I was called to the Selmeston wild-living bees, as the owner said the hive had been knocked over and the bees had disappeared. I was rather alarmed as we had strapped up the hive and made sure it was secure when we transferred the old crumbling hive on to the new one. The bees had …
How are they doing?
I wanted to see how the free-range bees at Selmeston were getting on after their relocation. I was concerned that they might be too traumatised by the interference and subsequent robbing but I need not have worried: I have a full update on my Patreon but they seem to be using the back and sides …
Wild-living Bees Rescue
I was contacted by the owner of the wild-living bees to say the dilapidated hive had finally succumbed to gravity and tipped over. The bees didn't seem hugely bothered by the new orientation but if I'd left the hive in situ it would have rotted further and been impossible to rectify, so something needed to …
Wild-living Honey Bees
I went to visit the bees at Selmeston which are living in dilapidated Langstroths as I wanted to see how active they were in the good weather. The larger hive seemed very quiet, and on closer inspection it turned out that the bees were nowhere to be seen. I couldn't find any trace of them …
Wild-living Honey Bees in January
I visited the Langstroth hives at Selmeston today as we have had some beautiful spring weather and I wondered if the bees were flying. Sure, enough, they were! https://videopress.com/v/ySTaeADc?resizeToParent=true&cover=true&preloadContent=metadata Their hive has completely sunken in to the ground so they are using this entrance which they opened last year. There is some very pale pollen …
Selmeston Bee Check
I went to check on the bees living in their dilapidated hives at the foot of the South Downs, and they are thriving. I have set up a hive nearby which I baited again with lemongrass oil, but I'm not sure that the bees have swarmed - certainly not recently. The owners take a keen …
Spring Check of the Selmeston Bees
I last went to see these bees in August last year (read about them here) and I was really hopeful that they'd made it through the winter. The landowner had said she hadn't seen much activity, and the cold snap we had a week or so ago had doomed a few colonies I know, so …
Selmeston Bee Check
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 …
Wayward Bee 