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If the problem isn't to do with disease. Then I wonder if there is a common source of resource they are using ie water that is contaminated/polluted?

Were you feeding them, to help them establish the colony? NBU issued a starvation alert on 29/06/16. Your colony may have abandoned the hive due to depleted stores during a difficult time.

Yep I agree, a good basis that they haven't swarmed & queen still there. But should still establish if that she is. If she is, then they could be prepping for swarming or supercedure. If she has been despatched by the hive or demised, then its supercedure. Then stripping down the QC will...

A young queen is no guarantee of longevity. I did a split in May to repopulate a hive. New queen reared, mated & laying plenty of brood in a good pattern. All looked good. Last week couldn't find her, & hive superceding, no young larvae or eggs (hive not swarmed). This week still no queen, few...

Hi Briarfield, I was prescribed an antiviral drug & eyedrops for the shingles. Also as my joint pain had increased, I also used diclofenac (nsaid) for a week or 2. I used to use this long term for joint pain & stopped using 9mths ago. I didn't have any allergic reaction with bee stings, when I...

Until very recently in my mere 3 yrs of beekeeping I haven't had a bad reaction to a bee sting. But in late April I caught shingles & a couple of wks later as the worst of the swelling over left eye was clearing. I got stung on the forehead, back of hand & finger. Back of hand swelled up...

eye eye .ₒ...... ₒ ..\...../ ...\ₒₒₒ/ .(ʘ||ʘ) .... ͝͝

Thanks for the replies regarding my question about insulation. All taken on board - or is that kingspan :)

I have a questions as whether to insulate or not. The late part of winter of 2013/14 was very mild (my 1st beekeeping winter). Bees were active too early & nearly starved due to lack of forage available. So my questions are. Does insulating the hive make the hive more susceptible to...

Just a quick update; Checked hive 5 days after noticing absence of queen & presence of 2 QCs. The 2 QCs had either hatched & then stripped down, or the original queen still present & bees decided not to supercede. So decided to leave hive alone for a couple of wks & wait & see. After 2 wks of...

Thanks for the replies. Decided to play the waiting game as the supplier I've bought from before is out of stock. The new queen should hatch in about 5 days, so will see in about 3-4 wks if she's a good un or a drone layer.

Hachit?

Is it too late for a hive to requeen itself? I inspected hive 2 yesterday (12 days since last full inspection due to weather & other reasons). To find no sign of the queen, no uncapped larvae or eggs, only capped worker cells on 5 frames & 2 sealed supercedure cells on adjacent frames. I dont...

As another of the 'devils children' :D I chose to use the flat bladed one which is suitable for both left & right handed people.

Thanks for the replies Itma & Thymallus, The crystallisation causing the water % to rise make sense. So its likely that the bees did find some OSR, the question is to what extent & how much of my harvest it makes up. Not keen on melting the wax & honey & separating. HMF & pasteurising the honey...

In addition, The only OSR I've noticed this summer in the vacinity of the hives was about a mile & a half on the other side of the village. Also all frames were sealed & water content I measured from one was 19.6% so on high side. Is it OSR in this super, which was the 1st super filled so from...

Hi All, Hive 2 seemed to have done well this year. 5 Supers with sealed frames of honey. Though this has been dwindling due to low nectar flow & bees moving honey downwards. My 1st attempt last weekend to clear a few supers of bees failed due lack of space under clearer board. So this time...

No, but salicylic acid is though. Before aspirin was discovered. People used to chew willow bark to cure headaches & alleviate other aches & pains. Something I learnt in chemistry when I was at college c1997.

So they're doped up on asprin?

Try putting them under power lines - no extra honey but your bees'll will hum :D