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Worth bearing in mind that thymol is a natural constituent and flavouring of some honeys eg lime, and therefore a minute trace might not be the end of the world.

My main use of honey in cooking is when stewing fruit. The correct amount is a dollop. .

As regards the supers- putting supers underneath is a good way to get them cleaned out, so I suspect that by now they will have emptied the bottom super and moved everything up. If so, perfect opportunity to take that one away, move the one with brood to the bottom, and hey presto you are un...

Heating as described will guarantee that it will stay looking the same for longer on tesco's shelves. No other benefits, and a likely reduction in flavour and enzyme activity. Anyway, if it does set, it means you can get more on your toast!

I've had all the brood removed after treatment- not sure if it was a bad infestation, the weather or what. I took the opportunity of the brood break, whipped the thymol out and OA'd. They sprang back clean and healthy. .

There's plenty on sale but the name has changed, as apparently people might think it had cream in it (!) Now called soft-set or similar.

People often talk about putting an empty super under the floor- but is there any reason why it shouldn't be used between floor and BB? I see the biggest source of draught as being likely to be the tray slot. Obviously if you leave it too late in spring they're likely to build wild comb, but I...

Not sure of the exact circumstances of what you've seen; but I suspect that an awful lot of what has been reported as deaths due to ivy gone hard, are in fact isolation starvation. The colony doesn't have to get split, just be unable to get to the stores- and if it's too cold to leave the...

As I understand it the empty super is generally used under the floor- but is there any reason why it shouldn't be used between floor and BB? In my apiary the biggest source of draught is likely to be the tray slot. Obviously if you leave it too late in spring they're likely to build wild...

When you are cleaning up afterwards, do as much as possible with cold water only. That dissolves honey perfectly well, but still leaves flakes of wax as such, rather than melting them to re-form inside your u-bend. Once you've got everything clean and wax-free- you can then scald or whatever...

My undrstanding is they don't yield below about 25C, so a heat wave is needed. .

I suspect you may be mixing up bumble bees and solitary bees. Solitary bees make individual nests; all bumble bees form colonies, but the colonies only last one summer. Neither will cause you any problems.

I would suggest some reading up on pests and diseases. That is something that's changed quite a bit eg varroa and nosema cerana up, acarine down. .

I would not do anything in haste. If the queen is in there let her get established. Try not to inspect too much, it can result in a new queen getting balled- I would leave for at least a fortnight after introduction.

I have had unwired frames blow in a tangential extractor before now. I would mark them and be sure not to over-stress them, eg build up speed slower, turn sooner. .

All sounds fine. Grey pollen is fine, it varies depending on what plant it comes from. Keep an eye on the syrup levels in the feeders- if they're not taking syrup, take the feeders off in case it starts to ferment. If there's plenty of nectar around, they will probably prefer that. If you've...

Hive type not important. The main difference is whether the boxes are the same size or different sizes. Finski uses all Langstroth medium IIRC; but Tim is using broods and supers. One- size boxes can make a difference in things like demaree, splitting etc; but from the sound of it not much...

M<ost people make soft-set or creamed- there's a thread on it here.

Yes. If you are going to let them raise a queen then they might as well do it with their first batch of cells, which are likely to be the best nourished. If you are buying queens, then the younger the population the more likely they are to accept her. .

I have to say, if the person next door had cows and they kept coming in my garden, I would feel pretty miffed about it. Which is rather how I feel about the neighbours cats. .