Category Archives: Bee-keeping

I’ve never been able to see this

I’m a beekeeper with a strong interest in astronomy. There’s an open cluster of around one thousand stars in the constellation of Cancer known by a number of names including Praesepe, Messier 44 and The Beehive Cluster. The latter is … Continue reading

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A new beekeeping toy

Recently I had the opportunity to buy a second-hand but barely-used electric 20-frame extractor. As it was being offered a fair bit cheaper than the 12-frame model I was contemplating, it seemed like a no-brainer. The only minor issue was … Continue reading

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Eyes on the prize

My honey, my local show 😀

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New swarm box in action

I was asked if I could take a look at this swarm that appeared one Sunday afternoon above a path leading to a childrens’ nursery. “Not much chance of taking that in one hit”, I thought. Nonetheless I knocked as … Continue reading

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More laser-cut honey boxes

First, one for six standard 1lb round jars for Wivey Kitchen, from Wivey Grows. And then another box for my own honey, this time with my contact details on the back.

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Miscellaneous bait hives

All of these use quite old Abelo poly brood boxes that weren’t made to the correct dimensions — they have both a top and a bottom bee space. The stands have sacrificial/adjustable legs. adjustable because nowhere around where I live … Continue reading

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More laser-cut beekeeping stuff

Honestly, I probably made these because I could rather than because laser-cutting was the best way to do them. First, a very fat dummy — to take up several frames worth of space in a queen-rearing box. And the same … Continue reading

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This is a swarm I’ll pass on…

In a hole that had rotted out of a tree after a branch fell off/was removed. The landowner wanted them removed before the tree was cut down a few days later. I decided that I didn’t fancy trying to do … Continue reading

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Bait hive floors

I’ve never had purpose-made bait hives. I just use old brood boxes that aren’t really good enough for bees to over-winter in. I paint them a dark green/grey so I can tell them apart from all the others. Then I … Continue reading

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My honey jar box is evolving…

I don’t feel that I’ve reached the final iteration yet, but I wanted to do something that made the box rather more visually appealing. Here’s what I came up with.

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