Why AMM?

[The Drone Ranger]

Jon
your breeding group sounds great .How many queens do your hive need in a season? they must be outnumbering the drones 2 to 1 by now

By the way I notice you haven't put the drone wings in the post yet presumably they are all worn out.

You are certainly getting your moneys worth out of that little paintbrush.

[Jon]

Jon
your breeding group sounds great .How many queens do your hive need in a season?.

Personally, I need about 12-18 queens per season as I work around 12-15 colonies plus whatever nucs I make up.

Got another 10 into apideas today. Two hatched in the panniers on the back of the bike on the way up the road. All that jiggling, even though I was trying hard to avoid both potholes and 12th July band parades. Lets hope they don't end up hybrids, leaning against kerbstones when they should be organising a team of workers to collect pollen and nectar.

PS. Why have you put a large block of cheese on the head of your llama. I am not knocking the idea - just curious.

[The Drone Ranger]

LOL!

Jon
Thats Correx it keeps the bees from stinging his head where male pattern baldness has left him vunerable

You have better queens in your panniers than we have in our hives.

[Jon]

Thats Correx it keeps the bees from stinging his head where male pattern baldness has left him vunerable

I have been mulling over growing some wool on my pate for the same reason, but I don't want to get refused entrance to pubs on account of unorthodox appearance. Might be able to pass myself off as a Rastafarian beekeeper.

[The Drone Ranger]

Might be able to pass myself off as a Rastafarian beekeeper.

Yes but if you had a ready supply of wacky Baccy in the smoker you will never be stung again
Wonder if it would work on varroa ??

[Jon]

Wonder if it would work on varroa ??

I am sure it would. They would just sit there. C'mon chaps, liven up they are just about to seal a big slab of drone brood on the next frame.
Whatever. Mañana.

[gavin]

Is this a good time to say that an apiary I some of my virgin queens visited earlier this summer (and the bees were fairly Ammish, just to keep on topic) had some wacky baccy growing beside it in a field margin? I don't know if the apiary owner would be horrified to learn this or not, but I don't think that I'll tell him. I'm blaming my queen mating problems on them being affected by the herbs nearby.