Sustainable beekeeping, chickens, and cake
I often hear beekeepers say that it's not too late to lose your bees even in March, usually with a reference to feeding. I was asked by some friends (and former students of mine) to do a PM on their hive as the colony - having been active earlier a few weeks previously - had … Continue reading Spring loss
It was the first proper warm day of spring yesterday so I was able to get in to my hives, and also transfer a colony over from a WBC to their new home (a National), ready to be transported in a few weeks when they have propolised the frames to the box for security. With … Continue reading First Spring check
Even though my hives are just across the road from me, I'm trying to limit my visits to the apiary in light of "The Restrictions", and when I go, I wear overalls and take a hat/veil with me just to be on the safe side. However, I wanted to make sure they were ok and … Continue reading Spring Inspection boards
We live in complicated times. Grass-fed meat or veganism; plastic use or glass and metal; electric cars or public transport. "Save the Bees" is similarly fraught with problems and there is a vast amount of misinformation regarding pollinators and their relative impact. I recently saw a Twitter thread about the introduction of beehives on to … Continue reading How beekeeping CAN save the bees
The wasps are out in force at the moment as they no longer have brood to look after, and therefore are not only , but also deprived of their sugary hit they have been getting from the larvae. Wasps catch meaty prey for the larvae but cannot digest it themselves, so chew it up for … Continue reading Reducing the Hive Entrance
We've had a beautiful couple of weeks here in Sussex, and I was wondering how my bees were doing. We have had a distinctly unbeautiful patch of weather during June and I was appalled to see on Twitter that many people's colonies had starved, having been caught short following the removal of a spring crop … Continue reading Apiary Update
At my introductory beekeeping courses, I always recommend using a British National hive, or its cousin the WBC, as they are readily available, and provide beginners with large boxes and robust, well-proportioned frames with which to handle the bees. Just because they are used commercially doesn't mean one has to manage one's bees in that … Continue reading Warré hive
People often ask me what "sustainable" beekeeping is, and one of the main tenets as far as I'm concerned is not giving bees sugar syrup. Ever. Feeding is generally done in the autumn in most beekeeping circles, as the bulk of the honey will have been removed for our consumption so of course the bees … Continue reading Feeding bees
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 National hive
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