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I used this method successfully last year, and intend to go the same way this summer. I used what T's call a wire excluder frame trap, and my local supplier calls a queen trapping frame. I was first introduced to this bit of kit as a biotechnical method for varroa control, but it's use in...

thanks for pointing out the imperfect menu label - perhaps the update just completed will be more to your taste?

exactly! chortles loudly having enjoyed afternoon in sun replacing QEs in random orientations in my hives.

bee pond Got hired help (actually my 12 yr old son) to dig a hole in the apiary so we could sink an old dustbin - to make a permanent water supply for the bees. Also trimmed away the weeds, put some weed mats down, and wrecked my back spreading wood chips. At least I can forget about...

great photos - technical details please? Early candidate for NHS macro photography competition in October

that seems more sensible than the U of Reading number.

Knowing how unruly beeks can be, I don't disagree with the sentiment. For what it's worth, University of Reading claim that there are 83,000 managed colonies in the UK (summary in Torygraph here). The original research article is in IBRA journal (here), but I don't have a subscription to allow...

as my kids might text/facebook, LOL. I'm too much of a chicken (!) to criticise other people's spelling (and I'm somewhat in awe of the occasional flame war that can break out on this forum).

hear hear

Good point. The microscopy certificate is also very practical - the exam is a demonstration of dissection/slidemaking/pollen ID. Provided you have access to microscopes, of course!

I have one of the plastic tray feeders, which I hadn't used for a couple of seasons. Got it out, as my strong colony seemed very short on stores. After 24hrs, I had a peek to see how they were getting on - I also had a couple of dozen drowned bees. I had forgotten to put some rafts into help...

In my association (with about 20 active members), there are two of us who have submitted ourselves to the BBKA exams. Interestingly, this provoked the response of one our most experienced practical beekeeepers "the association is getting too academic". For him, beekeeping is an important part...

I'm using a Canon 40D dSLR with 50mm f1.8 lens and 20mm extension tube. Am getting these nice pictures with a £70 lens, and £80 set of kenko extension tubes. Though in reality, for bees, I almost exclusively use just the 20mm extension tube (the 12mm and 36mm stay indoors for "studio" work)...

thankyou:)

Nope, just some early autumn sunshine (and reflected light from the white plastic garden chair I'd thrown this wildcomb onto)

The dogs' tongues look a lot like this hungry bee which I snapped yesterday (dSLR with 50mm lens and 20mm extension tube)

finally killed off a small colony that was queenless and had drone-laying worker. Bad case of what I assume was wax moth infestation. Maggots and pupae all over the place. My brood box has dozens of indentations in the wood where the maggots nibbled out a resting place. Quite gross, but it...

My textbooks tell me that Apis m. like geranium pratense, the field geranium. We have a perennial, prostrate geranium (described as ordinary, packet geranium by the head gardener), that attracts all the bumble bees, as well as some honey bees. She certainly seems to be slurping up the nectar...

thanks! A testament to the power of crowdsourcing. Even better, when I google "swedish whitebeam bees", the first hit is BBKA trees So my bees probably knew about it before me. There might be a little doubt as to whether it is Swedish or Mougeott's (sorbus mougeotti), but in the references I...

Victor/John I fear I have sown confusion in this thread. The group of 2 pictures included a blackthorn flower, taken in April, but no longer in flower in this part of Kent. Hawthorn is in full bloom at the moment. I showed this for similarity of flower structure. Then there is the tree of...