Derek

Congratulations @Daley Enjoy!

True, I haven't been around. But as Trevor pointed out, as a non beekeeper there's not a lot I was able to contribute to anyway, and things that I did do are well covered by others. I'll post something somewhere to let you all know stuff...

Unlikely, a damp bus ticket is probably all they'll get. Or if they've got a judge who gets really hard on them, they might get a wet one...

Did someone type "we're", when they meant "were"?

Wait till next week.

profile info shows he hasn't logged in since Friday 25th - so away for Easter perhaps?

Presume you have the mobile number as advertised in his directory listing? MIDAS queens

It appears we have some argentine ants here now (up in the Waitakeres) - my wife has been looking in to control and Xtinguish does seem to be the go. You can get it here Flybusters Antiants - suppliers of professional DIY Pest Control products with online ordering, ecommerce and free advice

@Pbee we're seeing hoppers now, probably about a week since first one was spotted. Not huge numbers up here yet.

Have to link to this... @Merk 's nightime incident... Bee Keeping is No Longer Fun When ......

My Echo blower is quite noisy, but it's also extremely grunty - the air speed is well in excess of 100 km/h (can't remember exactly, but I measured it a while back with my little handheld anemometer). Can't really comment on the noise comparison, my guess is that generator / electric blower combo would be quieter. The big advantage with petrol driven is self sufficiency - using a gennie requires a power lead still.

Ahem.... This is normally the type response expected from a teenage girl when asked about what type of car they have........ a red one...... :lol I shall say no more. I am guilty of causing off topic conversation. Please forgive me..... :mask:

This seems on topic, but perhaps only just

Another thing I was told, the lower cost model Huskie's (Husqvarnas) aren't quite made to the standard or quality that the brand reputation would imply - apparently the big forestry use beasts are still from the parent Swedish company, but others are made by Electrolux whose brands include McCulloch (if I remember rightly). Disclaimer - this was told to me by the local Stihl shop owner, he may have been slightly biased!! I did check back at the time and did find evidence supporting what he said though. Echo are a pretty good option, I have one of their leaf blowers and line trimmer / brush cutters, which are both excellent. Could they stand up after the test?

Not seen any out this neck of the Waitakeres yet... (further out and higher up than Swanui) which is good news...