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In the apiary? Well, not exactly. A few days ago I told of my grand-daughters making honey biscuits. The biscuits have been enjoyable, but they were not “like mother used to make”. I checked through some old recipe books which contain traditional recipes, and found quite a lot of variation...

In the last few days there have been several comments which mentioned slugs which sometimes find their way into hives. In one of the comments, copper tape was mentioned as being a repellant for slugs and snails. I had not heard of this kind of method for repelling snails, and when I did a...

It has been interesting to read recent comments about preparation of hives for winter, and ensuring that the bees had enough supplies to last them through the winter period. I recalled that there had previously been discussions about various ways in which beehives could be monitored. After...

The subject of “feeding bees” has received much attention, from many people, over a very long period of time. Many opinions have been expressed, and these have even led to disagreement. I have suggested four questions, “Why? When? Where? How?” I could even suggest a fifth question - “What?”...

In the two years since I have joined this forum there have been many discussion threads, including some which have been of particular assistance to me. Thank you to those contributors who have been very gracious and helpful. By the same token I appreciate the thanks given by those who have...

Late yesterday afternoon I observed a bee leave the hive landing board, and reach the ground where it walked around, stumbling, like a “drunken sailor”. I got my queen catching clip and picked it up so that I could try to observe it more closely. While inside the clip it continued to stumble...

I would like to share some information about discoveries I have made, concerning the feeding of sugar to bees. There have been many discussions on what might be the best way to feed the bees - whether we should supply syrup, fondant, or granular sugar. Each method has advantages and...

I would like to hear about the experiences which forum members may have had in their attempts at grafting, and with the cell punch method. Grafting is a method which obviously works, but from my observations it works best for those with perseverance and experience, and from the skills that are...

I am aware that there are different kinds of bee predators in different countries. Just now I would like to ask advice on what kinds of measures have been helpful in protecting honey bees from birds which eat them. I know that there are birds in Africa which are called “Bee Eaters”, and I do...

We have had a few pleasant days in Melbourne, which encourage me to think that Spring will soon be here. The bees have been quite active, bringing in pollen, and I have on several occasions observed groups of bees making orientation flights. I have just one hive at the moment, and want to do all...

I watched a Youtube video about making beeswax foundation sheets for honey frames. This video by Tim Rowe shows how he made a simple wax melting tray, and how he makes foundation sheets which can be inserted into the frames at a later date. One of the things he talks about is how the wax sheets...

I want to help my bees as much as possible, to thrive, so that their colony can succeed and survive year by year (and that I can get some honey as well!) Although I am fairly new to this role as a beekeeper, the things I have read (and my own observation) indicate that bees do not always...

I have recently become a beekeeper, and am the owner of two hives, from two different sources. Each of these colonies is in Langstroth 10-frame deep hive boxes. For several reasons, I wish to use 8-frame medium hive boxes as standard equipment in my apiary. I want to use this size of hive box...