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  1. P

    Drones in a bait hive.

    So, the bait hive outside my front door attracted a swarm on monday morning which I moved into my apiary a mile or so away in the evening. Yesterday evening I took up the rest of the stragglers who were still knocking around the bait hive. Most of today, there's been only a couple of bees...
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    Gardens of Suburbia : Forage month by month

    On my suburban allotment, globe artichokes seem to be the favourite at the moment with 6 or 7 bees on each flower. Other than that runner beans seem to be popular.
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    How long can I leave a hive shut up?

    It was, about a week ago when I put the new queen in there. It's not impossible she's gone but it was this way before I last checked, that was the main reason for requeening
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    How long can I leave a hive shut up?

    I've always been led to believe orientation tended to happen in the afternoon, surely 7-8 oclock at night is a bit late isn't it? I have no problem with guarding, I fully expect to be told where to go at this time of year when I go near a hive. But when people are being are being butted and...
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    How long can I leave a hive shut up?

    I did try dusting with flour as I figured scattering sugar when there was robbing going on wouldn't necessarily help. I didn't see any of the robbers going into my hives though so I figure they're coming from further afield
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    How long can I leave a hive shut up?

    Well, although I wasn't seeing much fighting, I was seeing side to side movement outside the hive, a sudden increase in activity, a lot of the exiting bees dipping as they leave the landing board and there was a lot of activity late in the day after all the other hives had gone quiet for the...
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    How long can I leave a hive shut up?

    I figured flour rather than icing sugar because I didn't really want to scatter sugar in the apiary, particularly with robbing going on.
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    How long can I leave a hive shut up?

    Sadly, I don't have access to an out apiary so that's out as an option unfortunately. :(
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    How long can I leave a hive shut up?

    As far as the nuc is concerned, it is very weak, so understandable, the full hive I have a feeling has been being robbed for a little while though and is an otherwise strong hive, but doesn't seem to be protecting itself, at least not for other bees, it's guarding behaviour concerning humans...
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    How long can I leave a hive shut up?

    No, the nuc was made up from another hive. And I have fed the nuc because I figured although I gave them a frame of stores, with only house bees they might need some help. The hive that I made the nuc from appears to be untouched by the robbers so far but I'll be keeping an eye on it.
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    How long can I leave a hive shut up?

    Hi, One of my hives with 2 supers appears to be being robbed as does a new 3 frame poly nuc that has just (this morning) had a new travelled queen introduced to it. This evening ( possibly later than ideal, I didn't recognise what I was seeing initially) I finally shut both entrances with 3mm...
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    failed unite - more aggro

    Thanks for the response, I'm kind of getting to the same thought. Yes, another 2, but one of those has just been requeened, so I want to leave well alone for a while and the other I'm hoping for some honey from if a summer flow ever arrives, so I'd prefer not to weaken it at this stage if...
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    I'm ready but have I got everything?

    Antihistimine and washing soda, Oh and coloured drawing pins come in surprisingly handy too.
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    Queen cells found advice appreciated

    By 'getting it' I didn't mean I don't have (at least as many) problems as I did in previous years, just they don't seem quite as insurmountable :) but today was a challenge for me too, hell, on Friday I failed to squash a queen, how many times have I been worried about the opposite since I started.
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    Queen cells found advice appreciated

    Particularly when they then start lecturing you on how their way works, so yours must be wrong. However, I have noticed that this year (my 4th) I finally feel I 'get it'. I don't think I'm doing most things better (or too much worse most of the time) but this is the first year that it feels a...
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    failed unite - more aggro

    So, the background. I want to combine a nuc with another small hive and last Friday moved them into a brood box in preparation but while picking up the queen to kill her, managed to knock her off the frame (or so I thought as I thought I'd seen her fall from the frame and couldn't see her on any...
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    miller/ashforth feeders

    Can anyone tell me the spacing between the baffles (or whatever you call the two/four vertical pieces of wood that dam the syrup in a miller/ashforth feeder. From Dave Cushman's site they look like they're further apart than a beespace as he has the slot 12mm and they appear to be at least that...
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    Polycarbonate feeder base

    Ok, I guess I've been convinced. I've already made more than enough crown boards and I have some 2mm to cover the feeder, so I'll wait and see what use for it appears in time. On a related note, what space do you have between the baffles, I assume 1 bee space, but figured I'd better check...
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    failed unite

    Unfortunately, I was very much at home to mr cock-up today. My plan had been do all the prep for a unite of a nuc with a small but healthy full hive. Step one, find and dispatch the queen in the nuc. Somehow, as I was going to pick her up I managed to knock her and she rolled down the frame. I'm...
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    Some thoughts on a vertical AS

    I do like the idea of easily balancing the foragers and of course less kit is always a good thing. I just don't like to move brood boxes any more than necessary. So I'm still rather undecided, guess I'll wait until the next need arises and then make a decision on the fly like I normally do ;)
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