Sustainable beekeeping, chickens, and cake
I went to check the wild-living bees as I've not been to see them since the beginning of May - not that they will have been remotely bothered! These hives were effectively abandoned a few years ago, and the home-made hives are disintegrating, making it difficult to establish what's going on as I daren't prise … Continue reading Selmeston Bee Check
We are suddenly having a heatwave, with temperatures doubling from the cool rainy conditions last week. I don't like to disturb my bees beyond the end of July as they are usually understandably defensive and they are working hard to glue the hive together ready for winter. This hot spell will mean plenty of foraging … Continue reading Late July Update
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
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…
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
We have had some lovely weather here over the last couple of days, and the bees have been making the most of it. I am checking my apiary for swarms twice a day now, although all the hives have quite a bit of growing to do. Here is the hive I nadired last week - … Continue reading Spring growth
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
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
Here in the UK, we have been issued with restrictions regarding social distancing and non-essential visits in order to control/contain/reduce the risk of infection from Covid-19. There has been much talk regarding whether beekeepers can visit their bees, and as I write, DEFRA and the BBKA have issued statements allowing hives to be tended as … Continue reading Homeschooling bees
I received a top bar hive from a friend of mine who I met at the Barcombe Eco Fair; Caroline is another natural beekeeper and wanted someone with the same beekeeping ethics to have her cedar top bar, as she works mainly with Warrés. It has an inspection window (which I know are rather controversial) … Continue reading Baiting the other hives