are two within easy reach. I pay full membership to the cheapest and associate membership to the other. Both clubs get some money, and I get the choice of events to attend and different beekeepers to meet.

Beautiful, and it looks so warm too. Good to see you back Rooftops :)

:iagree: Get in touch with somebody from your local association and ask if they can help you go through the hive. Did you buy the colony from another beekeeper or from a commercial outfit?

Of course you are :)

All the cutouts and removals I've done, and all those I've heard about or seen photos of, show that established natural colonies use much more space than is ever provided in a standard national brood box plus a couple of shallow supers.

If the bucket isn't full, cover the top of the honey with a layer of cling film and also make sure the lid is on properly.

Dummy boards usually use a narrower top bar. I don't use dummy boards in supers, but those who use brood and a half might.

:iagree: VEG (Craig) was one of the founder members of this site. Without him, and the others who got it going, the site wouldn't be here at all. Sometimes there is a place for arguments; this thread isn't that place.

At the moment I'm guessing this year's crop will be about the same as last year's - close to zero or into the negative. It would help if the weather would warm up a bit and the rain would stop, because the flowers are out there for them.

I've been appalled by the quality and presentation of some 'local' honeys. In some cases the labelling is hopelessly inaccurate. The worst were 'Oil Seed Rape' honey that was runny and quite dark, some very light-coloured set 'Heather' and, of course, the stuff that might or might not end up...

Oh heavens, I'm sorry to hear that. I hope things work out okay for you and your family.

It would be interesting to know how this compares with other methods used to introduce queens and if it matches the advice LASI gives with the queens they're selling.

What a lucky thing to happen :)

No, it isn't your imagination and it does seem a remarkably small 'queen' too. They should have chosen one of their best-looking queens as an 'advert', so maybe the blog is maintained by somebody who has nothing to do with the queen rearing.