Search results

It has been shown that colonies are more likely to be broodless in November rather than Dec/Jan. I would normally have vaped by now, but it has been so mild, that I will vape after this cold spell.

I admire your ambitions. I took over a neglected club apiary last year. I am experienced. My first task was to sort out and clean up equipment that was to be kept as some was very tatty and some filthy. Then I sorted out apiary layout and gave grass and hedges a good trim. Come the season, I...

I agree with the advice above, to first handle a full 14x12 frame. I find them too unwieldy so I stick to BS national deep. Try to have one standard throughout your apiary. Mix and match can cause no end of problems

Through practical experience I am learning good husbandry. That tells me to open at this time.e of year is not in the bees best interests

One of my first lectures at Med school was " when are you ill" I.e. not healthy. After much discussion the main answer was , " when you decide you are" . So many different parameters to consider, so subjective. I fear the answer may be the same for a colony of bees.

But what do you mean by healthy? All colonies have endemic pests and parasites. The question may be in the answer

I use framed metal QE. Always put fondant on that. Makes any moving or removing of fondant so much easier. More readily available to bees than above a CB

Welcome. Sounds like you have done very well in your first year. The second is generally a bit more trying but from how you have managed so far should not be a problem.

Took all feeders off. Hives a good weight. Bees were well behaved. Lots of orientation flights and pollen going in. Weather very mild thus far. I might delay my winter vape by a few weeks

Have they, or you, changed the queen? For me it has been a very odd year, with weather so changeable and at times so dramatic , that my bees temperament changed back and forth during the year. Never so bad that I thought about taking action. See what they are like in spring

Not necessarily. Once in the hive, the handling bees blow bubbles with the nectar, increasing surface area, before putting it in the comb for further evaporation

No matter how good, you, or your bees,are, you will get stung occasionally

Second vote for Old Castle. I have used their ventilated suit for 2 years and no stings through it. The idea of these is that they have 3 layers, the total depth of which is more than the length of a sting. If your bees are that nasty ( is it all the time) that you need to wear 3 gloves, I would...

In order to transport food it must be liquid to go into the crop. Hence any fondant will be dissolved to take it down into hive. That is logical according to my knowledge of bee physiology. Whether it later crystallises out like some honeys is a guess.

My counts are something like, ok, fair, keep an eye, oh whoops.

I am happy to use apiary level hygiene. In an apiary I do not worry about which box goes where etc.

Having spent a lifetime in medicine and know a bit about aseptic techniques, I find " sterilisation " techniques around beekeeping a laugh. For example, a shook swarm- lovely clean, scorched box, new frames, and then dump a load of dirty, disease carrying bees in. I do not scorch my own...

Interested. Can't find it. Any chance of a link, please?

3 is my limit.

Bees cannot adjust the size of a cavity in a tree, so why so much worry? I let the bees tell me what to do. I have no problem overwintering on double brood, if the colony is strong. Stores always go on top, so that is where I would place a full super. A super with bits and pieces of stores goes...