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As a warming cabinet I'm using a national hive, minus frames! with a solid floor and a entrance block. Layout... floor, 60watt light bulb in fixings through the entrance block, brood box, supers to the height you want, solid crown board and roof. You will need something to lift the honey above...

I hope you are not thinking of using the 14x12's this year! ;)

Okay, for that 'Jaws' moment! Doing an inspection between showers, felt a sting on my neck, odd, thought the net was close to my neck but no. The zip in the hood had opened an inch and a few got straight in. Result, sting on the neck, eyebrow and a few more on my head. But after a couple of...

Are you treating for Apiguard? (OA treatment is for winter use) Are you feeding your bees? Not clear if you put on the old extracted super or a new one. Whatever if the bees are still bringing in nectar let them fill the super and leave it for them to over winter on, making sure of course to...

Some say a couple of days, depends on the size of the colony. I have just taken a wet super off my smallest hive, half full brood box, and it was on for 5 days. Nice and clean when I took it off with just a few bees on it. How is you forage, are bees still taking in nectar? These questions you...

Sorry, over a bucket, skewer across the top, muslin hanging over the skewer. Skewer! could be any long thin rod. (this is to get the last of the honey out of the muslin cloth after use) There ya go. Happy honey filtering.

Good case of taking a large cloth to help with extraction, I brush the bees off the frames and put the honey frame quickly into another empty super and cover up quickly. Before I put it in the car to take home I move, the now full super, away and any bees left get brushed off to fly home. No...

Will get wet with honey anyway, I use dry and then hang the muslin over a skewer, surprising how much honey drips out. Fatwa on Tom Bick I think!

At last someone has put on the right solution, don't worry, if the hive is still active put the super under the brood box, and let the bees fill them as over winter stores. I have ended up with brood and half on a very strong colony, half on the bottom. I will leave them to it and get there...

Ops, I see he has replied!

I must say that I have pm'ed Rab in the past and he has always given me good, detailed advice, I think if you take his advice as he first wrote it, and as Finman already supported, you couldn't go far wrong. He can be a bit er, blunt, but his advice is usually on the button. Give him a chance, I...

If you are adding foundation in another brood box, I would also think about feeding to help draw out the comb as the forage is starting to reduce and while you have plenty of bees in the hive could be a good time to do this.

Year 2 is when you need the mentor! that's when the trouble starts and the questions come. It's much more fun though.

You need to leave well alone, pollen can be a good sign of a laying queen. Have a look at your books, work out when the queen should of emerged, should start laying and be patient, the bees will sort things out for themselves. The reason I won't give times for looking in is so you make up you...

I always find that that nice calm colony of bees a month ago turn a little defensive come this time of year. Mine have, with a few following, but don't stay around for long. Bees give a warning by hitting you on top of the head rather than going for the sting. That's the time to move if you...

I think you did the correct thing, and yes be patient, but not sure it was supercedure though. Just swarming. How old was your queen? had she reduce laying? The second years is always the one that you really start how to be a beekeeper.

Balsam early, blackberries late, privet in flower. Upside down year. I was born and bred in the centre of London, ain't much different here as in Cornwall. Been watching the temps and surprising that it's as warm here as far south. But we are higher and its warmer on the other side of the M1...

The balsam in the Sheffield area has been really early this year by about a month, I usually have it for my winter supplies but this year it may not flower for so long? Until the first frosts you would normally be okay, but this year you will have to wait and see and learn. Never had flowering...

Be careful it you are using a glass flask, they can break if you drop you knife into them to hard. A tip have 2 knifes then one gets hot while you use the other.

The only good thing about the last couple of years is that I have ended up with lots of drawn supers to put onto 2 very strong and large hives, having lost 5 hives over this last spring. Lime, blackberry and HB all in flower!! So 4 on one and the double brood box is getting full and starting on...