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  1. L

    Keeping bees warm

    I've just been reading simon kerr's post + will try some insulation - Th....s or B.. !
  2. L

    Keeping bees warm

    Last year we had thick ice all Nov, then snow Dec - end of March. It was cold. I wonder then about putting polystyrene round the outside or hessian. I take on board that the bubblewrap won't allow the hive to breathe + could cause Nosema problems. I had an omf last year, this year I have an omf...
  3. L

    Keeping bees warm

    I'm up in the Shropshire Hills and last year I lost a colony in winter - they died on full stores. It was heartbreaking cleaning them out. A committee member of my local association said that they had had reports of a number of colonies in the uplands that froze on the frames, not waking to feed...
  4. L

    Moving Hives

    Thanks Well, errr, thanks for clearing that one up then - Wow :party:
  5. L

    Moving Hives

    I want to move my hives no more than about 500m from their present site. When is the best time to do this to avoid having to move them more than 5 miles, wait 6 weeks, do the hokey cokey, etc. Thanks.
  6. L

    This years "Cock Up's"

    Expensive D'Oh I found a swarm whilst out walking in the rain. Husband, not chuffed with a skep of bees in the barn, (where the kids bikes are), went out early next morning and bought, yes BOUGHT a shiny new brood box, Q ex, omf & roof :ack2: The bees were fiendish, real devils, so when I saw 1...
  7. L

    daily mortality??

    Hi, Happy New Year. I've been knee deep in snow for 11 days here now, with the temperature at -2 today, (we have had -6), and never getting above about +2 over the whole Christmas period. I have seen q a few dead bods on the omf, the girls aren't throwing them out - I haven't seen them taking...
  8. L

    How long can winter syrup be stored for?

    Thanks - I have got some candy/fondant from a bee suppliers. Freezing the syrup also sounds like a good idea - Ta :-)
  9. L

    How long can winter syrup be stored for?

    I made a job lot of syrup about 6 weeks ago, used some in the feeder and stored the rest in glass bottles with screw top lids, (yup, the Jacob's Creek variety seem to work well!) :cheers2: Anyway, the bees have completely taken the syrup and they are still flying in the sunshine, so will 6 week...
  10. L

    Mentor Wanted Midlands - Welsh Boarders

    Hi, is there anyone who could talk to me about over wintering my bees?
  11. L

    How many forum members does it take....

    I think I've changed my lightbulb successfully, I can hear a nice busy buzz when I'm near it. Do I need to keep checking it when I switch it on and off, or should I leave it for a couple of weeks to settle down?? :music-smiley-023:
  12. L

    Baker's Fondant

    I've noticed that Silver Spoon do a dry ready mix of fondant icing - ingredients are dried glucose syrup and icing sugar. It probably works out as expensive, especially if you have a number of hives, at 95p for 500g. But, would this do any harm to have as a store cupboard back up? I've never...
  13. L

    Late June gap & Bracken Spraying

    I've got 2 questions here: 1 - We've had 2 and a half weeks of B..awful weather. My new pckage were a couple of months old, putting down new brood, egg cells, pollen and some stores etc nicely, (just like in the book and as discussed at the newbeeks meeting! :hat: ) Well, after near constant...
  14. L

    Heather flow

    groused Non-grouse moor I'm afraid!
  15. L

    Heather flow

    Heather advice I'm 350 metres above sea level and half a mile from plentiful moorland heather. Our winter starts about 3 weeks before the rest of the county and lasts around 3 weeks longer. Is there any advice, specific to my sort of location, that I need to know - county bka and information...
  16. L

    When to stop feeding

    Thanks admin and heather. There does seem to be plenty of pollen going in. I'll leave it up to them to feed themselves now.
  17. L

    When to stop feeding

    Right, I'll try to explain again!! I have my bees in the brood box and my feed in the super - with a blank frame either side. (I was told and shown how to do it this way by an experienced beekeeper.) I was told to feed them up to get them established and whilst they were taking all the syrup...
  18. L

    When to stop feeding

    I had a package of bees 2 weeks ago. Ive been feeding them sugar syrup, (1kg sugar to 500ml water), twice a week since. Today, although I topped up the syrup, there was some left. Also, the girls are taking in lots of pollen. The brood frames now spread over 8 frames, (in a bog-standard...
  19. L

    Position of queen

    Hi Folks, Thanks for the advice. I looked in at the queen on the monday, because a local beekeeper advised me to check, 2-3 days after hiving, that she was out of the cage and if not, to release her. Anyway, as you know, she was. Poly, I followed your advice to the letter, just topping up the...
  20. L

    Position of queen

    I hived my first package of bees at the weekend and it all went like clockwork. I checked that the queen was out of her cage today and she was, but she was at the bottom of the frame - not on the foundation, but on the wooden bit, with lots of bees on and around her. I very carefully put the...
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