All the gear, no idea.
Beekeepers love equipment – the sweet smelling cedar boxes, the warm efficiency of poly hives, cutting edge hive tools, the sweaty protective beesuits, the smokers, sublimators and other gadgets. And the one thing we love more than that lot is making it … from spares in the offcuts bin, scrounged Correx For Sale signs or sheets of Kingspan insulation retrieved by dumpster diving.
Here’s a retrospective listing of articles posted over the last few years under these various headings.
The Bee Shed
Bee shed …
Bee sheds, bee houses and bee lean-to’s.
- The Hopkins method (and more) June, 2023
- Spot the queen May, 2023
- Teaching in the bee shed July, 2019
- Ready, Steady … Wait April, 2019
- Winter chores February, 2019
- Bee shed musings November, 2018
- Shelter from the storm September, 2018
- Let there be light April, 2018
- >3 feet and <3 miles April, 2018
- The new bee shed March, 2018
- Bee shed 2: the sequel December, 2017
- Mobile beekeeping February, 2017
- German bee houses part 2 December, 2016
- German bee houses part 1 November, 2016
- Entrances and exits October, 2016
- Varroa control in the bee shed September, 2016
- Bee shed rules June, 2016
- Bee shed inspections May, 2016
- Nucs in the bee shed April, 2016
- The bee shed March, 2016
- Building bridges February, 2016
Hives and Nucs
An Abelo/Swienty hybrid hive …
Cedar hives, poly hives and nucleus hives.
- Correx: cheap, light, useful. Choose any three May, 2022
- Cut more losses September, 2021
- Supering June, 2021
- In the bleak midwinter January, 2021
- The winter cluster December, 2020
- Preparing for winter October, 2020
- A June Gap June, 2020
- The million drones fiasco June, 2020
- The nucleus option May, 2020
- Quick fixes September, 2019
- BOGOF July, 2019
- Flawed floors January, 2019
- Hive stands October, 2018
- If Carlsberg did apiaries … June, 2018
- Integrity … September, 2017
- Compatibility January, 2017
- Everynuc feeder October, 2016
- Swienty poly hives August, 2016
- Everynuc elbow room August, 2016
- Nucs in the bee shed April, 2016
- Everynuc 2 beespace September, 2015
- Spray painting poly nucs June, 2015
- Repairing poly hives May, 2015
- Super poly bait hives April, 2015
- Langstroth nuc conversion January, 2015
- Which poly nuc? November, 2014
- Everynuc poly nuc July, 2014
- Bait hives April, 2014
- More poly nucs April, 2014
- Poly nuc insulated eke March, 2014
- Two frame nucs January, 2014
- Paynes poly nuc boxes April, 2013
Roofs, floors and miscellaneous boards
Split board …
Roofs, floors, split boards, Cloake boards, queen excluders and ekes.
- Broodless? November, 2022
- Winter projects October, 2022
- More queen rearing musings June, 2022
- Correx: cheap, light, useful. Choose any three May, 2022
- Measure twice, cut once October, 2021
- Less is more August, 2021
- First impressions April, 2021
- In the bleak midwinter January, 2021
- A New Year, a new start January, 2021
- Matchstick miscellany October, 2019
- Quick fixes September, 2019
- Droning on July, 2019
- Flawed floors January, 2019
- Queen excluders June, 2018
- All the gear, no idea March, 2018
- Makes space in beekeeping (3) January, 2018
- Bring out your dead January, 2018
- Landing boards September, 2017
- Completely floored April, 2017
- Avoiding disaster March, 2017
- Even kewler floors September, 2016
- Cleaning perspex crownboards August, 2016
- Winter checks for kewl floors December, 2015
- Vertical splits and making increase July, 2015
- Building Correx hive roofs April, 2015
- Correx roofs January, 2015
- Dummy boards July, 2014
- Floor change April, 2014
- Poly nuc insulated eke March, 2014
- Kewl floors December, 2013
- Clearer boards December, 2013
- Perspex crownboards December, 2013
Frames
Foundationless frames …
Foundationless frames, building frames and starter strips.
- Foundationless frames redux March, 2023
- Getting answers February, 2023
- Winter projects October, 2022
- Frames November, 2021
- Autumn cleaning October, 2021
- Supering June, 2021
- Queens and amitraz residues in wax December, 2020
- Income and outgoings October, 2019
- The hairdryer treatment May, 2019
- Unknown knowns March, 2019
- Winter chores February, 2019
- Being Certan November, 2017
- Foundationless frames update June, 2017
- Starter strips January, 2017
- Bamboo January, 2017
- Building frames April, 2016
- Frame building March, 2015
- Foundationless frames reviewed September, 2014
- Foundationless frames April, 2014
Tools of the trade
Dadant smoker …
Smokers, vaporisers, sublimators, hive tools and DIY tools.
- Repurposed September, 2023
- Repeated oxalic acid vaporisation November, 2022
- Winter covers and colony survival October, 2022
- The bee bag April, 2022
- Frames November, 2021
- The bare necessities February, 2021
- Creamed honey February, 2021
- Smell the fear October, 2020
- Late season miscellany October, 2020
- The gentle art of beekeeping August, 2020
- It’s the little things … July, 2020
- Abelo smoker box December, 2018
- Ouch, that hurt October, 2018
- Shelter from the storm September, 2018
- Two out of three ain’t bad March, 2018
- Sublimox spares and repairs February, 2018
- If Carlsberg did vaporisers … December, 2017
- Small, but perfectly formed November, 2017
- Size matters August, 2017
- Hive tools May, 2017
- Honey warming cabinet element February, 2017
- Thumb loops January, 2017
- The bee bag November, 2016
- Extractor cleaning July, 2016
- If Carlsberg made smokers June, 2016
- Vaporising Api-Bioxal January, 2016
- Sublime sublimation September, 2015
- Hopping mad July, 2015
- Spray painting poly nucs June, 2015
- Smoker fuel June, 2015
- Cheap smoker January, 2015
- Saf Natura Extractor September, 2014
- Nail guns July, 2014
- Beekeeping footwear June, 2014
- Hivebarrow June, 2014
DIY
Starting materials …
Stuff you can make cheaper or better than you can buy, or stuff you can’t buy.
- Repurposed September, 2023
- Foundationless frames redux March, 2023
- The most fun you can have in a beesuit December, 2022
- Winter projects October, 2022
- The ultimate hive stand? July, 2022
- Correx: cheap, light, useful. Choose any three May, 2022
- Beeswax wraps December, 2021
- Portable queen cell incubator November, 2021
- Measure twice, cut once October, 2021
- DIY queen cell incubator July, 2021
- Income and outgoings October, 2019
- Quick fixes September, 2019
- Bee shed musings November, 2018
- Flour water salt yeast November, 2018
- Hive stands October, 2018
- All the gear, no idea March, 2018
- Makes space in beekeeping (3) January, 2018
- Landing boards September, 2017
- Foundationless frames update June, 2017
- The 25p crownboard May, 2017
- Split boards May, 2017
- Honey warming cabinet element February, 2017
- Starter strips January, 2017
- Bamboo January, 2017
- Entrances and exits October, 2016
- Even kewler floors September, 2016
- Dr. Bodgit goes beekeeping March, 2016
- Everynuc 2 beespace September, 2015
- Spray painting poly nucs June, 2015
- Repairing poly hives May, 2015
- Super poly bait hives April, 2015
- Building Correx hive roofs April, 2015
- Langstroth nuc conversion January, 2015
- Correx roofs January, 2015
- Honey warming cabinet plans December, 2014
- Dr. Bodgit in Birmingham October, 2014
- My greatest fan September, 2014
- Steam wax extractor August, 2014
- Dummy boards July, 2014
- Nail guns July, 2014
- Honey bucket tipper July, 2014
- Hivebarrow June, 2014
- Super honey warming cabinet May, 2014
- Foundationless frames April, 2014
- Floor change April, 2014
- More poly nucs April, 2014
- Poly nuc insulated eke March, 2014
- Kieler frame feeders February, 2014
- Fat dummies February, 2014
- Two frame nucs January, 2014
- Honey warming cabinet January, 2014
- Kewl floors December, 2013
- Clearer boards December, 2013
- Perspex crownboards December, 2013
- Paynes poly nuc boxes April, 2013
Don’t forget … measure twice, cut once, swear often 😉