On and on the hot weather goes – and on and on the bees go, gathering nectar, expanding dramatically, swarming, and making life very busy for all beekeepers. Whilst things have settled...
What a couple of months it’s been! Swarms left, right and centre! I think it’s fair to say that 2014 will go down as one of the swarmiest seasons for a year...
What a contrast in the weather this year compared to this time last year We have had a very mild winter with warm weather most of the time, whereas this time last...
We’ve had a fair amount of fine, warm – and even sunny – weather recently and the bees have been taking full advantage of it. They are desperate to gather fresh pollen...
Whilst January is a quiet month for the bees, it is not so quiet for the beekeeper! During the past few weeks I have been busy on several “out of season” tasks,...
This has been an unusual winter so far (though the real winter is yet to come, I suspect). The temperatures have been so mild that the bees have been flying almost continuously...
Things are quietening down now in the apiary. The bees are still bringing in nectar and pollen from the ivy and the asters, which will provide them with their winter stores. Very...
This summer has been ideal to assist with the ripening of honey inside the hive, having been hot and dry for several weeks. Honey ripening is where the bees fan inside the...
The past few weeks have been ideal foraging weather for the bees – dry, sunny, low wind speeds. The problem is that at this time of year there is little for the...
What a busy month this has been – and what brilliant weather! The bees have at last remembered what life is about and have been frenetically foraging for nectar on the clover...