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Hi Folks. Local Association is about to put up a display, the theme being 'Beekeeping Through the Ages'. Would anybody have any items of historic beekeeping interest that we could borrow to put on show? Thinking of a timeline-type display comprising equipment, media articles, journals, video...

Sherriff. Have a full suit, and similar for BK+1, plus jacket and a suit for 4 year old beekeeper's apprentice (he'll grow into it!). No complaints. Suit and jacket have been in regular service since 2009, wearing thin and faded but still good protection. Like my old pick-axe repaired at...

There's the paradox. Water doesn't 'bend' light so much as a heavily laden solution. Even though water is clearly not '0% moisture' the reading reflects its property of allowing light to pass 'relatively' unhindered. The Brix scale corresponds to the number of grams of cane sugar dissolved in...

That would make it a refractometer with quite a wide range to accommodate dw and honey. Making it quite a low resolution. Can't say that I have ever encountered such an instrument.

Distilled water is no calibration medium for a honey refractometer. The intricate mechanism is built to operate in the expected range and the moisture content of bee-processed honey is typically around 18% (can be higher or lower of course). Calibration is checked and adjusted using a sample of...

Check over the syllabus and take comfort that you can talk around the basics therein. Be keyed up especially on the diseases and pests mentioned, as you are likely to be asked to describe signs, symptoms and actions (particularly EFB/ AFB). Keep your smoker alight. Don't let go of your hive...

Orientation flights. Fixing the position of the hive before stage 2 - tuning the sat nav.

Are you thinking about the bees? Do they really need a double brood arrangement? If you start to pull a large brood nest to bits you may cause all sorts of problems, especially as it sounds as if the frames carry nectar too. Could be counterproductive. If the deeps contain substantial amounts...

How many frames of brood? They won't use super space until they need it. The brood nest is surrounded by an arch of pollen then an outer and upper arch of stores. Bees won't put stores in a super just for the benefit of a beekeeper! Sounds as if you have way too much brood space. I've had that...

Agreed on mite zapping but the need to feed will surely catch many out, waiting for good weather to arrive. It must be a dilemma, knowing as they must that there are some highly effective treatment methods around. Now, where did I put those Apistan strips?

Wow - some harsh comments here! If the advice saves just one colony that may have otherwise succumbed to starvation the bulletin has been worthwhile. Same old same old perhaps, but good advice for those lower on the learning curve and whose bees are at risk. Maybe another lump of sugar in one's...

Why would you even consider moving them? Do you really think that a little extra exposure is going to markedly influence their need and ability to forage? You'll cause more mayhem by moving them than any unlikely detrimental effect of shading. Would you consider moving a tree by the same...

As was smoking!

For the record, 12 weeks of study and rigorous written examinations and practical assessments - but hey, let's not get personal :)

I take it by the apparent condemnation of all things H&S that you are jumping on the bandwagon and using this issue of reasonable control measures to bash all aspects of safety management. We all have choices - just as the ill-informed manager has the choice to implement 'silly' or...

Yippee! So did I. However, try and show me just one piece of H&S legislation that is not appropriate. I'm not talking of rumour-mongering and 'bad press'. Yes, there are tales of conker matches being prohibited in playgrounds and such-like but these over-zealous, back-protecting...

Examples? The OP asked a perfectly reasonable question concerning a health hazard only to see an inference by certain irresponsible people that such equipment isn't needed - even in the light of manufacturers' acknowledgement of the risks. Go figure. I've had that déjà vu before...

I would imagine that this is aimed, in part, at me. Yes, I am in fact a H&S professional as part of my work. It's unfortunate that attitudes like yours contribute to untold misery when it's all too late and damage to health occurs through an unnecessarily cavalier or misinformed approach. Oxalic...

The dust masks as supplied for use with some vapourisers are not suitable for fumes. Indeed, poor protection with any degree of complacency makes for a dangerous combination. I've had that déjà vu before...

Leave them there. Get crowd funding and build a few more. Place buckets under nozzle, pump bellows a few times- hey presto honey on tap. I've had that déjà vu before...