Budding Cottage

Well, the first sting was on the wrist, and through a glove, from Hive G.  That was okay, a tingle, some redness which faded rapidly leaving just a faint sensation.  However the second sting was not the same. The second sting is from a bee probably from the same Hive – I popped over to […]

Chris very kindly agreed to come over and give me the benefit of a second view on a couple of my hives.  Extremely generously, this second view extended to all 6 hives eventually and a marathon 3 hour beekeeping practical session… I am still playing around with advice on brood versus half brood; and trying […]

Well, we did our annual trip to the three counties show, to wander around, look at stuff and eat various things from local sources.  Just before I was due to take my stint as a science ambassador, helping out on the education stand, we drifted by the bee tent.  There we sort of got caught […]

Well, I knew that a lot could happen in a week, but was taken aback by activity in Hive A and Hive C this week. Hive C As ever, being little gannets, the food had gone.  The surprise was that the bees have built wild comb linking the eke for the apiguard with the crown […]

As if all the bees we had were not enough…. I have finally located the source of bee noise that I always heard around the back of the house.  It is not bees working local vegetation…it appears to be a nest of bees in the chimney cavity who have gained access about 12 ft up […]

Introducing two new hives from Lulsley, Worcestershire; and one optimistic Padgen maneouvre: Well, with the chance to gain additional hives with colonies, and help out a fellow beekeeper, I decided to buy from a keeper in Worcestershire. Night moves We turned up, Mr C, Mum, Dad and me, at 8pm with rope, ratchet straps, gaffer […]

The more I learn, the more I read, the more I think…the more I have questions and moments of indecision. When  I first started I was happy to peek into a hive and pull it apart frame by frame, having a good nose about.  Now I am stalled by questions, questions, questions. This week I […]

Before I went over to check the new hives on Thursday morning, I checked my apiary.  After Dave Sutton’s visit on Tuesday I had carried out a Wednesday morning Pagden on my Gloucester bees (the 6 frame nuc that I got in early May) because they had built about 6 queen cells (more cobbling together […]

After night time manoeuvres moving two hives into the orchard late at night, on Thursday morning I took a poll of a couple of beekeepers and instead of leaving the bees to settle, thought I would have a looksee so that I knew what was happening in the hive.  I was worried because one felt […]

As a beginner, it was with a small amount of trepidation and some excitement that I greeted the chance of having the LAN group come and visit my little apiary, and to meet the fabled Dave Sutton, Regional Bee Inspector. Hive B: We started by looking at the swarm I captured from Malvern on 8 […]