I visited these bees with Paul a few weeks ago to see about removing them. The cottage is due to be renovated at some point, and as we wanted bees for the Marsh, it would be somewhere to relocate these bees before work began. Now is a good time to try and remove bees as … Continue reading National Trust Bees
Thermosolar Hive at Berwick Solar Farm
I was invited to be involved with this project at a solar farm near me, using a newly developed type of hive to help in the fight against varroa, a parasitic mite which can debilitate honeybee colonies and cause secondary viral infections. Currently the treatments available are chemically-based and have a harsh effect on the … Continue reading Thermosolar Hive at Berwick Solar Farm
Bee Hotels and a New Hive for the School Apiary
With the Langney Marsh School Apiary Project, we are keen to include different groups and societies to maximise the reach and engagement with the bees. One element of this is to utilise the skills of the men and women who attend The Eastbourne Shed, a workshop organised by Age Concern Eastbourne. People can go along … Continue reading Bee Hotels and a New Hive for the School Apiary
Setting up your WBC
The WBC is so named as it was invented in 1890 by a William Broughton Carr, and it is a double-walled hive. It works very well in our damp and changeable climate as the weather is kept off the boxes where the bees have their combs. It isn't quite as easy to use if you … Continue reading Setting up your WBC
Propolis
Propolis is a sticky substance produced by the bees, made primarily from tree resin which they gather all year round, but especially in spring when the sap is more readily available. It also contains wax and pollen, and various aromatic compounds and other plant nutrients which make it a useful hive product for both us … Continue reading Propolis
Setting up your hive
Lots of people are starting out with new hives and sometimes there is assumed knowledge, so here is a quick reminder about how to set up your hive. Everything needs to fit snugly so ensure all the boxes are flush on top of each other. Start with the floor, and the entrance block set to … Continue reading Setting up your hive
First hive check
The past few weeks have been warm, sunny and mild here in the UK, and as such, the bees have been out looking for pollen and nectar. I don't normally check my bees until March or even April, but as they have been so active, I wanted to see what was going on and they … Continue reading First hive check
…other than honeybees
I know that beekeepers and domesticated honeybees are often thought to be going against ecological norm by introducing thousands of extra mouths to cater for, artificially feeding them to promote productivity, introducing alien pests and unnatural genes with imported, inseminated queens, and generally encouraging a skewed balance of nature. However, my apiary where the are … Continue reading …other than honeybees
Trees at West Rise School Apiary
We have been planning to increase the tree cover at the Marsh, to provide both shelter from the wind and better foraging opportunities for our small colony of honeybees. The black poplars were the first to go in, and all six seem to have rooted and survived the worst of the winter: The mulch seems … Continue reading Trees at West Rise School Apiary
More on Plants, Pollination and Bees
Bees talk to flowers. Talk isn't strictly correct, as this is not verbal communication, but communicate they definitely do. And if we witnessed the conversation, we would think of it as talking. Plants carry a very weak negative electrical charge, because although they are rooted in the ground and are therefore earthed, they are exposed … Continue reading More on Plants, Pollination and Bees