Budding Cottage

Hive 2 I am strangely fond of this hive of bees.  It faces the gate as I come into the apiary and they always seem busy, catching the sunlight early. In May I found the queen and popped her into the brood box (after overwintering on a brood and a half).  I then left them […]

There has been an outbreak of European Foul Brood in the area, and so the DEFRA national bee unit has swung into action, prioritising visits to apiaries within 5km or so of the outbreak.  My apiaries were on their list! Initial alarm that there might be something wrong in the hives, but a welcome opportunity […]

So, Hives B and C….the two swarms that are so different. Hive B has for some time worried me because it had the varroa problem and was so slow to develop.  The queen was lovely and placid and the bees nice, if fidgety, but they did not thrive.  So a course of thymol should have […]

It has been two weeks since I managed to catch up with the girls – so time to check what they had been up to. First good news in the Pagden hive (Hive D) – there is brood and looks like a queen is in place and laying.  What a relief. They are busy filling […]

Before I leave Mr C in charge of the apiary for a week, time for a quick check of stores and space, among other things, principally to be relatively content that the little devils will have plenty to do and lots of space to do it in. We seem to be entering July, and according […]

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 […]

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 […]

After the addition of a new swarm I have been working on the apiary to plant bee friendly plants and to ensure a water source is nearby.  Whilst watching the 3 hives however, hive B looks very quiet in comparison.  I took a peek under the crown board on 4 June to see how things […]

A visit to the bees today during a sunny patch of the day.  I wanted to check their sugar syrup levels, which I had topped up last week.  Sure enough they were guzzled dry. Hive A were busy drawing comb in their first super.  I didn’t check the brood box as they seemed very busy […]

Today since it was lovely and sunny, and the temperature at the hives was 21C, I decided to check progress in both hives. Hive A had started off with 6 frames on 4 May and a lively queen with Brood at all stages (BIAS). So 15 days in I wanted to see how far they […]