Beast from the East?

Well my swans are back!

Happy New Year!

Wishing everyone the very best in 2018!

Season Greetings!

Wishing you all a Happy Christmas!!

Getting the better of technology

I'm back!
I have struggled to get into my account since the summer; but my perseverance has (eventually) paid off!

A Week Is A Long Time In Beekeeping

A week ago the hives sat with empty supers and I was concerned I may need to feed. But after a week of scorching temperatures the whole situation has changed. I don't know what has yielded but the hives are full to bursting with nectar coming in! Thank goodness I left supers on or else I dread to think about what would have happened (untold swarming probably would have been induced due to lack of space). Now I have to think about removing some surplus honey if this continues.

Signs of a Dearth (June Gap)

Over the last week I have noticed my bees at home gathering by a pool of water. The temperatures have not been high so I guess that they are drawing water to liquefy honey stores for consumption. This means there is no incoming nectar at present so stores need to be carefully watched over te coming weeks.

Get A Move On

The fields of yellow are now green; the oil seed rape is finished. Time to get a move on and remove any supers with capped honey before it sets hard in the comb!

Blooming Early!

The fields of green are turning yellow by me; 3 weeks earlier than in 2016!
May need to revise my schedule!

Keeping Quiet...

The active season is almost upon us. I have kept quiet over winter anxious to see how my colonies have fared. I will not inspect until well into April, but I am pleased to see bees flying and returning laden with pollen from all but 3 hives and I wintered over 50. So here's hoping that April upholds those figures for me.

Happy New Year

Best wishes to everyone in 2017!

HAPPY CHRISTMAS

Seasons Greetings to one and all !

Wasp Queens

Checking fondant today around my apiaries I found over half a dozen wasp queen hibernating inside the roofs of hives! Needless to say they were all dealt with, crafty little beggars!!

Familiar Smell

There was a distinct aroma emanating from my hives today which leads me to believe that the Ivy is coming into flower. A late source for the bees

Unexpected Passenger

Traveling between sites today, laden with equipment being moved, I was shocked as a mouse ran along my side window sill and onto the dashboard! Not knowing how to react whilst driving I wound both front windows down; the mouse ran back onto my door sill and as I slowed, it jumped out!

WASPS!

The wasps are clearly more evident around the hive entrances today. I have already put mouse guards on to reduce the entrances and help the bees.

Melancholic Again

The realisation that the active season is all but over again leaves me sad. The season has gone and I seem to have been so busy with keeping things on an even keel that this time suddenly appears and slaps me right in the face! Mouse guards are on (to help reduce entrances against wasps for now) and its time to prepare for winter!!

What a difference...

One month on and the fondant is long gone; the supers are heaving under the weight of nectar pouring in! It seems the bees have found a source to work, and boy are they working it!!

Been Buzzy- Warning!

Apologies for the lack of blogging but I have been pre occupied with keeping my bees alive! In the middle of summer and having to feed stocks, due to the poor weather. This has to be a warning!! The climate is changing and the bees are suffering - and all thanks to mankind?!
DEFRA actually put out a warning of "Starvation Risk" which means it's not just me having a problem. Cautiously there does seem to be some income returning to the hives over the last week or so; lets hope it continues. To add to the optimism I have so far avoided any fatalities.

The Joys of Rape Honey

I have just spent the weekend getting off the oilseed rape honey before it sets solid in the comb. As I was extracting it had already started to granulate making it really hard to extract. Added to this I feel the bees are always tetchy when foraging the rape. Its not my favourite crop due to it HAVING to be extracted. Hopefully all done but I am sure a few SOLID frames will appear in the coming weeks!

The picture doesn't really show clearly the granulated honey stuck in the comb; it causes chaos in the extractor as the frames become unbalanced where the set honey is stuck causing the extractor to dance violently around !

Here's a more calming picture of the approach to some of my hives today - lovely and sunny; gives me a "summery" feel!

Of Mice and Bees

I was in the middle of doing an artificial swarm today and went to get an empty nucleus hive. Opening it up I found a nest of baby mice! I was stopped in my tracks and couldn't bring myself to throw them out, they looked so cute! Even though they were wrecking the comb in the hive, I carefully placed it all back together and put it back exactly where it was.
I went to another nuc and lifted the lid: to be greeted by a nest of bumble bees, lovely reddish bottoms! That hive too went back exactly where it was!
Third time lucky, the next nucleus box was empty and I was able to complete the procedure.