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I have two strong colonies for sale on standard national hives. Both have 2014 queens. They are South Gloucestershire mongrels, of average to good temperament. The queens are not marked or clipped. They were treated with oxalic acid in January. £150 each. You bring your own hive and we'll...

Anybody any ideas? My bees are in National hives, and someone who is interested in purchasing some of my bees has Langstroth equipment. Is there a way to transfer National brood frames, to a Langstroth hive? I can't think of one. Thanks J

Hi, I have just treated two hives both with a low weekly count, one with the new MAQS strips and one with apiguard. There is a zero mite count in the hive which had the MAQS strips! and a count of 12 after the first fortnight of apigard on the other hive! I haven't seen any earwigs...

Please can you advise me..... I have two frames of fully capped honey, which look even, and white, and very beautiful to me, and I'm thinking of entering one of them at our local honey show later in the year. What will a judge be looking for exactly? should they be plump as would be in a 10...

On the 15th May, I retrieved a swarm from near my apiary. In an effort to find the guilty hive, I inspected my prolific hive and found queen cells. I did an AS removing all queen cells bar two, one on one frame, and one on another. So one of the queen cells went with the house bees and brood...

I attended the 'Keeping Healthy Bees Day' in Stroud. What a great day....I learnt lots.....thank you to the organisers, and the three Bee Inspectors who tutored us. Thought I'd share one of the things I didn't know before (there was a lot I didn't know before!) 'A little trick' according to...

Hi, I hope it's not too daft a question....I've just made up a nucleus with 3 frames of BIAS, another one of stores/pollen, and two drawn but empty comb, from a prolific hive. Assuming that the flying bees have all returned to the original hive.......how will the house bees cope without water...

I started keeping bees one year ago, and this is my first swarm season. It took me a while to realise what was happening when I first saw my bees today. I asked myself why there were bees all over the outside of the hive, and covering the bushes nearby. When I turned round I saw a few hundred...

Have just returned from weekly shop at T....s. I was delighted to find them selling Kilmarnock Willows, (Salix Caprea Pendula) for £7 each. I read in Ted Hooper only this week that every beekeeper should have one in their garden. OK they are only 3' 6" tall at the moment, but it's a start. The...

Hi, Happy New Year to you all! I went out to wish the bees a HNY just now, and found this grub/larvae half in, and half out of the mouseguard on my weaker hive. I'm guessing that whatever it is didn't like being trickled with Oxalic Acid yesterday. The grub is approx 1 1/2 inches in length...

BBC2 - 3pm - Escape to the Country......a property show.....Nicki Chapman meets a beekeeper in the Yorkshire Dales. I think I'll take a look

Hi, I've had so much fruit this year, I've decided I should try and turn some of it into juice. Can anyone recommend a good fruit press for apples......they're Bramley's. Will cooking apples pressed produced good juice on their own? Thanks

I think my mentor may be on holiday.....so please can you advise me. Background in brief: Hive 1: 25/6/11 Q absent. QC found. 7/7/11 New Q emerged 18/7/11 Unsealed brood seen...

Hi, I know next to nothing about photography, but would love to be able to take a great picture of my bees close up....perhaps on a flower. I spent last Sunday reading the manual for my camera....a Canon Ixus 870IS, 10 mega pixels, and 4 x zoom. A point it and press digital camera. I guessed my...

Sausage, Bacon & Honey Rolls are certainly very popular in our house.....and are easy to make. (I also discovered this morning that freshly cooked chipolata's dipped in honey are delicious !!!) Sausage, Bacon & Honey Rolls Pre heat the oven to 220c (fan oven 200c), 425F, Gas7 Ingrediants...

Hi, Just had a quick look at the inspection trays under my open mesh floors, and was surprised to see a lot of young wood lice wandering around on one of them. Should I be worried? The hive is brand new, and about 9" off the ground standing on new wood, wooden blocks. Would they be after the...

I've searched, and found this very helpful list of abbreviations, but I can't work out AFAIK http://www.beekeepingforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=272

I've been thinking again.....my small cast arrived mid/late April - maybe 500 bees. We are nearly two months on now, so I assume that those 500 have all passed on. The queen, I'm sure, was out mating on the 12th May (lemon smell and lots of fanning and buzzing from the bees outside the box) so I...

Hi, Every day, weather permitting, when I get home from work, I sit and watch my bees for about 15mins to see if they're ok, and try and learn what they're doing. Read them. I make uneducated assumptions about what they're doing. I have a 5 frame nucleus hived about 3 weeks ago....maybe 2000 +...

hi, I'm new....been watching and learning for the last year....today a swarm has arrived in my bait box in my apple tree. Advice please on how long to leave it in there before I tansfer it to my hive which is ready and waiting. They are all very excited at the moment. In the bait box they have...