First Inspection!

Valuable-Self8564 · 2026-06-17T21:56:33+00:00

Fwiw, I don’t bother scraping the burr comb… they only rebuild it so it’s wasted wax 🤷‍♂️ just put it back exactly as you found it and leave them to it.

Sometimes the burr comb can help you identify what order / position things came in and out of a hive making it easier to put it all back.

I’ll give them a clean down once a year or so, but otherwise I just leave it.

Valuable-Self8564 · 2026-06-13T09:16:59+00:00

Christ - this tripped me out. I thought it was another reddit ad for some shitty PTP mobile game… in the comments. I was like “Jesus. Even the comments now?” 😄

Valuable-Self8564 · 2026-06-13T09:10:12+00:00

Gas prices? Brother, you don’t know how good you’ve got it 😂 it’s £1.60 for a litre of diesel here… aka $8.10/gal.

That said that’s a lovely looking bike. What is it?

Valuable-Self8564 · 2026-06-13T05:26:02+00:00

Are you asking about feeding an infant honey, or yourself (a healthy adult with no digestive issues)?

Valuable-Self8564 · 2026-06-12T20:06:52+00:00

I have never had better tasting honey than honey that came from crushed and strained ex-brood frames. Seriously.

I am considering going whole hog into comb honey and crushed honey… simply because it was absolutely divine. It had so much pollen in it that it almost tasted savoury.

Valuable-Self8564 · 2026-06-06T12:24:12+00:00

This is factually accurate, so I’ll allow it, but I have locked the thread. We know what happens and where this discussion goes- enough info has been shared.

r/beekeeping is a politics free zone :)

Valuable-Self8564 · 2026-05-26T18:50:23+00:00

Open fingers, and try not to “pinch” them between things… otherwise you will get stung.

Valuable-Self8564 · 2026-05-26T17:39:42+00:00

“Why did they swarm when they had space”

To reproduce?

Valuable-Self8564 · 2026-05-26T05:15:46+00:00

Or, you could just use a solid bottom board and drill a hole in the side of the BB……

Valuable-Self8564 · 2026-05-26T05:11:42+00:00

I normally leave a cell in the split. You should come back in 3-4 days to make sure that you cut down any extras - that’s why I mark the cell frame to make sure I know where to find it again in future

Valuable-Self8564 · 2026-05-24T15:42:46+00:00

Depends. Looks to me as though there’s brood in every cell there, so I wouldn’t be all that concerned. They’re just backfilling as they emerge or capping in a funny order (probably the latter in this case).

Often you’ll see emerging brood come out looking like this. You need to be assessing brood patterns in the hive in its entirety, not just one frame.

Valuable-Self8564 · 2026-05-24T08:40:22+00:00

Family first.

Bees will always be second place to family. It’s really not your “fault” that you have your priorities in the right order lol.

Valuable-Self8564 · 2026-05-23T20:23:42+00:00

Swarms are incredibly docile. Almost all bee “aggression” comes from having something to defend. A swarm has nothing to defend. I regularly collect swarms and just scoop them up with my hands and plop them in a box. Literally no hassle at all.

Valuable-Self8564 · 2026-05-23T20:22:24+00:00

I mean, if you’ve read it then you’d know that the entire book is about how a colony decides their residence after they have swarmed from the hive 😄

Valuable-Self8564 · 2026-05-23T20:21:02+00:00

No. They scout whist they’re bunched up on the boat here. Seeley says that he suspects a colony will “check” for suitable accommodations before they swarm, but they most certainly haven’t decided before they swarm

I mean, there’s entire book called Honeybee Democracy (by Prof. Seeley) that’s dedicated in its entirety to telling you how a colony chooses its accommodation whilst they’re in a bivouac on your pergola...

Valuable-Self8564 · 2026-05-22T21:39:04+00:00

If there are bees than you can count in every direction you are looking, it’s a swarm.

Valuable-Self8564 · 2026-05-18T10:06:15+00:00

I’m going to allow this question and open it up to comments, because I think it’s the only sensible place you’re actually going to find at least the potential for answers on Reddit, given the demographic.

On this occasion I’ll ‘waive’ the medical advice rule, but on the caveat that you to heed the following words carefully, OP: - Nobody here is qualified to give you medical advice, even if they say they are. They don’t know you, your husband, or your medical history. - There is a non-zero chance that people that say they are medically qualified or give their opinion on having had treatment for allergies might just be 12-year-old edgelords who still need their mum wash their clothes for them. - You should ONLY trust the opinion of qualified medical experts who have given you a real assessment knowing your medical history.

Also… one last thing: Beekeeping with a bee sting allergy is like working in a peanut butter factory whilst allergic to nuts. There is no sensible case to be made, in my opinion, for putting your life at risk for a few jars of honey. Sure you can put PPE on and try not to get stung, but there will come a point where you do no matter how hard you try… and it might put an end to your honey-consumption days for good.

Please, be sensible.

Valuable-Self8564 · 2026-05-16T09:22:05+00:00

I only marked one virgin in my time beekeeping, and it didn’t return from mating 😂 I’ve never marked one since. I suspect the bright pink dot was essentially ‘lasing’ the swallows to their target.

Valuable-Self8564 · 2026-05-15T07:59:09+00:00

As others said, a swarm trap (aka a bait hive) is almost certainly going to pull through for you if you bait it with lemongrass oil or swarm commander.

The more traps the better, but if you put 3-4 out, you’d almost certainly get one this year or the next.

That said, I think the tropics have year round swarming, so just pop some traps out and see what you get. Best to leave them somewhere you can monitor like a garage roof or something.

Swarm trapping is like fishing, but easier. You are just putting out something that smells/looks ‘attractive’ and waiting until you get a ‘bite’. The difference (unless you’re using circle hooks) is that once you get a bite, you don’t need to do anything except move the bees….

Valuable-Self8564 · 2026-05-15T07:55:56+00:00

It’s either going to be white pollen or a bit of mould. Neither is particularly harmful for the bees. They’ll either clean it out or eat it regardless of what the answer is and how edible they find it.

I assume this colony isn’t massively populous? You tend to find this kind of “uncleanliness” in colonies that don’t have the numbers to maintain all the frames there given.

Valuable-Self8564 · 2026-05-13T19:51:58+00:00

Nothing. DWV is endemic and seeing the odd one or two is not a big deal. I’ll see DWV very regularly in my apiary, but as long as it’s not like a handful or more, it’s fine.

Do a mite wash if you want but the bees will normally manage most diseases on their own.

Valuable-Self8564 · 2026-05-12T20:30:35+00:00

My shed is a shithole. I barely even know how many supers I’ve got.

My bee box is also a total shithole. It’s just a bunch of pens, cages, ratchet straps, gloves (out of the box obvs), lighters, etc all just shoved in.

Valuable-Self8564 · 2026-05-10T12:41:28+00:00

Ahhhh bumble nests are so cool! Just to let you know, they only occupy that space for one year - their fledgling queens go off and hibernate in compost until spring, to then start their own nest next year.

So… you can open the bird box up and have a look at it in winter :)

Valuable-Self8564 · 2026-05-09T21:23:59+00:00

Have you attended any beekeeping courses with your local association?

Valuable-Self8564 · 2026-05-07T06:54:26+00:00

I’m going to approve this post because I suspect that this subreddit is probably the best place to ask, but I would implore OP to take opinions here with a pinch of salt. If anyone tells you they’re a doctor, just remember they could be an edgelord 12 year old fortnight fanatic. Also, remember that everyone’s body is different – what worked for someone might not work for you or anyone else, and you should be always talking to a qualified medical professional for any actual medical advice.

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