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2 National Colonies on a brood and a half for sale £180 each or £350 for the pair. 2016 queens and varroa treated. Fairly old hives and frames hence the price. Very gentle bees and building up quite nicely with local OSR North Nottinghamshire on South Yorkshire and Lincolnshire border. Please...

I'm sure this has been answered before but due to illness this year I was unable to extract the honey (mostly OSR) which is now granulated in the frames. can I leave this honey under the brood box or will they not take it?

Why are so many of you obsessed with insulation. The bees don't need it. Many of you will remember the Winter of 2010. In December my apiary reached -18C with day time temperatures no higher than -9c. I remember being worried then but bees came through with no losses and with much less...

I've often heard it said that bees are the perfect creature and therefore haven't evolved at all for millions of years. so.....why do they swarm very early or very late in a season when there are no drones about leaving queen cells/virgins with no chance of getting mated? Surely this is...

if you still need some that is

Earlier on this season, I had laying workers. i got rid of these and installed a new queen. (shop bought) She started laying but the colony hasn't grown much. The queen in still laying (perfect pattern) but only on a few frames. I've given her about 6 weeks to start laying more eggs but alas...

Did an AS split about 10 days ago. Never had any problems before over the years. New hive about 40 yards from old. Didn't take, obviously swarmed anyway. About 7 capped emergency cells from transferred frame and queen gone. I've broken down 6 and left one which to be honest looks really...

Due to an ongoing illness which will make it difficult if not impossible to remove and extract the supers, I'm toying with the idea of leaving them on over winter instead of feeding them the usual sugar syrup throughout September. In theory how many fully capped supers would I need to leave on...

No Wasps and now very few drones. Already been kicked out. Despite the current sun, my bees think it's October!

After 6 winters and feeling quite safe that woodpeckers in my area don't come near my hives, I've been pecked. Damn and blast etc. Interestingly enough they've gone for my only colony and first colony ever, to be over wintered on a brood and a half with the brood box at top. The other...

When I started beekeeping 5 years ago, I was ready for this great OSR problem that would set hard in frames and bees would travel for miles to get at it ignoring everything else. Even when my hives have been next to OSR fields I have not had this problem and I think only a small percentage of...

After years of using leather I've decided to upgrade to a washing up glove. I've heard lots of stories about good and bad colours for bees. When I'm in Tesco which colour should I buy and which should I avoid. Other supermarkets are available!

Since I started bee keeping I've always finshed feeding by first week of October but that's just because it was stated in the first book I read. How late do some of you go obviously dependant on location etc but I've really struggled to feed and treat with Apilifevar at the same time having...

Hi Just returned from my hols. Stores very very low but I did intend to start treating with Apilifevar. Which should I do or should/can I do both. This is my first year not using Apistan and doing both was no problem. What about Apilifevar?

I did an AS about 6 weeks ago but alas it didn't work out. No q no brood nothing. I left and left it and made a decision last week to source a replacement q. A buckfast arrived yesterday. Guess what, some brood in hive today when I was about the install her. Now do I just leave them and...

Why is it that the weather always seems better in the week when I'm at work. Given the weather of late, thought it would be great for the first inspection but guess what, its a Saturday and its raining and much cooler. Rant Over.

Up until last night I've never had any problems feeding bees at night, so have never worn a veil. Standing in a field in the pitch black pouring syrup into the feeder I was stung three times in the face. I'll be wearing my veil from now on. Beware!

Why oh why oh why do people start moaning about the plight of the honey bee while showing a bl**dy picture of a bumble bee. I noticed this is the Tesco magazine recently but they're not the first i've seen. Presumably they wouldn't talk about the plight of greyhounds and show a picture of a...

Have decided stop using Apistan and use Apiguard this year. If this isn't a stupid question but how do I get my crown board back on if the trays are on top of the frames whilst allowing a sufficient gap for it to be effective?