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My marks on my queens are wearing off really quickly having use a red posca. Anyone got recommendations for better alternatives?

On of my colonies that I examined today had produced 1 single charged queen cell, so I presume they are trying to supercede. However I know in swarming season they can sometimes swarm once "supercedure" cells are sealed. So.... Is there a way of stopping this happening, apart from some form of...

Thinking of making myself a double screen board for future swarm control vertical splits. How far apart do the meshes need to be to prevent trophylaxis? Thanks Neil

Normally I let a nuc build up and transfer it to a hive. If you want to keep it as a nuc I know the usual method is to periodically remove a frame of brood and donate it to another colony. I was wondering about other options. For example positioning the nuc on one side, and close to, the...

Did this for the 2nd time recently, Q went in first, then 1 attendant at a time, trying not to let Q out, got stung by a couple of attendants so likely to die. Had the rigmarole of putting one in whilst letting 2 out! Anyone got any tips?

I was posting a queen today and the lady behind the counter said that there is a beehive in the garden next to her that has been unmanaged for about 4 years and swarms into her garden every year several times. The house is unoccupied. Do you think one of these swarms would be worth collecting on...

Thought I'd post in the beginners section as beginners may be less likely to look in the for sale section, and they may benefit most. Anyway - look in "for sale" section.

Hi all, I'm uniting to reduce my colony numbers. I put 2 together today and have the spare queen with attendants in an introduction cage. She's a moderately dark local mongrel. When 1st inspected this season was a bit defensive but not bad, subsequently has been ok though a bit "runny". I'm...

Reading on another thread (nucleus method) I came across this: https://thewalrusandthehoneybee.com/swarm-control-by-the-experts/ Interesting read. I was looking at the "reverse A/S" mentioned with a vertical split. Basically when swarm cells are seen put a single brood comb with eggs (no QCs)...

I looked in one of my hives for the 1st time today (as well as checking & uniting some others. I'd noticed this hive hasn't been busy, and if anything getting less so. It overwintered on double brood. The bottom box was essentially empty with no brood. I found about 4 frames of brood in the top...

7.25 pm this evening and a few bees still flying from all hives - though at least some are water collectors (which always makes me think they are using stores). Warm forecast for the next two days so will be getting into them. *Still* got to unite quite a few!

Any idea what this is? About 12mm long, snapped on my kitchen window today.

I've noticed quite a few queen bumbles exploring my garden recently, presumably looking for nest sites. How big a cavity do they need? I've just enlarged the entrance to an old poly queen mating cage I won't be using, removed the frames & put a little bit of straw in the bottom. Will that be big...

Having given a colony a couple of saved frames of stores recently I was musing on the possibility of artificially filling an empty comb with a thick syrup as a way to add feed next to the nest without adding space. I was wondering if warm (50C) 2:1 syrup in a hand sprayer set to a coarse spray...

I gave all my hives an OA vape yesterday, thinking to get mite numbers down before supers go on in a few weeks. I noticed a boiling sound from the instantvap, similar to what I'd experienced when using a gasvap and OA that hadn't been well sealed. It also seemed to take a bit longer and the...

Carrying on from a current thread on foundation I was wondering about alternatives. Obviously foundation free frames and starter strips are possibilities. I read in wartime of beekeepers using sheets of newspaper coated in beeswax. I wondered if a thin sheet of plywood (1.5-3mm) coated in...

I've hardly ever used fondant before as I usually leave plenty of stores. Due to a combination of factors I've felt the need to give most of my colonies fondant this year. I've heard/read some conflicting statements as to whether the bees will still take fondant if they have adequate nectar...

I have 12 colonies of various sizes - some went into winter on double brood but I anticipate are much smaller now. I want to reduce to about 5. I'm planning lots of unites and am just debating the best timing. Currently thinking the middle of march if the weather is reasonably typical. Any...

Just musing about this year's beekeeping activities. Debating buying in a couple of queens. Many years ago I bought a buckfast queen, she was prolific and her workers were calm & gentle - the next generation not so much! Defensive, "following" & stung neighbours some distance away! I've read...

I passed through the Christmas markets in Manchester yesterday evening. There was a stall selling honey and beeswax items. Very (?too) competitive prices I thought on seeing 12oz jars of chunk honey at £6.50. One item that they had was labelled "Lemon infused honey", out of curiosity is this...