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Hi all. I boxed a swarm today, a big one, in September, in Central Scotland. Ive placed them at the site still in the nuc with a hive ready for them. Its late in the year, what are the chances a virgin queen will get mated? Its going to get cold here, very soon, and id rather not keep opening...

I was asked to take a look at two hives on a company plot. Perfect location. Lady who got the company to invest, modestly, in bees left for another job. Hives not neglected but left with rookies. Holidays etc meant that they weren't tended to at all since early-mid May. Went to have a shifty...

Hope you all can help me please. A two hive apiary i have which has vexed me most of this year. Hive 1, overwintered queen, first summer. Built up very well and perhaps i never got the supers on early enough, built swarm cells. Queen nuked and 1 cell left. All good. But then bees swarm? Missed a...

Hello all. Looking for advice on wax cappings. I've read previous posts and they've served me well but I've another couple of points which I couldn't find an explanation for. After the muslin bag trick, it served me well, I'm left with the disc. I've lifted it out but theres still a very little...

I've been trying to have a go at soft honey using the internet website etc. However even after putting in the fridge since June it's still not crystallizing. I've had it sent away to the 'lab' thing and it's 17.2 so it's proper stuff, or so I believe. What am I doing wrong? Thank as ever.

Have a colony in a 14x12 which has boomed all year and still is. Took the supers off today and added apitraz. Left an empty super on top to provide more space. However reflecting on my actions I'm still concerned. There's 7-8 frames of brood still in there and im worried about room. I have a...

Hello everyone, please advise. I've a hive headed by a yellow queen, Italian? Anyway, she lays like I've never seen. 14x12 box and 4 supers rammed. 9 frames of brood. Supers full. I swapped out a pollen frame and replaced with an empty today to buy some time. However, what to do? I thought...

Earlier this week I inspected a blue queen hive, 2 spring supers this year and performing well. Saw one well developed QC but couldnt see inside. BIAS and eggs ao i took it down, royalty was inside. I went through the hive, no more cells. Returned today and once again another QC this time...

Hello all, a quick bit of re-assurance please. I've just been to collect a swarm 10 mins from where I live. On a branch about 10 feet up. Pruned the branches and gently shook them in and popped the lid on. Fanning at the entrance and going in. Looked a prime swarm and still a lot of bees flying...

Can I ask for some advice please. 14x12 box with 9 frames of brood and a super almost full. I've been looking to increase as soon as the weather improved but still wanted to have a couple of supers this year. I looked through the BB and found 4-5 play cups but nothing else so found the Q and...

Hello all. 2-3 weeks ago I posed a question as I was anxious about a booming hive. Finally had the chance to get into it today. A short window. The hive I was concerned about (think they're Italian as quite yellow as is the queen) had built brace comb on the QE I used to lay the fondant on, lots...

I need some help on a hive I checked this morning. After taking the roof off I looked through the poly CB and saw the bees munching the fondant, 6kg given in december after vaping finished. Rammed. Bees on nine seams, 14x12. I'm concerned that at this rate they might swarm before I can do an...

Hello everyone. First inspection of the year on Monday and as I feared one of my two hives was queenless. I'm angry with myself as I then panicked instead of walking away and thinking. I stole a frame of eggs from my other hive and adhered bees and placed that frame in a nuc with frames from the...

Friend with a huge enclosed garden wants bees. No problem. Two hives better than one, she's cool with that. I've got two 14x12s hives. One is slow to build up this year but the other is thriving however a little cold to inspect just yet. I've two nuc boxes ready. My plan. Wait till the busy hive...

I have one hive which is busy bringing in pollen and looks fine. The other is very quiet, just one or two coming and going. I looked at both (through perspex) late last week and they both seemed to be on around 3-4 good seams and shortly after I took off the roof they swelled to the top of the...

Your advice please beeks: A person I know wishes to have a couple of hives situated in her garden which is great, however she is in an area of OSR and I've never dealt with that before. I know that I shouldn't leave it in the supers long as it will hardened. Now, that's all very well for supers...

Can you good people help me. My hives seem to be ok, both q+ and bees seem healthy, bringing in lots of pollen and finished feeding them up. Closed the hives up. However the last couple of times I've noticed that they seem to be using only the front half of the hives. There's a few patrolling...

Caught a swarm from my own hive some weeks ago but no eggs appeared. They were deffo queenless as they built cells from a frame of BIAS from another hive, around 10 days ago. I knocked them down as I'd already arranged for a mated queen. I went back in last week and knocked down another couple...

Hello everyone. I caught my first swarm yesterday, about the size of a football. I've hived it in a 14x12 nuc for now and reduced the entrance. 5 frames of foundation and one frame or drawn. Now I have one q+ hive and another I believe is q- and was thinking of combining the swarm with the q-...

Was in one of the hives on Monday. All good. One frame of foundation needing drawn but otherwise fine and saw the Queen. Just been in today and shes gone. One very good looking capped cell in the middle of the box have way up the frame and to the left hand side. No others. There were no swarm...