Search results

While this forum primarily caters to beekeepers, I assume that many of us share a common love for gardens, dedicating considerable time to their care and upkeep. After all, our gardens are our own slices of paradise. Let's take a moment to share pictures of our gardens and the furniture that...

Hey guys, I would like to tell you about this mouse repellent spray from Amazon that helped me get rid of rats. It's a great alternative to regular poisons that keep bees safe and deters rodents. One night at the beginning of September, I observed a few rats near my hives. The next morning, I...

After a mild winter, local fields have OSR in bloom already, the meadows are covered in dandelions, blossom trees are getting past their peak, but my colonies have not yet built to a size to get the benefit of all that forage. What are you seeing?

I don't remember ever seeing hives so busy in mid December. Mine have a heavy stream of foragers from dawn to dusk, many arriving back with good loads of pollen, Dandelion and lord knows what else. And my IR thermometer reads 24 C when pointed at the brood nest through a perspex window. I'll...

I need to merge two colonies. Conveniently, one has a top entrance, the other bottom. Rather than using the usual newspaper, I plan to separate the comonies using a sheet of green garden mesh which I can slide out after a few days, then close one entrance. Comments please.

I read the thread about eating before an inspection the other day. I thought I'd see the response of an average tempered hive of mongrels to the skin of the banana I was eating. Most of those actually on the banana had their tongues out. There were no signs of aggression and I wasn't followed...

I walked past this tree with earphones pushed into my ears listening to an audiobook but even so I heard so much buzzing that I looked up expecting to see a swarm. I don't think I have ever seen more honeybees working on a tree, even a lime. What is it? Every street should have one!

It's very warm and humid after rain here, and one hive has a very large beard, There is a heavy stream of foragers still working, and I was wondering what hive duties these bearders have abandoned to hang out outside for a few hours, or maybe overnight.

I was pleased to find plenty of these in the top box of my busiest hive. I had to leave a couple behind due to a patch of brood, but I'll be back!

During this dry spell there has been more water collection than usual from sources like the bird bath and next door's pond, but every night the hives are busy fanning away, now getting rid of water. With the recent low daytime temperatures I don't suppose the 'day'water is being used for...

This bee was foraging on my Wallflowers. It was not far from honeybee size, and it looks like a mining bee, but not 'ginger' enough for a tawny. Maybe Andrena bicolor, denticulata, or?

Yet another person has told me that they want to start beekeeping to "help save the bees". If this is what is motivating you to start beekeeping and visit this forum, please look at this article then do some further reading if you need to check facts. Article It's a great hobby, but there is a...

The temperature here has just crept up to 2 degrees, and not surprisingly there is no bee activity. But there is a thin but steady stream of wasps entering the hives unchallenged. I will go and squish what I can, but they just keep coming! Grrr!

It's bright and 13 degrees here, the best weather for a while and the hives are very busy with plenty of pollen of many colours coming in. It's almost December now and I'm surprised to see drones still flying and large numbers of wasps still trying their luck. I can't remember this so late in...

IMPACT OF DIFFERENT FEED ON INTESTINE HEALTH OF HONEY BEES. Goran Mirjanic, Ivana Tlak Gajger, Mica Mladenovic, Zvonimir Kozaric I came across a reference to this 2013 paper on this subject on a Warre beekeeping website. I don't think it has been discussed here before. (My apology if I missed...

A bad year here for Jaspers. Not only are many of the buggers bullying their way into the hives despite my deploying usual precautions of reduced or confusing entrances, but they are also descending in hordes to munch through my grapes by the kilo, even though they are not at the point of...

I just came across this again. It made me smile. Maybe you will too.

It seems to me that since the site was revamped there have been an unusually high number of postings in this forum from new bee members. I'm sure there must be a good reason?

I have just watched a guard bitten in half while struggling to eject a wasp. This abdomen was then carried off by a wasp, maybe the same one. I hope this was a fluke!

Spotted today in Glastonbury. A good registration for a beek.