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I have used ( borrowed) Paynes polynucs and find they are okay but like others I don't like the built in feeder. Not a fan of frame feeders anyway. I recently bought 5 Maisymores polynucs and think they are really good. Yes there is the issue of bee space but a good puff of smoke usually...

Make the next move onto disposable nitrile or latex gloves. Five squid for 100.

Is there such a sub species of Apis Mellifera that is the " British " bee? If you search for AMM the descriptions are all about the european black bee for example: Apis mellifera mellifera, classified by Linnaeus, 1758 - the dark bee of northern Europe also called the German honey bee -...

Tom - Thanks for your comments. One of the hives started out as a swarm collected last September and I had to put it into a 14x12 box as I did not have a nuc. I thought they might not get through the winter as it was a smallish colony but they did and the queen is indeed prolific - by late...

And what about a swarm ( or two) in March ???

I tried the Demaree method for the first time on three hives but with only one super and Q/E between the BB's ( never thought about 4 !!). Maybe this is why it did n't work for me. I went through a period ( about 2 weeks ) of checking every 4 days for queen cells in both boxes. Top box was...

I ( and my mentor) have some bees on the OSR at the moment and they are bringing in shed loads of yellow pollen - just the same colour as the pic above. Most have it all over their backs too. The girls have so much pollen aboard they can hardly fly! The nectar is also coming in great quantities.

I don't doubt the words of Finman when he says that thymol should be given in autumn, however there has been research on the effects of thymol vs fumadil-B that suggests thymol is very good at supressing nosema and better than fumadil (was) as the effect is cumulative over the years. The...

I am in exactly the same position ! My concern is that if I place a Qx above the brood box and the Queen is still in the super then that becomes the Brood Box and problems increase. My mentor suggested to reverse the boxes ( i.e. super on bottom ) and let the bees and hopefully the queen, move...

Mrs Spadaman got me "The Buzz About Bees" by Jürgen Tautz A wonderful book with fabulous pictures. I borrowed a library copy earlier in the year - the softback version with terribly reproduced B&W pictures, which are so bad you would be hard pressed to even guess the subject matter. The...

Not being a member of Facebook I have not seen any pronouncements from the LBKA, however there was an article in Mondays Daily Telegraph about the lack of forage for urban bees. One comment from the LBKA had me very interested . Quote " Without adequate food bees can become ill, and the...

I had some syrup left over last year ( about 5 lts) and with thymol in. It was perfectly fine when I came to give them some feed in the spring, although some of it was crystalised at the bottom of the bottle. I just stood it in some hot water and gave it a lot of shaking. Along with all the...

Not sure this is correct. Search for Thymol treatment using the Search function - lots of scientific and anecdotal evidence that thymol in syrup reduces occurence of Nosema far more that fumidil b . This was copied ( for reference ) from a posting on this website but I don't have to hand the...

:iagree: never did Paddock with knee down but the old pit lane at the IOM TT ( when they used to let you wander around during practice week) was bliss ! Manx Nortons were my favorite....:drool5:

Yep ! I've got white spotted workers ( no drones) going into one hive - looks like 2011 queens! Loads of them. No idea what it's from but the uncapped honey in the super is very dark. What does Balsam look like ?

I was told to shake them out as far away from the other hives as possible. That way the drone layers don't go back to the hive but the foragers do. David Cramp's book says 200 yds but I cannot do this far so they get about 75 yds. Done three times this year :(

I've got a similar booklet for beginners by Taylors of Welwyn. It states that beekeeping is not time time consuming and only takes 10 minutes a week per hive and only between April and August! Have bees changed or am I doing it wrong?

Can't offer any advice re wax moth eggs as I have never seen any (that I know of) but I have seen what I thought were slug eggs. I have a hive that attracts slugs! The last time I inspected this hive I removed about 10 or 12 slugs of varying size an about 100 or so eggs. I assumed they were...

Okay, here are some scientific facts about the relative merits of foundation ( beeswax) and dummy boards ( plywood) as an insulating material. NB: Disclaimer: This does not constitute advice on which is better for the bees ! A materials effectiveness as a heat insulator is measured by it's...