The Solar Bee Project is not only about honey bees; biodiversity is also a core aim. Honey bees are not endangered, but encouraging an awareness and provision for these well-known and much-loved insects provides a focal point for wider biodiversity challenges. The site at Berwick is valuable for its low intervention and lack of disturbance. …
Late Spring Check of the Thermosolar Hives
We went to see the Thermosolar bees this week to see if they had built up any more since the last inspection. It was a very bright and breezy day at the solar farm, and both hives were flying well. We took the inspection boards out to check for Varroa: There were a few wax …
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Thermosolar Visit in the Sunshine
What a glorious spring day! I wanted to see if the colonies were flying and bringing in pollen as it was such lovely weather. The wind was still pretty chilly so I decided against opening them up but it was good to see the leaves starting to appear on the hedgerow trees, and sure enough, …
Early Spring Thermosolar Visit
It was raining when I arrived at the Berwick solar farm today, but I'd been to visit a friend nearby and wanted to make sure the bees were ok after Storms Eunice and Franklin. There wasn't much flowering apart from some brave blackthorn blossoms, and I was not expecting to see the bees flying. There …
Winter at the Thermosolar Hives
A beautiful bright day at Berwick made me keen to see how the site was looking, and whether the bees had decided to make an appearance. At this time of year they can pop out for a few minutes for a 'cleansing flight' but it's easy to miss and fear that your hive has died. …
Winter Solstice and the Thermosolar hives
It's the shortest day today, and the weather has been calm and cool. Rain is forecast for the rest of the week (including, obviously, the Christmas weekend) so I wanted to go and check on the Thermosolar hives while it was at least dry, if a little cold for the bees to be flying. A …
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Late Autumn and the Thermosolar Hives
I wanted to pop in and check the inspection boards of the Thermosolar hives to monitor the mite numbers, and generally make sure all was well. It was a cool day but there was some sunshine so I hoped the bees would be flying. https://videopress.com/v/uKhpxIBe?resizeToParent=true&cover=true&preloadContent=metadata Sure enough, the second hive was active, with bees steadily …
Thermosolar Hives in Autumn
Another beautiful day at Berwick, visiting the Thermosolar hives, part of the Solar Bee Project. I didn't check inside the hives as by this time of year, the bees are sealing any gaps with propolis and need to focus on collecting nectar and pollen to provision the hive for winter. In any case, I much …
Thermosolar High Summer Update
The bees have been rather challenged by the weather this year and my hives have seemingly plateaued after a slow start. Dealing with hot, cold, wind and wet needs resilient bees, and I was interested to see how the Thermosolar bees did this year. The site looks great. I love this sort of unmanaged management …
Meadow flowers and the Thermosolar hives
It was a rather murky day for my visit to the Thermosolar bees, but the meadow areas were brimming with bees and butterflies. Marbled White, Meadow Brown, a couple of Small Skippers were flitting above the flowers and grasses, joined by a variety of bees and flies. There were also numerous banded snails which looked …
Wayward Bee 