Spring is in the air…

Posted by Jon on Mar 7, 2011 in Beekeeping, Wild bees | 0 comments

We’ve been enjoying some fantastic weather here – days full of sunshine and temperatures rising rapidly. The honey bees have been out in force, making the most of the flowering box (Buxus sempervirens) which we have in large quantities all around the garden. They’ve already been busy with the early flowering willow on warm days through January and February but the volume of pollen entering the hives now is much larger – the sunshine and the box must be to their liking!

The double-whammy

Posted by Beekeeper on Nov 7, 2010 in Asian Hornets, Hive problems | 8 comments

This is the photo that ruined my weekend – the sort of sight that strikes fear into any beekeepers heart.

Not only are the bees being picked off as they leave or return to the hive by the huge Asian hornets and torn limb from limb, but this one also has a varroa mite – you can see the mite falling off the bee (the brown blob between the bee’s legs) as the hornet gets to work.

The bees fight back

Posted by Beekeeper on Nov 1, 2010 in Asian Hornets, Bee behaviour, Hive problems, Hornets | 1 comment

Asian hornets are still preying on our bees, settling on the landing board and waiting for one to leave or picking off the guard bees who come out to defend the hive – the hornets tap along the landing board to encourage the bees to stick their heads out of the hive, no doubt frustrated that the hornet guards are keeping them out. Many of the bees are too slow to escape as the cooler weather has settled in and as it’s late in the season, the Asian hornets are the new queens getting ready to overwinter – huge beasts, several times the size of the bees.

Where are the bees going?

Posted by Jon on Oct 20, 2010 in Beekeeping, Wildlife | 4 comments

I’m making the most of the current fair weather to get a long list of pre-winter jobs done around the house whilst pondering on the question, where are my bees?

I know it’s the time of year when the colony is reducing in size, and my local beekeeping friends have been telling me that their bees are all over their ivy. Living in a crumbling pile of stones as we do, ivy is plentiful here – but not a bee in sight, only wasps.

A week in September….

Posted by Jon on Sep 21, 2010 in Asian Hornets, Beekeeping, Moths & Butterflies, Wild bees, Wildlife | 0 comments

Oops – a whole week has flown by and no update, so I thought I’d show you what’s going on in our garden as September marches to a close.
The bees are still out gathering pollen and the hives have been very busy with the current hot weather, although the days are noticeably short with all the bees tucked up by 7pm when the temperature starts to drop.