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  1. madasafish

    What did you do in the Apiary today?

    Further to my prior post above Inspected the "horrible " colony. Found unmarked Q on first frame so marked her.. Tops of frames covered in black wax/dirt, QE broken, damp, worms and slugs. I would be grumpy if I lived in that. Stole 4 frames capped brood for a new nuc and replaced with new...
  2. madasafish

    Raising Bigger Queens. With thanks to the Apiarist

    I have a plastic QE cut down and bent (using a hot air gun ) to fit. Secured with high tech rubber bands, As for persuading a Q to lay, I can only ask nicely :cool: I placed the Q in the cage today: she is laying like mad so fingers crossed,
  3. madasafish

    What did you do in the Apiary today?

    Wednesday night ad a panic phone call from a very part time beekeeper whose results were minimal over past 3 years. Needed to get rid of everything PDQ.. He HAD to get rid. Would I take two colonies - one horrible - and all his equipment. next day. Free. Slight delay. So I received two...
  4. madasafish

    What did you do in the 'workshop' today

    Ply Laminated sheet Formica covered sheet boards made from compressed wood pulp (wood stained). Perspex. ie. anything free/cheap
  5. madasafish

    Raising Bigger Queens. With thanks to the Apiarist

    Nice to meet you too. Glad to see it going to a good home.. PS does the Telford Show do caviar and champagne? :alien:
  6. madasafish

    Hello, I'm new around here 🐝

    :welcome: from a very wet North Staffs.
  7. madasafish

    What did you do in the Apiary today?

    Inspected my first attempt to get Q to lay in 9/10mm dia holes. No action yet. Found queen and marked her in a nuc of dark bees - she is dark as well. (third attempt!) Strengthened nuc from a double nuc: frame of capped brood plus bees plus air freshener.. Q in above double nuc laying like...
  8. madasafish

    Raising Bigger Queens. With thanks to the Apiarist

    Good thing I did not set up the starter/finisher today Just acquiring two more colonies free from someone giving up - a long story - so plans have changed.. Anyone near me want a few used free National brood boxes in wood. Good condition.
  9. madasafish

    New beekeeper looking for advice on transporting bees....

    You are braver than me.....
  10. madasafish

    New beekeeper looking for advice on transporting bees....

    I have had four colonies: (brood plus 2 super,no roof) in a Honda Jazz.. Edit: entrance and exit required a degree of tilting - all gaffer taped together.
  11. madasafish

    Latest from Defra on AH

    Based on my reading, they can overwinter as far North as Scotland. (I gave up on the last long discussion where quite clearly a position was taken that was frankly indefensibly illogical) If we are finding overwintered queens, there will be others unfound in the countryside where few live.
  12. madasafish

    Raising Bigger Queens. With thanks to the Apiarist

    This is based on a couple of papers by the Apiarist Parts 1 and 2 https://theapiarist.org/bigger-queens-better-queens-part-1/ I am not going to repeat his words: just outline my success or otherwise, in doing so, Set up Queen in my home made Nicot cage using 9 and 10 mm internal diameter cell...
  13. madasafish

    What did you do in the Apiary today?

    Never done a shook swarm in my life.. And yet my bees produce double the BBKA quoted average hive honey yields. (despite our weather ) I must be doing something wrong.
  14. madasafish

    New bee keeper

    :welcome:
  15. madasafish

    Upper floor hole

    Last year I had a colony on two home made boxes made of insulation board. Bees did not like the under floor entrance and dug a new one at the meeting point of both boxes , Overwintered with a md entrance successfully with Q and brood in lower box. Now rehived in a full hive and performing very...
  16. madasafish

    Any scouts at your swarm trap?

    One of my four bait hives collected a swarm from one of my double nucs..all of 5 meters away.
  17. madasafish

    What would you do for this failing colony?

    Err Err.. It could be saved with a Queen in a double min nuc (Kieler) but it requires some skill and experience.. No beginner has a hope pf doing hat successfully in my view- took me years to overwinter them successfully.
  18. madasafish

    New member

    :welcome:
  19. madasafish

    What would you do for this failing colony?

    Not worth effort.
  20. madasafish

    New member - floundering a bit...

    :welcome: After 15 years beekeeping the bees teach me new lessons every year. Mostly to assume nothing without checking carefully.
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