LomondBees

Only 5 days to go to the 12th Killearn Beerfest. Pleased to be be located again at @OldMillKillearn - fantastic venue for this friendly vibrant event. Beers of all types from eight up and coming Scottish breweries

@pambizbuster @cm_bagot 10°C and raining here 🙄

@cm_bagot Heading over to Manchester to meet my new little great nephew today, looking at the weather I think we should be staying on the east coast 🤣

knowing there's going to be a deluge later, seems a shame to have cancelled the allotments BBQ but the forecast is dire. we have what we get. always want summer to go on for longer.

@BeekeepersHour Probably majority of honey off now - although bees still going strongly on the Himalayan Balsam on warmer days. Not looking forward to the extraction! #beekeepershour

Is your honey off yet? 🍃🌻🐝🌻🍃 Do you leave any on? 🍃🌻🐝🌻🍃 Are you still expecting more nectar to flow in? 🍃🌻🐝🌻🍃 #BeekeepersHour #Beekeeping #Bees

@AntAntarctic @powell_peter @55bloke The reason beekeepers like it is because it provides a late source of pollen and nectar - up to the first frosts - when, apart from heather, there is very little wild forage.

While it may look pretty, Himalayan balsam is a invasive plant damaging the UKs rivers. It can grow 7m high, produce up to 800 seeds per plant and shoot them up to 7m away. A 🧵about this invasive species 👇

Unfortunately, despite their chat, these virgins are at high risk of remaining that way. Weather predicted to be awful for another 2 weeks.

@ElmTreeBees It's not the look but it would be good to address the sustainability

@LomondBees Not sure. You reckon the plastic ones look crap?

Thinking about doing a run of cut comb this season. Specifically borage because I'm confident of near perfect comb. What's the market like? I'm talking about a few tonne of pieces here.

@ElmTreeBees Does anyone know of a supplier of non-plastic comb boxes?

example

@BeekeepersHour Planning on taking 20 strong colonies to the heather and having 20-30 overwintered nucs for sale next year

Hello everyone 👫 🍃🌻🐝🌻🍃 How are you all? 🍃🌻🐝🌻🍃 Bees all good? 🍃🌻🐝🌻🍃 What have you been up to, and what do you have planned? 🍃🌻🐝🌻🍃 Say hello and give us all a wave 👋 #BeekeepersHour #Beekeeping #Bees

@BeekeepersHour What plans do folk have for the new season? And do you have the kit to achieve them? Something I have been contemplating. #beekeepershour

“The public has the right to know the TRUTH” Everyone should watch this superb interview with @doctor_oxford as she discusses her new @ITV drama #BREATHTAKING which tells the heartbreaking 💔 & untold sacrifices made by our courageous #NHS staff during the peak of the pandemic

@scotforestry @MairiGougeon @JamesJonesGroup @forestsandwood @abports21 @COSLA @ScotLandEstates @ScotGovRural @scotruralnet @TimberTransport There is more damage to the environment caused by your ever widening forestry roads than from lorry emissions. Shoukd send your road maintenance crews to Scandinavia for training.

Rural Affairs Secretary @MairiGougeon announces £2M towards timber transport projects across Scotland. The funding will help decarbonise the forestry sector & reduce the impacts of timber lorries on communities & the environment. ▶️forestry.gov.scot/news-releases/…

@GwenynGruffydd @SheffieldHoney It will depend on your genetics but in my experience those polynucs are so well insulated colonies can get easily through the winter on 5kg of stores. Too much feeding and they will be honey bound come spring!

@SheffieldHoney Also to note when I feed even in September I heft them. If you don’t how do you gage what volume to give. Seems pointless not hefting and giving every hive the same feed?

Finally a dry day! The rain has just been relentless of late, it’s been like a conveyor belt of rain, wind and storms but at last, a nice autumnal day with a tiny bit of blue sky peeping through the clouds at some point during the day 🍂 The day has been spent hefting all the overwintered nucs and topping up the feed where necessary. It’s been so mild meaning the bees have been far more active than you would expect this time of year. What’s the picture where you are? Are the hives lighter than you’d like ? 🐝

Ecosystem consequences of invertebrate decline sciencedirect.com/science/articl…

@dcsprior @euanmccolm Suppose the electorate was 100 and initially the vote was going to be 51-49, Yes-No. If the vow changes 5 people's mind the result is 46-54. QED

angry nats attacking Murray Foote over “the vow” are kidding themselves if they think it cost them victory in 2014.

Fantastic line up of breweries for the 10th Killearn Beerfest on 3rd June- wide range of craft ales to suit all tastes - don't miss it!

@charnley_dave I find using a triangle works well - saves on wax and bees can hang down further

Making Apiada frames for the coming weeks, only 6 boxes to go.

@ElmTreeBees Initiation of crystallization via nucleation is a stochastic process - could be just chance. Need hundreds of jars to determine reliable crystallization rates - though you may have them?

Crystallisation baffles me. Same honey from the same tank, same day. YET One on the right was warmed for 3 days (back in July) and has remained fairly clear.