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I 've recently finished moving my 2 remaining colonies about 50 feet to a new nearby apiary site ( 3 feet at a time) over a few months. The new tenants looked fine two weeks ago, good activity, looking healthy and good numbers. I have fed them autumn sugar syrup twice in the intervening...

I am in an absolute quandary and cant see a solution!!! ...I have to move my long established apiary which is situated surrounded by a bramble thicket on the edge of a golf course (my club).The golf club have always been ultra "eco" helpful and are now preparing an alternative apiary site about...

I have purchased and am about to fit a number of these escapes to my National supers.They are 10 inches in diameter and have a 3 1/2" circular "assembly" area in the middle. I have always used porter escapes in previous years with mixed results and am told these "8 way jobbies" work better and...

This year started badly in that all 4 of my over-wintered 14 x 12 National colonies swarmed at the very beginning of April before I had got out of the starting blocks. Thanks to advice from the forum I retrieved the situation and got back to 5 Q + colonies (including one returning swarm!). By...

After 8 years beekeeping I thought I had a passable grasp of the subject, but it’s a bit like golf….when you think you are coping; it turns round and kicks you in the rear end! I began 2014 with 4 over-wintered colonies in 14 x 12’s all descended from my original Buckfast nuc purchased in 2006...

Hi Beeks (2nd Attempt) I am currently overwintering 6 colonies , all on 14x12s and have another couple of spare empty hives plus a couple of 6 frame nucs in that format. Planning ahead for next year, 6 colonies is really an optimum size for me to manage physically and I would prefer not to A/S...

When I did my Beek courses a few years back our instructor told us if we wanted to make a humane "killing jar" we could use an old honey jar filled with Laurel as it has high cyanide levels. Subsequently, I looked up on the internet using shredded laurel cuttings as a gardening mulch (I have a...

Having purchased a table saw and a decent router + table I now want to make a few extra National brood boxes, supers and OMFs this coming Spring. I just want a few simple plans to build boxes etc. and don't want to be dovetailing corners or creating works of art! I have made stands,ekes,OMFs...

Do any of you old experienced hands have any views on the possible downside of this very long warm spell that seems to be going on and on???? My 3 colonies here in Surrey are still out and about in a temperature of 10.2 degrees C but there seems to be little forage and they don't seem to be...

Originally Posted by admin Thymol recipe (sticky Post) I am very interested in going this route with my Autumn feeding. In his "sticky post" Hivemaker lists encouraging/positive effects with regard to Nosema control and Varroa levels and the elimination of the need to treat with year-end...

This is my fourth year keeping bees and my own routine has had to be changed somewhat following a bad leg break last winter. For the time being, this has restricted my mobility and, as I have a drive to, plus 150 yard walk to out apiary, walking and carrying has to be very thoroughly planned in...

I have been concentrating on my other colonies which I artificially swarmed a week ago. As a result hive 1 a busy (swarm originated) colony has not been looked at for nearly two weeks and on that occasion I saw the marked queen, plenty of brood, eggs and stores. Today, I carried out an...

I have two 14x12 colonies, both are running out of space and I supered 10 days ago. I was intending to carry out an artificial swarm on the older colony no.1 (Buckfast) early this May to create a 3rd colony. I carried out my first inspection last Sunday (sunny 20 degrees). I worked on colony 2...

I was going to drip oxalic acid in the next few weeks. However, I recently broke my leg in the snow and I will be unable to arrange this at my away apiary as I am non-weight bearing until another 6 weeks minimum.This would be too late brood-wise for an OA application. I successfully...

I see an increasing trend on the forum mentioning adding thymol to syrup . I am unclear as to the "raison d'etre" for this. I have seen varying references to varroa control, preventing syrup from fermenting and also nosema control......I know the methodology and dosage but why are beeks doing...

I hived a secondary swarm with a virgin queen 5 weeks ago.The queen is now mated, laying and the resultant brood/stores situation is now about the size of a good five frame nuc on 14x 12 and growing slowly in size. I am considering introducing 2 or 3 frames of brood and stores(minus bees)from...

I am sure the answer to my query is somewhere on the forum but despite searching I cannot find it! 2 weeks ago I hived a standard 5 frame nuc in a 14x12 national hive and added 6, 14x12 frames and foundation. All is going along well with the new frames starting to be drawn out and populated...

I have been asked to remove a bees nest from a wooden garden cabin. Attached are pictures of the "bees" but I am a bit unsure whether they are actually honeybees as these gals are fractionally smaller, have blunter abdomens and are hairier my own buzzers . Also they do not appear to be bringing...

I originally started out on standard National BBs and am now looking to switch to 14" x 12" format BBs in the Spring, leaving supers at standard size. I have a number of spare standard National BBs and have made extension ekes ready for this change and have also purchased Hoffman 12" side bars...

Have you seen this recent campaign started by the Co-Operative Society? If I was cynical I would think that it was part of a PR stunt,but having lived in that dodgy world in a previous existence, I know that they have successfully run long term campaigns for ethical investment previously over...