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  1. Rich0909

    What's going on?

    If a regular pattern of brood in the super frames it might be the case that they were laid up with eggs and young brood before you moved them and you didn't notice?
  2. Rich0909

    Honey barrier shallow box as excluder ?

    If they get short of brood space they will uncap it and use or move it in order to expand the brood nest. Try it and let us know how it goes.
  3. Rich0909

    Cherry laurel

    Is it definitely cherry laurel - they don't normally flower anywhere near this early in the year?
  4. Rich0909

    Oxalic acid solution

    Wynne Jones sell Oxalic in syrup (500ml) or the crystals with easy instructions for mixing yourself.
  5. Rich0909

    Bees on Laurel hedge

    Nectar, laurel has "extra-floral nectaries" i.e they have small glands on the leaf stalk that produce nectar. The exact function isn't understood but it may be to attract ants which then defend the plant against other insect pests. I think from memory cherries and some beans also have them.
  6. Rich0909

    Bees in chimney

    There is a reasonable possibility they are still at the scouting stage and not actually moved in yet - I've seen it before with a cloud of bees round the chimney and turning up in various rooms and then suddenly all goes quiet as they decide on an alternative location. If possible get them to...
  7. Rich0909

    Help! Wild Honey headache!

    Without frames you are going to have more of a problem as the comb will be attached to the underside of the crownboard, or roof if there was no crownboard in, and probably to the sides of one or more supers too. No doubt someone has had to tackle a similar situation and can advise a better...
  8. Rich0909

    library of pollen photos

    Collecting pollen (and nectar?) from Viburnum bodnantense 'Dawn'.
  9. Rich0909

    Securing motorised radial extractor

    Our association one comes with a T shaped piece of wood about 75mm wide * 15mm thick with countersunk bolts for the three extractor feet. Extractor legs are under tension once on the bolts and it seems to work pretty well. Rich
  10. Rich0909

    Books for Christmas

    Another slightly different idea - I enjoyed "Honey and Dust: Travels in Search of Sweetness" by Piers Moore Ede which is part travel story, part life story and part beekeeping. Our association library has a copy, presumably donated. Also recommend the Dave Goulson books for those with general...
  11. Rich0909

    Newbie needs help!

    One piece of general advice - never knock down queen cells without considering why they are there. At this time of year are they thinking of swarming? Possible but unlikely - they are more likely to be there because either the queen is no longer alive and they are trying to replace her or the...
  12. Rich0909

    Disappointing July flow

    In suburban Ipswich I've extracted 300lb from 4 hives over the last few days, mostly brought in late June and early July. The combination of warmth, occasional downpours and plenty of soil moisture from the wet winter seems to have lead to both bramble and lime producing nectar here. Previous...
  13. Rich0909

    Flow over?

    Slowed right down here in Suffolk about 10 days ago, just odd flowers on the brambles, lime well over. Ticking over on runner beans, phacelia, russian sage and lots of other minor sources, probably no major flow until the ivy flowers now. Too dry for HB here, doesn't even seem to grow well by...
  14. Rich0909

    Phacelia tanacetifolia (purple tansey)

    I keep a couple of patches going at the allotment as bees, bumbles especially, like it. Honey bees don't tend to go for it unless there isn't another flow on, they have just come back to it here now the lime and bramble flows are over, they seem to find it difficult to get through the long...
  15. Rich0909

    How NOT to do an Artificial Swarm

    Put a box over them, they will soon move up into it, you can then move them out of the way. Rich
  16. Rich0909

    Bees walking on the floor

    Looks like DWV to me I'm afraid. You'll get a better varroa figure by leaving 3-5 days and averaging but one day will give you an indication of whether you have a heavy load or not. Rich
  17. Rich0909

    Bees walking on the floor

    I find it not uncommon to have a few wandering around where I have hives on hard surfaces but if their wings look like this: http://www.die-honigmacher.de/kurs4/seite_33302.html you need to take varroa control measures quickly. Rich
  18. Rich0909

    Jars - from who & how much?

    Local beekeeping supplies place - "Glass jars 1 lb with gold lids (box of 72 jars) £24.00", 33p each. Hardly worth the bother of emptying out the lemon curd, cleaning and removing old labels, unless you really really like lemon curd.... Rich
  19. Rich0909

    Removal of bees from brick pillar

    Had a call Sunday afternoon from an elderly lady who had a swarm arrive on Friday on the side of her driveway entrance pillar, bees gradually entered the pillar over the weekend. I went to have a look and it is a one and a half brick square pillar about 3' high with a concrete capping. There is...
  20. Rich0909

    am I being impatient

    I would avoid inspecting too much at present as new queens can be prone to flying off. I would take a quick look at a central comb from each hive - if the cells in the brood area are empty and have a polished / shiny look then it is more likely you have a queen who will start to lay soon, if...
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