tudor

Thanks

Grows in Broad Bay, Dunedin, glossy leaves and red flowers. Thanks.

When I started 10 years ago I met bees on the Otago Peninsula who had no requeening for a long time, and they were not very welcoming - at all. New queens were effective in developing gentle bees, but still veils and gloves needed. But every now and then an aggro hive appears, and simple intervention with protected cell has always worked.

When you have a hive with horrible bees just re-queen ASAP with a protected queen cell. The newly emerged queen will kill the mother of the horrible bees (acting as your assassin) and the mood of the bees can change quite quickly or take 6 weeks until all the eggs laid by the old queen have hatched, done their stuff, and died of old age. Don't hesitate, nothing as horrible as horrible bees.

It's all about good decisions, throwing good after bad or very keen to save a hive with frames from a strong hive with brood to spare. Just that there are lots of options, and that laying workers are uncommon as we keep a close eye on the queenright status, and act before workers start laying. Or get caught out being so clever !

Another method which I have used successfully is to turn off the laying workers by giving a series of frames with open brood which produces a pheromone with the required effect. One a week until workers stop laying (usually 2-3 doses) and it boosts the hive with brood as it hatches, then give a cell or queen when it is safe, or combine with a queen right hive. This does take time and uses resources, but very interesting for a hobby beekeeper.

Please follow the advice of putting every swarm on un-drawn foundation so they use the honey they are carrying to build cells, and do not store AFB spores if the comb is drawn and they just store their honey. For the same reason, never feed a swarm immediately, and only after at least a week if the weather is too bad for the bees to get out for nectar and pollen. We had one case of AFB in a swarm which was fed from the beginning. And treat the swarm for varroa as they can have a high load, and it is wise to re-queen for obvious reasons. Regards.

The main plan is to prevent swarming. Please read about it at: https://www.nzbees.net/files/file/89-easy-bee-keeping-for-hobbyists-in-new-zealand/ And intervene by an Artificial Swarm if they have decided to swarm. regards.

I feel a Limerick coming on ....

My younger son had a final interview for a high level job in Oz and when asked for any final comment he told the selection panel that joke - and got the job !

Meaning "to move in a stealthy or furtive manner" such as a bee probing the defences with the plan of a robbing attack. Action: check the hive security so that boxes all fit snugly together and don't have broken rims, and are bee proof. Also reduce entrance size if robbing is starting. I lost one hive recently which I left with one frame poorly seated so that there was a gap between two boxes, and so that robbers could gain access. When passing by a week later I noticed a few bees along the junction of the boxes but did not twig that they were robbing. Only noticed the problem ac

Hi, Minor edit: Convert a Full Depth to a Medium (3/4) hive is easy. START HERE: The queen is in the FD brood box under the excluder, lots of brood both closed and open. Place a drawn medium (3/4) box with some honey stores (it may well be the honey super that has come through over winter) on a hive mat on the ground and find the queen in the FD box. Get her to go into the medium box by picking her up (gently) or gently laying the frame she is on flat on top of the medium box with her on the lower surface – she will go to the darkness as fast as anything. Put the

Apivar 10 weeks bav 8

I hope he has a copy of the game Bananagram, that would help him if he can find a moderately sober person to play with

It's not a pricker - the cells are already uncapped - and then the modified hair roller with its clever bobbles tickles (agitates) the honey which becomes runny and comes out in the spinner. "Rollers" that you can buy do nothing to help. I assure you, I have been there and done that. Commercial extraction will do the job for you, but as a hobby BK you will/may have trouble getting it done.