Category Archives: Bee-keeping

Memory Lane, 18th May 2023: Another one of those swarms

Posted on May 13, 2024 by james

I was asked today if I could deal with a swarm that had turned up at a local church. Apparently it had been there a day or two and no-one had thought of me before. I got there and found … Continue reading →

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An empty apiary

Posted on May 13, 2024 by james

With all the driving around I’ve done because of this bee swarm in the house, I thought I might as well drop off a bait hive at an apiary I had to empty a couple of weeks back. The water … Continue reading →

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Bee Invasion, part 2

Posted on May 13, 2024 by james

I’m not sure how many parts there are going to bee (ho ho) to this. Hopefully not many. I went down to have a look at the swarm this morning and it’s not good. The hole the bees are using … Continue reading →

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Bee Invasion!

Posted on May 13, 2024 by james

As I was about to sit down to dinner on Saturday evening, the owner of a farm where I have some hives turned up to tell me that a swarm (possibly or possibly not from one of my hives; I … Continue reading →

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Bee Inspections, 11th May 2024

Posted on May 13, 2024 by james

Before heading off to the “Team Bees” apiary, I went through my hives at home. Nothing too exciting going on… One colony needed supers and another looks to be superseding. In another colony I found the queen, but most of … Continue reading →

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Memory Lane, 7th May 2023: “Team Bees”

Posted on May 13, 2024 by james

On behalf of a local charity that has been set up to grow and cook food for people who are unable to provide themselves with hot meals, I have been setting up a new apiary. There’s very little money available, … Continue reading →

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Memory Lane, 5th May 2023: Demaree boards

Posted on May 8, 2024 by james

I thought I’d try the Demaree method for swarm management this year, so I made up a couple of boards to help. They go above the supers, under the upper brood box, so the arrangement from bottom to top might … Continue reading →

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A new beekeeping toy

Posted on May 8, 2024 by james

For me, this makes a lot of sense rather than having to rely on gas heating or lugging a battery to all of my hives. I’ve wanted one for a while, but asked for contributions to the cost for my … Continue reading →

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First swarm of the season

Posted on May 7, 2024 by james

Kind of… I received a message this afternoon saying that there was a large swarm by the road in our nearest town. I didn’t see the message immediately (I was fighting weeds at the time), but when I asked about … Continue reading →

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More bait hive painting

Posted on May 7, 2024 by james

I’ve almost completed painting my bait hive brood boxes now. At least, I thought I had: six of them. I was sorting through them in the apiary after the bees had gone to bed this evening and found at least … Continue reading →

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