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Inspected the 3 hives at the allotment site over the weekend. 2 are really slow to build up so plan to unite them next weekend and then possibly buy in a new queen afterwards. The third is doing ok but was recently upgraded from a nuc to full hive. Replaced a couple of frames of foundation with...

Inspected hive no.6 today which is one that we look after for an elderly gentleman in their garden. My wife and I were shocked to find about 16 frames of brood and not much space for any more. Some queen cups and one did have an egg in it so they'll be off soon. Stuck a super on. Will...

Inspected the three allotment hives and bit of a mixed bag. First hive on a double was not doing great so knocked it down to a single. Must have superseded end of last summer as unmarked queen now. Was hoping to expand the second hive on 8 frames but didn’t need it. Third hive which was in a...

Thanks for your advice Eric. Got 3 on double brood and will check them out at the weekend and see if any action is required.

Thanks Eric. The amount of unused comb is the same in both diagrams but is it the more central position of the unused comb and the way the brood nest is split in diagram 2 that encourages the bees to make maximum use of it?

Hi Eric. Don’t think my hives are as advanced as yours but interested to know the conditions at which you reverse brood boxes and what the expected results are. Got 3 double brood I haven’t been into yet as never seems warm enough for a full inspection. Thanks!

Checked one garden hive that has been kicking out loads more dead than the others and was a bit of mess inside. Damp double brood boxes, mouldy frames towards the outside and shed loads of dead on the floor. 3 frames with brood and still plenty of bees. Gave them a new floor and reduced them to...

Weighed all the hives over the last couple of days and only a nuc needed fondant adding. A couple of hives (with plenty of live bees) had maintained their weight over the last 3 weeks so must have been making best use of the forage.

All hives flying well this weekend, although am concerned about one of the home hives as they have been chucking out a lot more dead than the others and on the inspection board there is just a small amount of cappings at the front. No clear lines of cappings on the board like the others. Gave...

Just got into growing your own although it is my wife who is the driving force behind it. Got an allotment site nearby in August last year for an apiary and some growing. Moved three hives there a few weeks back and now making plans for what to grow this year. Garlic already planted and most of...

Stunning Blackthorn (I think) on the site next to the new allotment apiary.

The cherry blossom has just started in the Queen of the Suburbs so expect to see the bees piling in the pollen when it gets a few degrees warmer.

Weighed the two garden hives and checked the fondant level on the three at the allotment and all well. The strongest hive chucked out a shed load of dead bees when the cold spell finished a couple off weeks back and has continued to throw out a lot more than the others. Plenty of bees looking...

oops. wrong thread

Stuck fondant on two hives at the new allotment apiary, strapped up all 3 hives and put a few bricks on top. Good to see the bees going back into the hives rather than heading back to my garden. Them magic twigs are magic 🤪

Moved 3 hives from the garden to a new allotment site, only about 400m away as the bee flies. Having been stuck inside for a couple of weeks and with the addition of ‘magic twigs‘, hopefully they won’t fly home at the next opportunity. Weighed all hives and a couple were down to about 10lb of...

The jar I kept from my first year in summer 2019 has hardly any crystallisation whereas the jar from summer 2022 has completely set already. Regarding the different textures of naturally set, what determines whether it sets into either smooth or coarse crystals?

The nuc in the garden was down to about 2kg of stores and so put 1.3kg of fondant on. Looked rammed in there when I took the top off. Will weigh them again in a few weeks to see how they are getting on.

Move 3 of the 5 hives in the garden to our nearby allotment site if we ever get a prolonged cold spell. Otherwise just move them and put some magic twigs outside the entrance 🤪 Get at least one more outlet to sell the honey. Proper varroa monitoring (sugar roll). Will try a Demaree again as...

15 degrees today, all 5 hives flying and a small amount of almost white pollen coming in. One hive on single brood box dummied down to 8 frames seemed very strong going into autumn but is the quietest of the lot now. Hopefully not a failing queen. Only a couple of months now until the cherry...