Author: Nick Holmes
May 14, 2016
It was May 1st; I never seem to get round to writing these things up when they happen. The weather had been very unusual, we’d had a warm winter, right through to early Feb and then cold and miserable right… (READ MORE)
Inspection, Problems, Swarms
Author: Nick Holmes
July 13, 2015
I washed my beekeeping jacket tonight and thought I would share what keep my pockets to do the task at hand – From the top – lighters (have a spare), multi-tool (pliers, knife, screwdrivers), compass & thermometer, keys to the… (READ MORE)
DIY, Inspection
Author: Nick Holmes
April 2, 2014
A hatch, a hatch !! So the dark patch / hole between the two bees with their bums in the air is a hatch, where a queen has cut her way out and emerged from her cell. This means she… (READ MORE)
Inspection, Queen rearing
Author: Nick Holmes
March 29, 2014
So three cells have been made; three out of 30, but I only need one queen. Well I say three, but two of them are heavily combed over, so maybe that means they are dead in the cells. As I… (READ MORE)
Inspection, Queen rearing
Author: Nick Holmes
March 20, 2014
I did my queen rearing today. As the donor hive only had 4 frames of brood I didn’t want to leave them short at this time of build up. I grafted tiny larvae from cells using a paint brush. I… (READ MORE)
Inspection, Queen rearing
Author: Nick Holmes
March 17, 2014
I, err, cough, chopped some queen cells down before finding the queen. Then I looked back and could not find eggs. OK you caught me doing something stupid and now I think it is queenless. BUT, I have a plan…. (READ MORE)
Inspection
Author: Nick Holmes
March 17, 2014
On Sunday I opened a hive and found 7 frames with brood on. Not just national frames, 14×12 national frames, the ones with more cells per frame than a commercial ! 7 is the magic number, it translates as time… (READ MORE)
Inspection
Author: Nick Holmes
March 1, 2014
Whether you are new to beekeeping or an old hand there is always lots to do in preparation for spring which is not a long time away. With the bees coming out of winter with low numbers it is one… (READ MORE)
Inspection
Author: Nick Holmes
February 14, 2014
I visited my hives today and there as been a sad loss. One colony at Hastinwood apiary has perished from this world. The outer insulated cover I made was blown off and was found 30 feet away. Meanwhile the hive… (READ MORE)
Inspection
Author: Nick Holmes
January 14, 2014
It’s that time of year again where I check on the bees and they get stroppy at me and the obvious result ensues. I should learn to wear a veil, tsk tsk… Anyway, I had a semi inspection at the… (READ MORE)
Inspection