Ok, I've asked quite a few people and searched the web and the only answer I can get is fondant in winter, syrup not winter.
But WHY?
If bees take syrup, surely they will take and use it anytime of the year!
Maybe the same answer for fondant.
But really.. WHY?
Mark
Easy peasey.
Just use a blow torch to burn it. It then goes crispy and you can then just brush it off..or bang the thing against the nearest tree and it falls out...
Does not take long to do.
And dont be scared to really get it glowing, it makes it quicker to do.
Mark
Well.... today I removed all but four of the best frames.
No stores, brood or eggs, but about half a frames worth of drawn out comb.
I cleaned up and replaced the floor.
Put what bees were left in there.
And this is when something wonderful happened....
I added about half a jar of honey...
Had a look inside this evening as Dad says no bees have been in or out all day.
Appears the badger has been back as the mesh floor has been bent up, but it hasn't managed to tip the hive over.
Around 100 bees in the roof area, 300+ dead on the mesh floor and around 100 or so spread around the...
:mad:
Well.... I had to inspect the hive tonight as I got a phone call...
When I got there the hive was open and spread around the place.
Most of the frames were half inside the brood box in a pile on its side.
One frame had been pretty much eaten. I probably have no Queen cells now to worry...
Thank you all for replying.
My thoughts when I got the bees was why are they being fed and also why not leave me the nuc box for a week.
But I let my Aunt and Uncle do what they wanted.
Yes, I admit that as a keen beginner I was far too eager to open up the hive ignoring my Dads advice, he is...
When the swarm was delivered and placed into the hive, it was on five almost empty frames of foundation ( bees only had two days in the nuc ).
It was placed in the hive with six new frames of foundation.
My Aunt placed a feeder with about 1.5 pints of 50/50 sugar/water mix.
The feeder was...
They have built two more and capped two of them.
I could see a little moon shaped grub in the bottom of one.Still couldnt see any eggs. But there are lots of grubs which fill the bottom of the cells.
Most of the bees were on two frames with a fair few on one frame which had uncapped stores on...
Hi Everyone...
So... yes I may have used the wrong word for a swarm from a recently hived swarm.
I did see the queen last Monday. Very easily spotted as she ran from one side of a frame to the other in a fast straight line.
I didn't look too close in the queen cups/cells, I'm still a bit too...