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I found time this weekend to get out into the new apiary area and clear up the mess from felling the trees last time, including cutting one of them up into shorter lengths to dry out this year. That allowed me to get the digger in to form the second “terrace” level which turned out to be somewhat trickier than planned. Whilst the soil was quite deep under the top level, further down the slope I discovered that there was little more than 50mm of soil on top of solid rock. I had to change my plans slightly, but I think I’ve done an acceptable job in the end.

Once this area was clear I realised there were two possible bullace trees. Both had a fair amount of dead wood and one was very tangled with branches growing in all directions. I’ve pruned them fiercely, leaving five to six feet of trunk standing. Either they’ll come back this spring or they won’t. If they do, they should be able to grow in a far nicer environment where they have plenty of access to light and little competition.

Behind those I cut down some standing dead trees and started cutting the hazel down to size but eventually ran out of light. I also have one sycamore trunk I’d like to remove as it will overhang the apiary. Anything else can be taken out at a later time as it will fall in a more convenient direction.

So, here’s how it looked when I stopped work this afternoon:

Whilst working on the hazel I discovered a pile of seven or eight bottles lying underneath it. I have no idea how long they’ve been there, but they look very much to me like the old-style (1970’s) milk bottles I remember from my childhood. Each one has “CONTENTS 1 PT” moulded into the glass on the outside, so I guess it’s possible. I’m going to clean some up and have a better look as they’re rather green at the moment:

Along with my poly nuc boxes I ordered some of Payne’s poly brood boxes, intending to use them this year with my own floors and supers. As with the nuc boxes, first impressions are good. Other reports on these had left me in two minds about them and I really wasn’t sure if they were going to be of sufficiently high quality. In fact I think I was worrying unnecessarily and I’m now fighting the temptation to order a few more before the sales end. The only real criticism I have is that I’d have preferred not to have handle recesses on the sides that are parallel to the frames and have thicker walls the entire way down.
The boxes come with slots already cut for castellated spacers, or they can be fitted with runners (my preferred choice). On the view of the bottom you’ll see that they also have cut-outs in the corners which are designed to locate on lugs in the Paynes open mesh floor which is a nice touch.
The really noticeable difference between these and the Lyson/Abelo boxes is the external dimensions. The Lyson boxes are the same size externally as a standard National. These are 15mm to 20mm bigger each way (though obviously not in height as that would muck up the bee space). I’ve taken some photos with a standard cedar super on top to show the internal and external fit. For me the largest problem this causes is that a standard National roof will not fit, but that shouldn’t be a problem I have to solve for a while.
Like the nuc boxes, these benefit from painting with water-based exterior paint. Once that’s done and the runners are fitted they’ll be ready to go.

Top View	Side View	Bottom View
With Super	With Super	With Super

I was going to make up some nucleus boxes this year. Quite a few people have been giving positive reports of the Paynes poly nuc boxes though, and the prices in their sale finally convinced me to buy some. They arrived this morning along with a few brood boxes and a large number of frames (also purchased in the sales) and I’ve had a chance to get a quick look at them.
Overall they look pretty good. Despite being polystyrene they feel solid, there’s a built-in feeder down one side and they come with a float for the feeder, a disc entrance cover, a clear acrylic crown cover and a snug-fitting lid. The base has a built-in mesh floor and the gap that allows the bees to reach the feeder has a slot to allow insertion of a piece of metal or plastic sheet to block access to the feeder. I assume that might be required to stop the bees building wild comb in the feeder if you have a higher volume top feeder in place. They also have lugs on the feet and roof that allow them to stack together nicely. All I need to do is paint them with some acrylic masonry paint, fix the entrance discs, put frames in and they’re ready for action.

Nuc Box	Inside View	Entrance Disc
Cover (still with backing)	Feeder float

Abelo Beekeeping Equipment sell both National and Langstroth polystyrene hives. I believe they source them from Lyson in Poland. Unfortunately their current batch of National hive bodies have incorrect spacing between the frame sides and the walls, and between the boxes. As a result they’re not selling them from their site, but they are available on ebay at a much reduced BIN price. Every now and then they auction one and they usually go for around £30. At that price I thought I’d take a punt and see how the bees took to them as the bee space problems may not be insurmountable. The hive has now arrived and here’s what it looks like (complete with a few old frames in the brood chamber). I’ve not checked the spacings yet.

Open Mesh Floor	OMF With Tray Inserted	Brood Chamber
Brood In Position	Supers	Supers In Place
Crown Board	Crown Board Vents Open	Full Hive