Almost.....

I checked all my sites today and saw that there were bees in all hives. It's almost Spring and the trees and bushes had buds appearing. A few more weeks and things should burst into life! 

So Pleased To See You

The sunshine today brought my bees out at home, a good assurance as we head towards spring. It was great to see them making cleansing flights (though hope no one had washing out!) after this latest cold spell. It also means that they can re-cluster over fresh stores if required. Cant wait for the active season to begin again!

Unknown Pest

Checking my apiary sites today I found this nucleus hive (which has a colony bees in) had been attacked by something (within the last week). Fortunately the bees appear okay, for now...
I wonder what could do this? Shrew??

The Benefit to Bees In Sub Zero Temperatures

I am hopeful that this cold spell will be beneficial to our bees. It will help keep pests and diseases at bay (bar the woodpecker!) and the bees will not be so active, therefore will not use so much stored honey! Many people think that sub zero temperatures would the most detrimental but the worst weather for bees is damp weather. The main risk this weather is if the bees use up all the stores that they are clustered on and become isolated from other food stored.

Happy New Year!

Wishing you happiness and all the very best in 2015.

Seasons Greetings

Happy Christmas Everybody!

Good?.....Or Bad??

Checking all my hives today, found these little beggars had noshed their way well through the fondant even though they have 2 supers (boxes) of honey on board. I hope they are just filling all the gaps with fondant and not using the fondant because they have already eaten all their honey stores. I put another block of fondant on just in case.