1. Taking bees from a tree.  It would help to establish the bees in the hive
attached to the tree if any comb containing brood were trimmed to size and
fitted into standard frames, secured with string or elastic bands and then
placed in the hive.
 
2. My beesuit doesn't have elastic at the wrists as it is a cotton boiler suit
as used by painters and decorators and a fraction of the price of a catalogue
bee suit.  When working bare handed I use wristlets.  These are cloth tubes
about 9 inches long with elastic at each end.  They encase the arm from wrist
to just below the elbow and prevent bees crawling up the sleeves.  I bought
mine but they must be very easy to make with basic sewing skills.
 
3. In the UK all the best hives are made of cedar.  Pine is at the cheap,
second class end of the market.  Cedar is very light, stable, easily worked,
insulating, lasts longer than the beekeeper and is resistant to insect attack.
When very new they do have an attractive aroma,  nicer than that of pine.  The
smell soon goes and honey does not appear to be tainted by it.  Bees love it.
The only disadvantages are the cost and that being a softer wood can over the
years be damaged by hive tools at the corners.  Woodpeckers and rats can make
holes in it relatively easily but this is an infrequent problem in my area.
Some of my cedar hives in constant use are at least half a century old.  When
new, cedar is a pinkish colour but soon weathers to an attractive silvery
grey.  Every few years I paint my hives with creosote if I think about it.
This may make them last a little longer but I don't think I will live long
enough to be sure.
 
Chris Slade