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little update… Swarmed again today at lunchtime. Settled on an apply tree about 15m from the hive. By the time I got home (3.30pm) the swarm had vanished. Still bearding on the hive. Do I just put it down to experience and check them again in 2-3weeks to see if I can see brood in all stages?

Yes, I contacted about joining/turning up to sessions/learning…. Not a sausage.

Thanks all for your responses. Looks like I need to buy another hive or at least a nuc and get a split going asap (are Maisemore open on bank holidays?!?) Re. Mentors… I have tried! Contacted both of my local BKAs a few times and not had anything back. Read a number of good books recommended...

Thanks all. Just to clarify, they swarmed on Wednesday and were returned to the hive on Wednesday. I did an inspection today (Saturday) and there were tons and tons of bees. Looked in the hive, but didn’t touch anything - I didn’t have much time time today. There were a number of what looked...

I believe so, however I also believe my queen was clipped, so no idea how she might have flown the 100m to the neighbours gate!

My bees swarmed on Wednesday! Luckily they settled on a friendly neighbours gate. I collected them in a cardboard box, stuck an extra super on the hive and returned them. Is this ok? I inspected again today and it looks like the stayed put, cleaned up the new super and are adding honey to it...

So just uncap the stores and stick it on as it is? I thought wax moth were quite a bad thing to introduce to a hive?!? Just found this….

3 frames, chosen at random….

Hi all! I’m just about to do my first inspection of year 2. I was going to add my Queen excluder and a super but when I unpacked my super it looked like this. Is it ok to use or how do I clean it up? Thanks!

Thanks all, sounds easier then I expected!! On a separate note, the honey I harvested from this late super tastes quite bitter and is a little cloudy compared to my main ‘end of summer’ harvest at the end of sept. Any reason for this? I guess it’s just different forage, tho no idea what’s...

Yes, I put varroa strips in after removing the super. Do I need to freeze or anything over winter? I guess I need a box big enough to get the whole super in? Not sure my wife will be too happy taking up that much space in the freezer!!

Hi all! I’m a little late doing my winter prep but because it’s been unseasonably warm I don’t feel too bad about it. Last week I took off a full super and left the bees with a second full (8 SN) super and 3/10 DN frames of stores. I’ve extracted the honey from the super I removed. There is...

I’d be interested to see how that performs: I’m only 20mins from Maisemore! Yes going to try Cirencester BKA too.

Hello all! Firstly. Apologies if this is in the wrong section - I’m a newbee in many senses of the word!! I’m trying to get my hands on an extractor, I’d rather hire a decent one than buy a cheep one that’ll take ages and likely break within minutes. Any suggestions? Or should I just buy an...

Thanks so much @Little_bees! Really useful. Should have clarified, I have space for 8 castellated spacers. There are 8 frames in each super. Should I change the castellations to 10 and out 10 frames in each super? if so, what are the benefits? I guess potentially more honey? Also, in my weekly...

Little update… I put a new queen in, left her for 48hrs, removed the tab to allow the bees to eat through slowly and on day 5 found her dead outside the hive! 🤦🏻‍♂️ Obv did have a queen and I’m just useless at spotting her. 3 inspections since then there have been absolutely huge amounts of...

I’d love a mentor. The help on here has been awesome, but I’m not sure it’s possible to take you all to my hive to do an inspection!! 😂

Hello! Despite many attempts to contact my local BKA I’m not having much luck, so looking for someone that I can ping the occasional message to and who could help out with the occasional inspection. I’m (and my hive [currently singular!]) 10mins east of Stroud and any advice great fully...

Update…. Inspected again today. I tried pics, but am unable to use my phone with my gloves on! I’ll be brave next inspection and just go 1-gloved. Negatives: Still no comb on the 5 frames of new foundation. Couldn’t find a queen. Couldn’t see any eggs Couldn’t see any lave except what looked...

Thanks for the welcome! They’re in a 10 frame Deep National with a dummy board. Hofmann self spacing snugly butted up together, so hopefully the have the right amount of space between frames. WBC. No super yet until they draw comb on the new frames. Would have thought that was enough space?