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  1. A

    Insulating quilts from Th%*nes

    If concerned about the environmental impact of kingspan, it is often possible to find offcuts from building sites that will do the job. Gives them a useful purpose for another few years.
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    Can I unite this chalkbrood colony?

    I had bad chalkbrood in one colony this year. Culled the queen and let them rear a daughter queen but the problem persisted, so culled her yesterday too. She was laying fairly well but the brood doesn't make it past larva stage. Colony now very weak, 2 frames w about 30% young brood. I have...
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    Musings on waxmoth - and storing supers

    I've been storing dry super and brood frames in their boxes, filled tight with frames so they stay in position, then place box on its side with no floor or lid, just completely open. This works either under a shelter with open front or in a greenhouse. Cold winter temperatures and lots of...
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    Melting brood wax

    I just leave them in my solar extractor in summer. We don't get much sun but it only takes one or two good days. I don't get a lot of wax from them but it drips through a filter screen and comes out a good colour. Minimal time and effort, and no energy costs. Or sometimes I might just use with...
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    Xmas competition - uses for Supermarket 'honey'

    The price is shockingly low, but do bear in mind that supermarkets will price some products very low to hit the magic £1 figure, even it makes a loss. They might be using it as a promotional item to increase footfall, but then have other products selling for a £1 that are worth a lot less. By...
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    Traditional Honey Mead.

    I made some a year age and have been tasting it recently. An amazing honey aroma but very dry. Drinkable but will hopefully improve with age. I added half a glass to a pork pot roast and it was the nicest flavour pork I've ever had. Smell and taste were amazing. Tried to use the lees as yeast...
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    To save honey bees we need to design them new hives. The Conversation (Media Outlet)

    He mentions higher humidity and the thick wood of the tree compared to the thin wood of the hive. What strikes me about this is that humidity could be a lot higher because the "green" wood of the tree has maybe 45 to 60% water, compared to the seasoned wood of the hive, with somewhere between 8...
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    Winter storage of drawn frames

    I hang mine up outdoors, under the roof of my open firewood shed. Nice and cold and lets the light in too, which waxmoth hate. You get a few spiderwebs but not many. I guess the spiders catch the moths. Last two years though, I've started keeping some near the floor of my greenhouse which is...
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    Queen with varroa

    Oh, I wasn't sure about that. I thought maybe they just stayed in one place like a tick on a dog, but that doesn't make me feel just so anxious. Thank you.
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    Queen with varroa

    Hi, saw a queen today with a varroa mite right ontop of her thorax. She is a laying 2019 queen, unmarked and unclipped. I left her because I was short on time, but what's the best way to deal with this? Could I hold her on a marking cage/plunger and try to kill the mite with fine tweezers, or...
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    Cutting roof metal.

    If it's aluminium and you happen have woodworking machinery then it's possible to use a bandsaw or table saw with fine blade. A zero clearance insert is a help too.
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    Beginner's Course

    Patience is a virtue for the beekeeper. And realising that things don't always go to plan. This is part of the learning experience.
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    Boosted solar wax melter

    Place your extractor up against a south facing wall if possible. It makes a tiny advantage because the wall holds heat from sun, especially after a good day or two of strong sunshine. Also, if you have a greenhouse, put your device inside.
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    Hello from NI

    Hi Bill and welcome. If your tutor isn't too sure about sourcing bees then it sounds like your club doesn't have a breeding programme of it's own. So if I were you I would go to meetings and start getting to know people in your local club, put the word out that you are looking for bees. I...
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    Frame assembly

    Depending on the frames you can either snap the slip of wood off or you might need to run a knife in the edge to get if off cleanly without splitting. You take it off, then bend the foundation wires 90deg to sit under the slip of wood. Then pin the slip back on. Put each pin (usually 3)...
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    Cleaning polcarbonate crown boards

    One of those hard plastic ice scrapers for car windows.
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    Is it worth setting swarm traps?

    I tried a bait hive last year with success. Was only about 20 metres from my hives. I keep my killed queens in a little jar of alcohol and rub some in the bait hive. Plus a frame of old comb in there too.
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    Pollen Substitute with Fondant

    I provide fondant above a feed hole in the crownboard from Christmas but they might not touch it until late January or after. At the moment (late Feb) this year only one colony is starting to use it and my other 4 haven't touched it yet. Then late February I add a pollen substitute patty and...
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    brace comb

    The extra depth between floor and bottom of frame is normal. It's also useful when they build queen cells hanging off the bottom.
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    Warming cabinet heater

    I use a STC1000 and heater tubes, but next I build one I would use a plug in version instead. Much safer for the amateur and more convenient. I saw the idea on this forum a while back, just can't find it now. Something like this...
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