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 !