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I have accumulated about 20/25 of the large plastic jerry cans that the invert syrup/ambrosia comes in. I have tried in 2 local household waste sites in Berkshire to recycle them but have been told to throw them in with the general household waste. They have the recycling symbol on the back that...

I stupidly carried some supers indoors today wearing a favourite shirt which now is stained with a nice brown line of propolis. I've tried soaking it in a strong soda solution but it's not lifting. Any ideas?..

Quick question, hope somebody can guide me please......this is my 4th season and for the first time I think I have a laying worker situation. The hive in question has steadfastly refused to be requeened or successfully United since late July. I put in a test frame 10 days ago and when I checked...

How common is supercedure at this time of year? I have a hive with 10 frames of brood with a 2014 clipped queen. It's currently got 3 alomost full supers sitting on top :) so to my eyes it's a pretty successful colony. Six days ago on the centre of a frame I found one large cup with a single...

This weather is so frustrating. I've got 6 AS virgins due to emerge from tomorrow (ish) and through the next week or two. As far as I can see, the forecast for at least the next 10 days is not great. If it carrys on like this,I'll end up having to reunite using my old 2014 queens! Can somebody...

Jarred up my first lot of chunk honey today....BUT.....forgot about the recommended 48hr freezing of the comb first to kill off any wax moth or braula eggs! This comb was taken from the hive at the end of August and has been stored in a cool room in an airtight box since. Given that it's...

Quick question please........Can I ask those who sell their honey at farmers markets, is there an expectation that you provide a carrier bag for the honey? I have my first one next week and am clueless :willy_nilly: If so, what sort of size? I've been looking online to buy some bags and the...

I have a sign on the gate at the end of our drive advertising 'Local Honey'. But.......it is next to a sign saying 'please shut the gate, dogs running loose'. I suspect that I am not going to get many people coming up to the house as a result of the dog sign so I considering some sort of...

Is it just me and my swarmy strain of bees?....Probably ;) I've now got three hives which were all successfully artificially swarmed using the Pagden method in April/May. Now the little devils are building swarm cells all over again, despite having fresh new 2014 queens! I do have a shortage of...

Can anybody advise me on the best way to unite two colonies when both hives have supers on? With 2 x 14x12 brood boxes and 4 part filled supers it's going to be quite a stack. One part is queenless and now has 5 frames of sealed brood and lots of bees, the other has a brand new laying queen and...

Wondered what others do? I have 6 colonies all successfully having undergone Pagden ASs in recent weeks. Last year I used this opportunity to increase my stocks but had very little honey as a result. This year I want to maintain my hive numbers and focus on a decent honey crop so I plan to...

On Saturday I carried out yet another artificial swarm (Pagden method) after finding charged queen cells in another one of my hives. Now 5 days on, I discover there are a new batch of charged queen cells in the Q+ part! This is a new scenario for me. So, a bit more detail...... today I went and...

Hello, First time of doing a bailey comb change on 2 of my strong hives (6 & 8 frames bias) and I have a quick question. A week ago I put a new box of foundation above the old with a feeder above and I'm ready to go in tomorrow to put the queen up top and insert the queen excluder and create a...

Not sure if I can do anything now but I've just taken a call from the local farm manager to let me know that they are spraying the OSR 1 km down the road either this evening or in the morning. He couldn't be more specific as he's not sure when the equipment is coming. I asked what was being...

What the heck is going on......!? Ok, so I am still in bed, (but it is Mother's Day) and whilst lazing here with coffee and Sunday papers so far I've had 8 blimmin queen wasps come in through the bedroom window in the last hour and a half! I've seen one or two out and about this week but this...

I've been reading about this in Ted Hoopers book. He describes that it is done in order to build up the brood nest size in Spring but I haven't heard anyone on here talking about doing it at all. Although I may have just missed it! Is it something that is still practised by experienced...

I have just realised that I have 2 large fields of OSR coming up about 1/2 to 3/4 of a mile from my Apiary. :hurray: I've never moved my hives before so apologies if this is a dim question but ...... Is it worth approaching the farmer to try and get some of my stronger hives moved right up onto...

Can anyone recommend a decent book on queen rearing? I do fancy trying to raise a few of my own next year if the 'overwintering beehive gods' are on my side :) I've already waved Hivemakers photos of his mini-nucs under Jimmy's dad's nose and I'm now hoping that Santa will get busy in his...

Hi All, I'm after some advice please whilst the weather is still warm enough to take some action (maybe!) I have a 14x12 hive that appears to still have a significant varroa problem despite treatment with Apilife Var 31st Aug-28th Sept. Hive was fully sealed up and treatment applied as per...

I've put two of my stronger colonies on MAQs and the other 4 on Apilife Var this year. Today as it was quite bright and warm here, and the 7 day treatment was up, I took off the MAQS and took a look. Hive 1 - boiling over with bees, no larvae but lots of sealed brood and the start of egg laying...