Let's Talk Bees - Beekeeping Podcast - Episode 64

Let's Talk Bees - Episode 64

Welcome to Let’s Talk Bees – your place to catch up on all the buzz from our live Q&A beekeeping podcast, hosted by Laurence Edwards of Black Mountain Honey.

Every other Friday at 7:30pm BST, Laurence goes live on YouTube to answer your questions in real time. The livestream is called Let’s Talk Bees, and it’s a friendly, no-nonsense Q&A format that’s perfect for beekeepers of all levels. Whether you're a first-time beekeeper or running dozens of colonies, there's always something new to learn.

In this blog, you’ll find the full video replay of the latest session at the top, followed by a complete written summary of the questions and answers covered during the stream. It’s ideal for those who prefer to read, take notes, or quickly revisit specific advice.

Got a question of your own? Tune in live and ask away. Let’s Talk Bees is where the UK beekeeping community comes together – one question at a time.

We had fun this week out in the sun!

Is it too late to graft queens?

Answer: No, it’s not too late. You can continue grafting queens until early to mid-August in the UK. I personally graft until then with good results.

Is it too late to do a walk-away split?

Answer: No. You can still perform walk-away splits at this time of year, though the earlier the better to ensure colony strength before winter.

Are you feeling better, Laurence? Ok to film a beekeeping podcast?

Answer: I’m definitely on the mend, thanks! Still not 100%, but well enough to be back answering your questions.

Do you do paid talks for associations?

Answer: Yes, I do Zoom talks and can sometimes travel for in-person ones. Contact me if your association is interested.

My mini mating nuc has multiple eggs per cell. Is this laying workers?

Answer: Yes. Mini mating nucs can develop laying workers quickly if the queen fails to mate. Shake the bees out, scrape back wax, and restart.

Drone brood hasn't emerged for 6 weeks. What's going on?

Answer: Drone brood can take 24–26 days to emerge. If it’s been longer and nothing has emerged, it could be chilled or failed, but give it a little longer.

What's the deadline for making nucs?

Answer: We've already made all of ours for winter. Late-season nucs are risky due to robbing and wasp pressure. Best done by early July.

I have two weak colonies—one queenless, one with a possibly dud queen. How to merge?

Answer: Kill the dud queen, shake out bees, and let them beg into the queenless colony. Make sure there's a viable queen cell or add one.

Can I do a Demaree split on double brood?

Answer: Yes, just treat the two boxes as one unit. But I don’t recommend it this late—better used earlier in the year to prevent swarming.

How late in the season can you perform a Demaree split?

Answer: I wouldn’t do them after June. The method works best before swarming impulse fades (early-to-mid June in the UK).

Tips for making splits in the same apiary?

Answer:

• Ensure the donor colony is strong (6–8 frames of brood).

• Make early in the season to reduce robbing/wasp risk.

• Don’t feed for 7 days post-split to avoid robbing.

• Use a mated queen for quick establishment.

  
  

How to handle colonies that are superseding?

Answer: Confirm if they are truly superseding (1 or 2 queen cells on the face of brood) or actually swarming (multiple queen cells). The latter is much more likely during peak season.

How to manage chalkbrood?

Answer: Chalkbrood is more common in native strains like AMM. Good queens generally suppress it. Cull and requeen any colony showing significant signs.

Can I requeen now if a colony has gone queenless?

Answer: Don’t add another queen straight away. Add a frame of eggs, wait 3 days, and see if they build emergency cells. That tells you if they are truly queenless.

How long can a virgin queen be kept in an incubator?

Answer: I recommend not using virgins from incubators. Use protected queen cells introduced directly to queenless colonies. If you must, only keep her for a day with feeding.

Why are my bees backfilling the brood box with honey?

Answer: Usually indicates the queen isn’t laying well. Fix the queen—if she can’t keep up with the colony’s pace, they’ll store nectar instead.

When is the best time to go double brood?

Answer: Start of the season (early spring). Never go double brood this late in the season—it causes more issues than benefits.

Should I use wet or dry super storage?

Answer: Always wet. Let bees clean them up, then store dry in a sealed but ventilated space to allow mites to clear any pollen residue.

What’s your favourite queen rearing method?

Answer: 10 over 10 method (or 12 over 12 in Payne’s hives). Combines emergency and swarm impulses—produces big, high-quality queens with plenty of royal jelly.

My colony filled the top Demaree box with nectar, bottom not drawn. Why?

Answer: Likely done too early. If there aren’t enough bees, they abandon the queen and she can die. Best to recombine and requeen now.

Will new queens build fast or slow?

Answer: Typically slow and steady until spring. Then growth accelerates. It depends on forage, space, and queen quality.

What’s the latest to expect a virgin queen to start laying?

Answer: Four weeks post-emergence is the usual cut off. Some queens mate at 5–6 weeks, but that's rare. If you see no eggs by week four, consider replacing.

Are your mini mating nuc queens as good as full hive-mated ones?

Answer: Yes. As long as they’re left long enough to assess proper mating, there is no difference. Mini mating saves bee resources.

Do the Obsidian Queens come from a specific strain?

Answer: That’s a secret 😉. They are exclusive to Black Mountain Honey—our darkest, calmest bees.

In this week’s Let’s Talk Bees, we covered a wide range of seasonal beekeeping questions—perfectly timed for what many of you are experiencing right now. We started with queen rearing, including whether it’s too late to graft queens or perform walk-away splits (it’s not!) and discussed Demaree splits on both single and double brood setups. I gave some firm cut-off points for these interventions, reminding everyone that timing is everything when it comes to building strong colonies and avoiding swarming.

We also tackled a number of queen-related issues—from how to handle dud virgins, laying workers, and supersedure signs, to tips for introducing mated queens successfully. We spoke about common problems like chalkbrood, drone brood that won’t emerge, and how to manage pollen-blocked frames. A few of you shared brilliant results from using our F1 queens and overwintered nucs—please keep tagging me in those posts so I can share them!

As always, it was great to see familiar names and new ones, and I’m really glad I could make it—even if I’m still recovering a bit! Remember, if you have any questions you didn’t get to ask or if something crops up during the week, you can speak to Buzz, our beekeeping chatbot, anytime. Buzz lives over at blackmountainhoney.co.uk and can give instant answers to your beekeeping queries—even when I’m not around.

Thanks again for joining me, have a fantastic weekend, and I’ll see you all soon. 🐝