todays news

[Calluna4u]

Dispensed with the newspaper years back.

We reunite, without dequeening one part, at the heather.

However.....sugar water or lavender scented water are definitely inadequate. Far too delicate. They do not override the scent difference.

A LIBERAL spraying with a proprietry brand of airfreshener is required on both the top bars of the bottom unit and the underside of the top one.

I was a sceptic at first when it was demonstrated to me by Andrew Scobbie senior. It does really work. Will be doing it in excess of 1000 times over the next few weeks as we put the splits and their mothers back together.

[The Drone Ranger]

Thanks for reminding me not to chance things Kitta
I get my fingers burned trying shortcuts regularly and no doubt there will be some combining to be done soon
Last one was introducing a queen to a queenless hive
Test frame in ,knock off the queen cells after a few days
Queen goes in with cage she gets accepted (clever old me)
She disappears and a blooming great queen cell replaces her
Moral of the story (I think) don't give them options

Anyway that was one of my home raised (no cost £) queens

How about this direct intro method at £45 a go
http://www.lasiqueenbees.com/blog/hi...-without-cages

Might have a few practice runs first with my own CABI bees (Carni,amm,buckfast,italian) taxi !!!


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[Mellifera Crofter]

Thank you all. I felt sick in my tummy seeing the sad little carpet of dead bees this morning. I'll open the hive in a few days' time to see if the queen survived that mayhem.

So, never again, but I'd like to know what you're using that's so effective, C4U (should one worry about what's in the air-freshener?). And I'll follow your example and carry some newspapers in the car, MBC (Kate's belt and braces approach).

I read about that LASI queen introduction, DR - but when I introduced some virgin queens earlier this summer, I still played safe and used a cage even though the nuc had been queenless for about four days. They all survived and are laying - so that is a good note in my otherwise sad report.

Kitta

[madasafish]

I use air freshener following Murray's advice years ago.

Airwick 6 in 1. Smell : immaterial.
Small print says "natural propellants".

Works fine : no dead bees.

[Mellifera Crofter]

Thanks Madasafish, I'll buy that and keep it handy. No more warring bees.
Kitta

[Feckless Drone]

A LIBERAL spraying with a proprietry brand of airfreshener is required on both the top bars of the bottom unit and the underside of the top one.

Questions for your C4U. At the stage after applying the freshener - do you just put one box on top and leave for a few days then rearrange frames? Or just blast and put frames together? Or winter on double brood?

I'm now checking that hives are Q-right and pretty much going to stop full inspections but try to make good decisions about what to keep, what to unite. I've one 2015 Q (wintered in a poly-nuc after two-frame mating setup) who has not tried to swarm, decent colony, heavy super but the colony still has drones and drone brood. Other colonies have only worker brood and no drones present. Not sure if this represents low swarming trait or just that the colony was not at full strength in the spring and is lagging behind. I'll do another few inspections of this colony to monitor it as it could be a good Q to breed from. I've a 2016 Q and finally worked up the courage to see if her three Q-cells were an attempt at supercedure rather than interfere. A new Q was due to start flying yesterday and depending on outcome this is a hive that I might try the air freshener with. Week looks OK for mating flights.

Overall, I think colonies have done well this year on Tayside and still the prospect of heather crop to come.

[fatshark]

Fifers should keep an eye on their nucs ... lots more wasp activity over the last few days and stores in a few of mine were getting very low. Whatever was coming in isn't any longer.

[fatshark]

... and a quick follow-up to my last post re. feeding nucs. Before I moved to Scotland I bought bulk fondant from BFP Wholesale. They had an outlet in Livingstone. BFP Wholesale have gone into administration, and the Livingstone branch was bought by a company called EFP Ltd.

Has anyone yet dealt with EDP Ltd?
Has anyone bought fondant in reasonable quantities (say 150-200kg) elsewhere?
Any recommendations?

[gavin]

Sad news. The only other bakery wholesaler - forget its name - was in Cumbernauld and closed perhaps a decade ago.

[Calluna4u]

... and a quick follow-up to my last post re. feeding nucs. Before I moved to Scotland I bought bulk fondant from BFP Wholesale. They had an outlet in Livingstone. BFP Wholesale have gone into administration, and the Livingstone branch was bought by a company called EFP Ltd.

Has anyone yet dealt with EDP Ltd?
Has anyone bought fondant in reasonable quantities (say 150-200kg) elsewhere?
Any recommendations?

Never dealt with either.

Always bought my fondant from BAKO or Fleming Howden. Their prices were always good for beekeepers..........but don't take the first price they offer on the phone. That's a list price...........significant discounts available from that when pressed (like first jump alone dropped price by 40%!)

Both do good grade white fondant. Fleming Howdens 'premier' grade is perfect for bees.

Its almost all (whatever brand you buy) made in one of two factories in Belgium nowadays, and just client badged.