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I have just bought a batch of Apidea super / brood extension boxes and am curious about the 2 narrow slots in the top of the boxes. Does anyone know if these serve any particular purpose or are just a manufacturing quirk? I am happy with the Apideas; I'm just curious.

I brought a bunch of newly populated Apideas home last night to keep in the cool and darker garage for a few days so that I could keep them humid with misting through the grills. I went out this morning to check and distinctly heard a queen piping. I had read about this but never experienced...

I believe that heather honey is usually not as prone to crystallising as some other varieties but, just on the off chance that it might happen, I wonder if members add / modify labels on their jars to alert customers as to how to treat the honey if it does happen.

I have been asked by a lady that I supply with honey if I could supply her with propolis. What sort of quantity / container / price / advice would anyone suggest who has experience of providing it?

A small group of our local beekeeping club have started a low-key queen rearing group and, to date, have had encouraging success. Between us, we have previously tried a range of approaches but are currently using the Nicot system which seem, so far, to meet our needs. I was wondering where the...

I have a wooden shed that has been kitted out as an extraction room. The floor has been lined with chipboard but I wanted to cover it with something that will make it easier to wipe up the odd spillage. What would members suggest as a permanent fix?

A colleague has been approached by a farmer who has planted / is planting around 90 acres of OSR and has offered to share the site. How many hives would members believe such a site would support?

Balancing safety against curiosity, when would members recommend as the safest / best time to check to see if a queen has emerged in a mating nucleus (3 frame nucleus colonies) ?

I seem to remember reading a post that advised not to reuse Nicot cell cups but an old-time beekeeper colleague has the opposite view. Do others reuse the cell cups and, if so, how do you clean them prior to reuse?

As novices, a small group of us have started raising queens using the Nicot system. So far we have a few developing queen cells and I was wondering how others go about moving the mature cells to go into mating nuclei. Do you make up nuclei elsewhere and bring them, ready to insert the cells or...

I rang Modern Beekeeping on Thursday afternoon to place an order for A Dadant smoker. When I was told that the parcel would arrive on Saturday or Monday I mentioned that Saturday was my birthday so Saturday would be great if possible. To my surprise, the parcel arrived the following morning...

An aquaintance, whose partner has a phobia of flying insects, called me to help with a strange happening. One of their bedrooms and landing floor were strewn with dead and dying bees. The couple assured me that they had not used any insecticide and there was no sign of any bees in other parts...

Good evening All, I have been offered a new apiary that seems to tick all the boxes but, in passing, the farmer said that he had seen quite a few badgers around. Does anyone have any advice about fencing or general protection of hives from badgers? Cheers.

A beekeeping friend placed an order with Bee Equipment Ltd and tried to contact them via the telephone to chase it up but they have ceased their 'phone services due to the Corona virus situation. He then tried using e-mail but has had no reply. Has anyone had any better luck or know any more...

The farmer where I keep bees had his entire oilseed rape fail over the Winter so is shortly going to plant peas instead. Does anyone know if they give a reasonable honey?

I have been 2 different suggestions for cleaning out a Melli flow after use. One is to use salt (sodium chloride) and the other is to use washing soda (sodium carbonate). Also, is it better to use these in hot or cold water? Any advice would be welcome.

I have just bought a Lyson Melli flow uncapping device and am looking for advice on temperature settings for the top and bottom heaters as I have to extract a load of frames from last season. Cheers, John