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Hi, We have a varroa problem at the moment which I don't think can wait until August, so I want to treat asap. The thing is the bees have a Q that they're not happy with and at the moment there is a supercedure cell (capped) in the hive, which should hatch next weekend. Should I wait until the...

Hi, I had a the bee inspector round (due to AFB in the area) and he found 3 Q (I sealed, 1 unsealed, 1 empty) cells in my colony that swarmed 3 weeks ago. This colony already has a laying new Q and there were lots of eggs present today. There is also loads of room and empty cells galore for...

hi, I was hoping for some advice on recombining please. we had a swarm 2/3 weeks ago (our swarm) and hived them in our spare hive and fed with syrup as we only had 3 super frames and the rest undrawn brood frames, so wanted to encourage them to draw out the brood frames. they were taking syrup...

Hi, About midday today i looked out the window and saw my bees were about to swarm- there were loads covering the front of the hive and roof. We rushed outside and while my husband made up some new frames for our spare hive to collect them in, i kept an eye on them to see where they were going...

I'd be interested in acquiring a colony of the native black bees. Seems like I'll have to wait a few years though... http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2012/apr/18/black-honeybees-rediscovered-in-britain

Hi, I'm pregnant and was just wondering if anyone here has had any adverse reactions to bee stings while pregnant? As it's getting near to the first inspection, just was wondering if I should take extra precautions (like let my husband do all the work ;) ). I was really lucky last year and...

I thought honeybees didn't like the juice from rotting apples, but in the garden this morning I noticed a lot of my bees feasting on them. I know there's a dearth of nectar at the moment, but I would have thought they'd prefer the neopoll I've left on for them (they are eating this also)? They...

Hi, I believe I have 2 queens currently in the hive, and was told that often the old & new queens will lay side by side during winter with no problems and then sort themselves out in spring. I just want to check that I don't have to do anything as I don't want one of them to disappear with half...

Sorry if this has been answered a thousand times, but I'm not 100% clear still on how to apply oxalic acid. Adding drops to 'seams' of bees - does that mean the gaps between the frames where they are? And do I have to make sure I don't drip too much on individual bees?

Hi, I put my mouse guard on last weekend as I thought it was getting sufficiently cold that the bees weren't doing much and hadn't seen any wasps for a few days. However, whenever I've nipped down to look at the hive, I've seen a few wasps hanging around and a couple going in through the mouse...

Hi, I've got some of Hivemaker's thymol recipe but am unsure how much to add to my half litre of syrup. I only have one hive so I only make up 1kg of sugar at a time. It says add 5ml per gallon of syrup, so how much is that for 1/2 litre? Google says 1 gallon is 4.5 litres so does that mean I...

My bees want to supercede their queen, something I understand is apparently fairly common at this time of year if she's not properly mated, injured etc. However, it seems to me that it's a bad time for them to attempt this due to poor weather conditions. By the time she hatches and flies, it'll...

Hi, I don't want to use oxalic acid in winter, so can someone tell me what alternatives there are please? I'm currently using apiguard and having a high-ish mite drop (150+ over 72 hrs) so would you say that this would require another treatment later in the year?

Hi, I want to make Hivemaker's thymol syrup to guard against nosema this autumn, but I'm unsure about quantities as the recipe seems to be geared towards multiple hives. Is there a much smaller amount that I can make as I only have one hive? Also, I don't want to use oxalic if I can avoid it...

Hi, Can anyone tell me the pollen colour of buddleia please? It's not on any pollen charts that I can find. I'm curious as my bees are covering the Davidii Black Knight that's in my garden.

Hi, I was going to attempt making mead for the first time as I have a lot of cappings to get rid of, but I can't find anything about how to process these cappings. Do I need to heat it all up and then strain it? Presumably it shouldn't boil though, should it? Thanks!

Hi, I returned from holiday to find that my bees had unfortunately swarmed and about 10 Q cells (sealed) on various frames. No eggs at all, just sealed brood. I have destroyed all but 2 of the best looking cells, so am hoping that one of those will be viable. My question is about space: the...

A supplier I ordered from has let me down as when the delivery of my national roof, floor, CB and other bits arrived, I discovered some of the parts were made appallingly badly. The roof looked like it had been knocked together by a 10 year old and several bits had come off due to the inept...

Hi there, My bees have 3 supers on the go at the moment; the most recent being about half drawn but little nectar in it. I'm going to be going away soon for 12 days (honeymoon) and want to ensure they have enough space while i'm gone. Can I extract the oldest super, even though it's only about...