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Thanks freefall, That makes sense. very little disturbance and hive still on the same site. Why didnt I think of that? Thanks Simonb for your suggestions also. I dont know if it could be called a small colony, the Nuc box they occupied was crammed with bees on the 3 frames that were in there...

Just thought about it. Would it be better to place another floor and broodbox alongside and transfer all the brood frames leaving the comb behind. I have a feeling the bees are going to go bonkas whatever I do, but at least I should be able to do it fairly quickly and reduce the risk of...

Thanks for that Davelin, The problem is that the comb is very heavy. It started to break up when I lifted it from the nuc and thats why it ended up being dropped into the hive. I thought perhaps they would clean stores from it and store in frames but alas they have just built more on top. It is...

how to remove the brace comb? Hi all, Just had a quick look at the hive but didnt want to open for too long because there were people on the next allotment. It appears that the bees have refilled the gap I had left in the brood frames with comb so now i need to remove it and replace with a...

Hi all, We have just discovered a small colony in a nuc box which we had set up with 3 frames of drawn comb and laced with lemon grass oil, in the hope some bees would fancy a new home. Having only had our first bees last year, its been a bit of a roller coaster ride. We had our first bees in...

hi all, Just like to says thanks for all the advice! decided to go for splitting the colony but could'nt decide how many cells to leave. In the end, I put about forty percent of the brood frames and bees in a new hive (including many cells) and left the rest in the original hive with 1 sealed...

Is it possible to split a colony between 2 brood boxes. Hi all, I have just heared that I have to work away from Thursday, so whatever I do with my bees has to be done tomorow as I may be away for a week. I now have no queen and only queen cells. Rather than splitting, Would it be better to...

Hi all, We had a call from the bee inspector and at his request, we waited until now to inspect our hive. He found our queen dead outside the hive. I obviously missed eggs last Friday because we now have queen cells, one of which is sealed..... some in the middle of the comb and some on the...

I'm hoping this is the case. I've no choice but to wait and see if she lays now she is on the frames. empty cells have been prepared for her and i'm hoping she will recover enough to at least give the bees a chance to realise she is failing (if she is). She is a big queen and has always been...

Just been to our apiary and was expecting to see our colony had expanded further from last week. Two weeks ago, we noticed that they were running short of stores and started feeding. Subsequent inspections, the last being last saturday had eggs, capped/uncapped brood, and stores, saw queen...

Thanks Queens59, This nuc id an overwintered one and so a seemingly strong colony. 4 frames have old comb and all full or nearly full with a newish frame added as the 5th. I was wondering if they had been on the point of swarming and thatswhy the newish frame was added. since being hived, all...

Hi RoseCottage, Thats what I was wondering. It doesnt follow the pattern of "the Books" though! were they going to make a queen then changed their minds? Was the Nuc at the point where it was full and thats why a newish fram had been added? As i said...a little concerned. But the queen was...

Hi jenkinsbrynmair, I would'nt dream of correcting you!.............I just dont know! this was our first proper look at our bees and as we are still at the "look at pictures in the books" stage, We are a little concerned that it may be something out of the norm. As it seems that everything else...

Hi all, Inspected our hive yesterday and came across this. We were quite pleased to see our new foundation being drawn and a big patch of eggs laying in the cells. Loads of bees carrying pollen in. Capped and uncapped lava and large queen scurrying from frame to frame. Then we noticed the cell...

Yes...from colin & wendy chivers? I,m afraid I will have to be guided by them as to the right choice, but from what Ive heard of them and after what you've just said, I have every confidence that there'll be no problems with them... which ever nuc I pick.

cheers for that moggs! Just what I was thinking. I have it on good authority (one of our mentors is the regional bee inspector) that the breeders we are buying from are renowned for their calm, healthy bees. Apparently there has'nt been a problem in the time that he and the previous inspector...

Hi all, I've been watching this forum on and off since last year when we first decided to try beekeeping. Did the theory lectures with our local association through the winter and ordered a nuc, which I have just been informed is ready for collection, hopefully tomorrow evening. As with all...

Thanks for all replies. I have edited location as sugested. Our intention would be more to gain knowlege initially as we hav'nt a clue as yet and so being able to split/increase colonys as an insurance against losing our investment would be more benificial to us than honey production. At the mo...

Hi all, After lots of reading on this forum and others, I have decided to have a go at beekeeping next year. I have bought a flat pack hive and intend to copy it for a second. Up to lesson 6 at the local association meetings. Got permission to keep bees on my allotment and ordered a nuc for...