Search results

Beekeeping & Apiculture Forum

Help Support Beekeeping & Apiculture Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
  1. T

    Nuc makers

    I bought one of the Th@rne's poly nucs. The whole bottom panel knocks off, removing the entrance as well. Might be worth a try?
  2. T

    Laying workers/failed queen? and queen cells?

    I don't have much experience of drone laying in colonies but seem to have 2 hives doing it this year. I took a gamble and put in a mated queen into the first to see what would happen. She has been accepted but not laying yet. I figure that's the major hurdle over. I faffed about so long that...
  3. T

    New Queen laying well.....now Queen cells!!!

    Just wanted to add my experience over the last couple of days: I introduced a mated queen to a queen less colony a couple of weeks ago. Looked in for first inspection on Sunday to find a good laying pattern with tiny amount of capped brood, mostly stages of larvae and eggs but also.... 6...
  4. T

    Are swarms attracted to apiaries?

    Origin Colony to cluster is quoted at up to 100m. Cluster to destination up to a couple of miles.
  5. T

    oh dear

    Well I agree with that. It is the wider 'my way is right' that I was debating. In not the most articulate way.
  6. T

    oh dear

    Well it was a dull Sunday afternoon so I had to wind everyone up. However the first part of this sentence shows you don't really understand bee colony fission, or the role of beekepers in the spread of the foul broods eg adult bees from wild colonies in areas without beekeeping rarely...
  7. T

    oh dear

    I disagree with your definition of 'responsible'. Swarming is a natural phenomenon, I have yet to see a swarm chasing an old lady or child down the street (entertaining though that would be). If her colonies routinely swarm it suggests that they are not weakened by disease but are in fact...
  8. T

    Swarming again

    Sounds like just forum supposition then. Still worth establishing if there is a queen in there or not.
  9. T

    Swarming again

    I've read of a similar event on this forum this year. It has been suggested that the new queen may have begun laying before completing her final mating flights. If this is the case she may have 'bought it' on a late flight with these as replacement queen cells. I guess it might be handy to know...
  10. T

    A swarm from no where

    Well, ancestry and genetics aside a swarm will move from its point of origin to a cluster point within about a hundred yards. When it moves from its cluster point it can go a long way. So if you find a cluster in a tree it usually (note the 'usually') comes from within a hundred yards or so...
  11. T

    A swarm from no where

    Means you have a colony of 'wild' bees within a hundred yards of your apiary. Probably a swarm of yours from a previous year. Hopefully it means that they might have some resistance to varroa so try not to buy in a replacement queen.
  12. T

    Melting and cleaning Beeswas

    You can melt it in the oven if you have good control of the temperature. Put it in a tallish (preferably sacrificial) container with equal parts rain water. Heat until it is melted, and leave to cool. Most of the crap sinks leaving only a thin film on the bottom of the wax to cut off. The...
  13. T

    New Apiary, hive location - comments and opinions

    2 quick points from a beekeeper who learnt along time ago: Prior to varroa feral bees could last indefinitely. Post varroa many Beekeepers have witnessed wild be colonies collapse as they are overwhelmed and this seems to have led to some sweeping statements about the current situation with...
  14. T

    Aggressive Hives

    Once the eggs from the new queen emerge and the baddies die off
  15. T

    Aggressive Hives

    Aggressiveness is multifactorial (humidity, lack of nectar, disease stress, colony under attack etc). A colony can change its aggressiveness if these factors change, however the genetics can also change if the queen begins laying eggs fertilised by a different drone. Best method to minimise...
  16. T

    Odd bee behaviour

    Interesting. They are going to have such a bad day tomorrow....
  17. T

    Odd bee behaviour

    Hi Guys, just need a bit of advice. My bees have been doing fine so far but this evening just looking at the landing board they are 'crash landing' with quite a few of them completely missing the landing board or bouncing off it and sitting on the floor for a while before trying again. They...
  18. T

    Larvae found in my honey supers- advice wanted

    I was referring to you having a queen being a good thing. The queen you have is the marked one, if the cups are empty I wouldn't worry about it. I might check them again in a few days though if you're still worried.
  19. T

    Larvae found in my honey supers- advice wanted

    Glad to hear it all looks good. It's often a relief to be wrong.
  20. T

    Larvae found in my honey supers- advice wanted

    This does look a lot like laying workers. I can't see much by way of young uncapped larvae on your brood frame, and if they are more aggressive this all suggests a colony that has been queenless for more than a week. I am hoping I'm wrong as this can be hard to fix. Have you identified a...
Back
Top