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A little off topic but I have some great pictures of two wasps mating which I managed to snap a few years ago, if they are any good to you

Can we assume that if you don't manage to shake the queen out that then the bees won't cluster under the board like a swarm?

Requeening a hive can be very difficult and often fails. I would brush off a couple of frames of brood and put them in a BB above a QE and a couple of supers. When the frames have been populated with the nurse bees after an hour or so, transfer them to a nuc. As soon as possible add you new...

"covered with a piece of insulting tape" won't the bees mind being insulted LOL

c.wynne.jones cheapest I know

So what if they store a bit of fondant, I'd prefer to put a slab on top whether it's needed or not, but from what I've read recently I won't buy pollen patties again.

Hi Finman, I always put half a kilo of fondant over the crown board in January, why not. I believe they don't store fondant, only syrup. When the weather gets warmer I can always check to see how much room is available for the queen to lay and remove stores if required or add another BB or do a...

I've noticed my bees taking the fondant even though there are still plenty of stores left in in the hives. Do they prefer sugar to their own honey? Also, apart from keeping them for later in the year, I have about 12 full 14x12 frames of honey stores (over 40Kg), any advice what's the best...

My bees in Manchester are on Eucalyptus, Mahonia and Viburnum among other plants

"in the middle of a field", exaggeration for the sake of emphasis as my old man used to say.

I use a butane blow torch with a piezo ignition (about 15 quid from Wickes). Can't imagine why anyone would mess about with lighters and matches in the middle of a field. I keep a spare cartridge in my tool kit, (they cost about three quid). Cardboard to start, dry ash windfall branches and then...

A guy I work with wants to buy a full 14x12 frame from me. He doesn't want boxes of cut comb, he wants the full frame. The one I took out of the hive weighs over 8 pounds, how much should I charge.........50-60 quid??

mine came with the property propolis57, the previous owner, a pig farmer was a beekeeper as well and a lot of the planting was for bees. There are a few huge eucalyptus and walnut and Spanish chestnut and lots of bramble as well since I took over. I have been trying to get some more beebee trees...

I have two or three at my house in Brittany but they all seem to have flowered this year. Fabulous trees...sounds like a swarm when the bees are working the flowers. All I would suggest is that they may have got too dry last autumn. Make sure they have enough water and perhaps feeding before the...

I did a successful trap-out (of a wall) recently. Check out the videos on utube as done in the US. You will need to make a mesh cone and hang a nuc box close to the existing entrance. You will need to seal any other exits/entrances with silicone as and when you observe the bees using them. You...

Well I added a new queen to the nuc yesterday as there were quite a few bees in there. Can you believe that they found the queen cage on the ground, I had covered it with a piece of terracotta while I went to the car to get something (my trousers as they were getting a bit angry, I was only...

BeeJoyful, that's exactly why I'm trying to save them. There were bees higher up in the wall last year and I was interested to see would they survive the winter, varroa etc. and they didn't. But I happened to speak to the allotment holder next to the hive/wall and I got a nudge,nudge, wink, wink...

Thanks ratcatcher, it's just I'm on a security restricted network in the office and just find it difficult. I don't have gmail except on my phone.

Posted a pic on BBKA Facebook page if anyone is interested. I am finding it difficult to post pics. on this site at the moment.

Well I've set it up. The idea is that the bees can't find the exit on the cone and congregate around the original opening. It won't work with a solid cone/tube because they can smell the hive through the opening you've created. Anyway it seems to be going to plan and the bees are starting to go...