News from the Hive

Well the summer is coming to an end, but the unseasonal warm sunshine has made your Gardening Society bees very happy. Chris and I keep getting conflicting advice as to what we should be doing and when, but thankfully we are able to discuss the various issues and agree our plan of action – it would be so much more confusing if we were working in isolation. On Saturday evening we returned to the hive to do what might be our last full inspection before the winter; it was a beautiful evening and we were sweltering in our beesuits and veils – but we were delighted to have a small group of visitors to watch us at work. We had been advised to check that no drones were hatching when they should by now be gone from the hive. All seems to be in order.

The late summer sunshine has given the hive an extra boost but we are still feeding the bees as the nectar flow has been very poor this year. They need about 40lbs of stored honey to see them through the winter and we know they haven’t achieved that amount yet.

The varroa mites have been falling off the bees in their hundreds since we treated the hive with Apiguard. We will never eradicate them from the hive, sadly, but at least the bees will be rid of a lot of the nasty little mites so they should stay healthier over the coming winter months. We have a bright yellow tray at the bottom of the hive which we take out every time we visit and examine with a magnifying glass to see how many of the little demons we have annihilated. Next task is to install the mouse guard to stop any would be furry lodgers over-wintering with the bees, then chicken wire protection round the hive to stop woodpeckers from stealing the honey.....

If you want to visit the hive or would like more information about beekeeping, please do contact Chris or me.