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Hi all, Very sadly I got a text from a next door neighbour saying that they had lost patience living with a honeybee nest in the roof and had called out a pest controller, who has dealt with it via an aerosol-type insecticide spray. I don’t really understand how these insecticide aerosols...

Hello all, I'm in a bit of a predicament. I attempted to unite 2 smallish colonies (on 6 frames each) together last Tuesday. I did it via dispatching the older queen and the newspaper method. Unfortunately, having just gone in to sort the two boxes out, it seems that something has gone wrong...

Late in the day I know, but worth a go. As per the title, and able to post to Dorset. Willing to pay going rate! Thanks, Ben

Hi all, Would anyone in the East Sussex area be able to sell me three frames of open brood to use as test frames? ASAP. I'm in a bit of a predicament. Name your price! Ben

Hi all, So for the first time in a while I've been around to inspect three colonies which my dad largely looks after. It's all a bit complex but the crux of it is that all three of them are broodless/ eggless. Dad told me that Hive 1 had swarmed on Thursday (he could not catch the swarm)...

I should really save this one until September but here goes. Just in case anyone is ever tempted to leave half-comb-filled ekes in their hives over winter, don't. Due to Covid-related reasons, I've only just been able to look at each of my three hives, all of which had gone boom in the voids...

So, as some of you may know, I am now a teacher at a school in Dorset, and am setting up an apiary / beekeeping club there. Thanks to a very kind member on here, we are getting supplied with a couple of nucs at the start of May. I presumed (wrongly) that I would have enough kit to go around...

Hi all, I'm planning on starting an apiary at the school I work at in central Dorset. I wonder whether anyone has any recommendations for reputable sources of nuclei in the area? When I lived in Sussex, I used a certain well-known bee farm there, usually with good results. I could conceivably...

Hate to see this... My biggest colony, having been cooped up for a few days thanks to the shoddy weather, was issuing one of the biggest orientation squads I’ve ever witnessed (air full of bees), when suddenly thunder rumbled, the sky broke and the mother of all rainstorms ensued... Hoping not...

I have a load of Apiguard from my first beekeeping stint that went out of date in 2016. It has been stored in its original packaging in a cool, dry place. Is that use by to be observed or ignored? Cheers. Ben

This is probably a very stupid question... Some sheep have been moved into the field in which a couple of my hives are kept. Very kindly, the farmer has cordoned the hives off with some electric fencing. Having said this, the fence has been put only about a foot away from the hives' entrances...

Another likely dumb question from a recent convert to / trialist of bottom ventilation... One of my hives is stood on an almost solid wooden pallet (it does have a couple of smallish holes in it), which is itself raised off the ground by a concrete slab. The OMF is designed so that it is raised...

So... one of the swarms I caught has turned out to be a little bit fiery. Going to bite the bullet and move them from their current site (the bottom of my back garden) to the middle of nowhere (my grandad's field) before any of the family, or worse, my next-door neighbours get stung... The move...

Said a wise man once... Caught this cute little cast swarm on the Ashdown Forest for a friend... sadly, on my return to pick them up this eve, they had gone, hopefully to a nice tree hole! Ben P

Well, I'm sure you you've all heard the oft-peddled 'positives of lockdown' guff... For me, there certainly has been one... Coming back to beekeeping! As I sit here with a glass of something cold in hand watching both newly caught swarms bringing in pollen of varied hue, I'm asking myself why I...

Hiya all, Another one from a returning beek... Have any of you had any experience using 'Easibee' mesh floors? For my restart I'm on a bit of a tight budget so bought a couple of these off Amazon. For those who haven't seen my earlier thread I hived up a swarm yesterday, which subsequently...

Dear all, Help for a returning beekeeper much appreciated! So, yesterday I caught a beautiful prime (I think) swarm, and thought I had done a good job hiving them up last night. All was seemingly well until midday today when the colony suddenly re-swarmed onto the nearby hedge... Thankfully...

Two great Latin beekeeping texts from the Loeb classical library: Columella's De re rustica book IX Varro's De re rustica book III English translations provided for both, so no need to know the Latin... Ben P

Interesting(ish) story... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JQebOADObZo Ben P

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-16250808