Year: 2020

I like to visit apiaries occasionally during the winter to make sure colonies are ok as storms can cause damage with fallen trees etc. All colonies are ready for winter now with mouse guards, woodpecker […]

Now we are into October the weather has turned more autumnal although the bees are working the ivy during sunny spells. In fact some hives are working as if there is summer flow so they […]

Now we are approaching September we need to consider feeding our bees to ensure they have enough stores to last till next spring. Also varroa treatments should be complete by now or well under way. […]

In my last apiary notes I mentioned that we need to consider our varroa treatment which should start as soon as honey is removed – ideally by early August. My opinion is that varroa levels […]

As we move into July we are nearing the end of the beekeeping season as regards to honey flows. There are still many tasks to come for winter preparation but that is for another day. […]

The Met Office described spring 2020 as exceptional. As a result bees appreciated the record sunshine amounts of the past three months; they have built up strongly and filled super after super. Bill Turnbull interviewed […]

After the record April sunshine some colonies have built up powerfully with some hives with 4 supers, whereas at the other end of the range some are just into their first one. As usual there […]

Written 2nd April. The active season is almost upon us. There have not been many days recently that were warm enough to look into hives but the forecast is promising, especially for Sunday and a […]

The situation with the COVID19 pandemic is changing rapidly, although the advice now is that we are on lockdown and are to avoid all but essential travel and practise social distancing. The National Bee Unit (NBU) […]

The winter we had has been a very mild one and, as a consequence, many colonies have come through with more bees than usual. Today I checked most of my hives with the intention of […]