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I have lost three out out of four this winter in Suffolk, one I thought might have been queenless going into the winter but the other two heavy and fed. Fingers crossed for my last one (and bait hives out early). First ever winter loses in seven winters. I had began to think I knew what I was...

Fended off three more swarm collection requests (I'm out of kit) and then found that the farmhouse near my hives has bees in the wall - silly swarming season this year.

I'd have thought so too - it was beginning to crystallise which releases some water if I remember my O'level chemistry correctly which may have been the cause. It was certainly on the turn. Anyway ~35 jars emptied into feeders and a lot of very happy bees were seen. I'm on a major ivy flow...

All Thanks for the help - I have just tested it - its around 18.5% water (rats, note to self to check everything in future not just OSR) its in jars and I think it will soon be in feeders :-)

I don't have any brewing kit and I assume 40 pounds would make rather a lot of mead?

Thanks! How about still runny dark honey now full of minuscule bubbles with light froth on surface ring. Tastes (and smell) changed from fantastic to (sadly) fermenting honey, none of the above seem to cover that?

Took off my two full supers this year (rubbish crop) sat down and spread this year's honey onto some bread at lunchtime to find its bl00dy fermenting as seemingly is the rest of the crop. Rats! I'm sure it was all capped (in fact I was so sure I didn't bother with the reflectometer). Looks...

Hello "Mrs WebMuppet" - good to find a friend on here! - WapBane really is a good tool but as Mrs Witchcraft says the wasps are very vermiscious this year (Good old Roald Dahl) Mark

Did an inspection and found what plant the set aside next to my hives is full of that the bees love so much, its Purple Tansy or Phacelia Tanacetifolia - Bees love it (especially as there is no HB near me)

I'm nearby but south of the original poster near Stowmarket fully rural but have had an excellent summer due to the local farmers planting beans then a good bramble and old man's beard flow - Chuffed

That picture reminds me of my wooden brood box that hit the deck after a Th0rne$ hive stand leg split - It was a Demaree box I was trying to clear onto of three supers. Trying to decide whether its for the log burner or repairable :-(

Yes I do

After the "inspection" I just tried to do on a windy grey day (see my ouch, ouch... thread) I sometimes thing we don't need to inspect as regularly as we do.

My mistake I guess but I keep my hives on pallets. As I was taking the top BB (ex demaree) off my big and generally friendly hive the pallet broke and three supers and two BBs collapsed (think Twin Towers) - how many bees are there in a full bore summer hive during a field bean flow? - more...

I have just come back from my bees and boy were they were pretty tetchy, they are normally fine. I expected this as I know there are storms about. However I am in Suffolk and the nearest storms are around London - Can they really detect it that far. I am a contributor to Blitzortung and our...

Nice big prime swarm just went into one of my (slightly baited - don't tell the neighbours) old brood boxes. Hugely impressive when it arrived filling two gardens. An evening of frame making for me then and an early start to get them out to my out-apiary :-)

Rotting pallets (I must put down some slabs!) on weed infested clay/rubble (stingers) behind a barn backing onto OSR and bean fields, I take a pair of lawn clippers with me to ensure I have a working area around the hives. Love the apiary pictures above :-)

Err - your Sig block certainly suggests you are an Oscar :-)

Thanks Oscar - I guessed so. I'm right the other end of our county between Bury and Hadleigh

Silly question, but here goes. What is to stop me going to a charity shop and buying a couple of old saucepans to make a bain-marie to melt my scrap wax (I have loads thanks to losing two hives to wasps in the the late summer, where the wasps have trashed the combs) rather than waiting for...