I was invited to come and talk to the Year 6 children at Western Road Primary School in Lewes, East Sussex, about honey bees, as they have a feral colony living in the roof of their school building. They have been there at least a few years, and are not normally particularly noticeable, but since … Continue reading Primary School Bees
DLQ at the Thermosolar Hive
I braved the heat this morning to go and visit the Thermosolar bees at Berwick. The original colony was its usual feisty self, so I removed the top box containing the tubs of cappings, which they had duty sculpted in to new comb. They were not at all pleased to see me, and it was … Continue reading DLQ at the Thermosolar Hive
Black Bees
I was called out to a swarm at Pevensey Bay, which is right on the beach here in East Sussex. It was in someone's garden, and they had no idea where it had come from, and didn't know of any beekeepers locally. I do know of one nearby, but hers had not swarmed. The bees … Continue reading Black Bees
Vlog!
I have taken the decision to shelve all my face-to-face courses as the uncertainty continues, and the possibility attendees--or me--needing to self-isolate on an ad hoc basis as the lockdown lifts makes trying to plan dates rather a nightmare, and that's before the social distancing measures that need to be in place. I am very … Continue reading Vlog!
Patience…
I collected a swarm on May 7th, which was a cast from a beekeeper's hives. They were low down in a shrub, so not a difficult collection! https://videopress.com/v/9AdthtTK?preloadContent=metadata I put them in a nuc box and checked them ten days later as they were certainly not tiny enough to definitely be a cast, so I … Continue reading Patience…
New colony in the Thermosolar hive
I collected a swarm from another beekeeper a few days ago, and as they were a prime swarm (by all accounts) and are managed, but not treated for Varroa, I thought they would work well down at the solar farm in the Thermosolar hive. I took them down to the site the following evening, so … Continue reading New colony in the Thermosolar hive
Swaaaarms
One can never tell how many swarms there are going to be for any given season, and I was surprised to see so many people on the Association's list...swarms are deemed the sign of "failure" and bad management, yet here are tens of people wanting them to repopulate their apiaries after losing colonies over winter. … Continue reading Swaaaarms
Thermosolar update
Thankfully, it is perfectly possible to continue to care for honey bees while still respecting the social distancing/essential travel restrictions, and this hot weather and abundance of flowering trees has meant all the bees have been extremely busy. I have combined all my contractual visits in to one 'Bee Tour', hence the sudden crop of … Continue reading Thermosolar update
Hive check at Langney Marsh
I wanted to go and see that the Warré hive was getting on ok and hadn't been knocked over again! A glorious day at the Marsh, with the usual compliment of geese, a heron, corvids and starlings. Naturally I forgot my binoculars, but the birdlife was abundant. Lots of hawthorn out too - great for … Continue reading Hive check at Langney Marsh
Modern calligraphy
Brief diversion from the bees as the rain poured down! Since the coronavirus outbreak, I have been selling my eggs directly to people and I reuse old egg boxes. I was given some brush pens for my birthday, and a book on modern calligraphy and lettering: The pens are a make called BAOKE and I … Continue reading Modern calligraphy