Search results

A couple of years ago I saved some cotoneaster seeds from a tree in my local arboretum. I set the seeds and they grew. The original tree is more of a tree than many short stubby cotoneasters you find so I was quite pleased. It also has a bright red berry (source of seeds) I have noticed the new...

Hi all, I have just got round to spinning last autumns honey. The supers have been in my garage since autumn. I notice a bit of wax moth damage to the supers, and 5 or 6 large grubs and a couple of moths. Now the honey is spun I am looking to store the supers until spring but am worried about...

Hi all, can anyone identify this plant. Photo taken in the summer. I borrowed some seeds and luckily they are growing. I’d just like to know what it is.

Hi all, Can anyone identify this plant. I took the photo in Sweden during the summer. It stood about 5-6 feet tall and the bees were all over it. Thanks

Can anyone identify this

Where do I stand? Bees are on my land and have been for about 5 years. A neighbour has had a new car. The car gets spatted with bee poop. In previous years this hasn’t been a problem but the new car has prompted her to complain. Not knowing what was causing the marks she has called environmental...

Can I feed fermented honey back to the bees? I took it off the hives last autumn but the water content was too high for consumption. It has fermented slightly in the buckets. Can I feed it back to them?

I have a few customers who buy 12 oz jars 6 and 9 at a time( I sell them for £3.50 each or 3 for £10). They are Asian families and I think they are cooking with the honey. I would like to cut down on packaging by selling in larger jars/pots. Maybe 1kg or even 2kg. Can anyone suggest a nice...

Do you prewar honey before filtering? If so, to what temperature? Obviously I don’t want to get into the realms of melting wax!

I follow the Wally Shaw modified Snelgrove method of swarm control as detailed in the booklet available on the internet. Basically this is detailed as:- Phase one is to move parent hive to new location (more than 3 feet away) but place two frames of eggs in a new hive in original location...

At the end of last season I took off three supers of partially capped honey. These supers have sat in my garage till now. On opening the the supers they smell kind of musty. On one of the supers, anything that was capped has crystallised. Anything that was not capped is very runny and has...

Is it ok to eat honey from frames that have previously had brood in them?

Hi all, due to time constraints I need to combine 2 hives in the next day or so. Normal advice is to combine last thing in the day so all flyers are in but I can't do this. Can I combine first thing in the morning- say 7.00am? Alternatively mid day. I am thinking of the newspaper method. Hives...

Am I ok to feed 1:1 syrup at this time of year. I have a collected swarm in a hive. The hive only has a couple of frames of drawn comb, and the rest is foundation. I would like to help them draw some more comb. I have waited 4 days since the swarm was collected to help them use their stores.

Why do people insist on approaching you whilst you have your bee suit on. My bees temper is not the best, so when I open up they can get a bit tetchy. For this reason I try and inspect when there is no one around. The bees are on family land accessible by multiple families. Not general public...

Hi All - I need some advice. I have 10 national hives and 1 nuc coming through the winter. They were well fed going into winter, and vapourised last month so I am hopeful most will do ok and I'm looking forward to spring. I have been told that I need to go and work abroad from 9th June for...

Can anyone suggest a source of jar/ bucket / container for 1 litre of honey. A colleague of mine is returning to France on Monday and wants to take a couple of litres. I haven't got time to order online so I need a supply of such containers. Supermarket, wilkos etc. Any ideas?

Can anyone roughly quantify 1 gram of oxalic acid crystals? would they represent the size of a pea or marble for instance? 1/4 teaspoon? 1/2 teaspoon etc? I don't have any scales that are that accurate.

Does anyone use a vapouriser under the open mesh floor? Just wondered if this could be easier to administer from the rear of the hive and less intrusive?