Spring Madness!

After such a harsh winter , we lost 5 hives to wood pecker damage...Now it is spring, and what a difference a month makes. April has been dry and warm - albeit a little windy here in East Kent! The 2 hives that were struggling we have combined to make one stronger colony, the other 2 are strong and honey flow is on..this means the bees are working very hard bringing in nectar from rape seed, orchard blossoms and the abundance of floral nectar that seems to all have coem at the same time. Last year I can remeber taking off honey that was sweet chestnuy, dark, thick and very scented. This year I expect we will have a harder tiem trying to identify the source of nectar.
I saw a hornet today, buzzing around the bee shed (where I keep all my equipment). There are not good new for bees - and can destroy whole colonies...so I must keep a look out for them in the orchard.
We are going to be at the Canterbury Climate fair 15 & 16 May, come along there are going to be lots of green stalls, community workshops and information...I'm next to the British Bee-keepers stall - Lime Tree Trading - hope to see you there...we might even have some honey by then too!

Cold early winter in the apiary

Well, I spoke to soon about the mild autumn....it is now the beginning of December and we have had 2 weeks of snow. Our open day in the apiary saw adopt a bee hive members venture throught the snow in their wellies, coats and hats to see the hives. The bees were all tucked up keeping warm They do not actually hibernate, but cluster in a ball together to keep war. A bit like the artic penguins..they move from the outside inwards and chance places to keep warm. In this cold weather they use up their winter stores of honey.
In the apiary I have covered some of the hives with wire to stop the winter pecking of the woodpeckers - they get hungry, can smell the honey and literally peck through the woodden hives to get to the food. This can be a disaster as damp then gets in, the bees can them die.
There has also been evidence of nibbling on the fron entrances - probably mice. This happened last year - who can blame them looking for somewhere to shelter and a supply of honey too. But they can devour the bees winter supplies and cause alot of destruction in the hive. So I must now alos put on the metal mouse guards. This can be tricky whilst there is snow on the ground. The bright light/reflection can make the bees inside think it is a sunny day, the then decide to come out and fly but get chilled and die. So I will have to wait until it has all cleared....soon I hope.

Mild Autumn in the apiary

The bees are all tucked up for winter - well that's what I thought....with the very mild weather I have checked the bees daily, and they are still flying around taking in pollen. Looking around the garden there is very little for them to forage on - ivy seems to be the main provider. Not sure how much energy they are using to have a play around, thinking it is spring again I guess. With the high wind I have not opened up the hives...they hate the wind and can get quite ratty!
So I have been busy looking into running Begineers Bee-Keeping courses with another local experienced bee-keeper Sharon. Between us we have the right skills and experience to provide a really informative, fun and practical course. So if you want to know more get in touch!
angie@lime-tree-trading.co.uk

Lime Tree Trading: Bees take back what they need!

Lime Tree Trading: Bees take back what they need!: "Well what a time I have had with the bees this season! The weather has been so changeable, stormy & windy not good for taki..."

Bees take back what they need!

Well what a time I have had with the bees this season!



The weather has been so changeable, stormy & windy not good for taking off stores of honey. But with other committtments getting closer I had set aside on afternoon to take off the honey. I was a bit concerned about the weather, rainy..would the bees have used up all the honey stores?
Well. it started off OK, not alot of honey to take off just a few full sealed frames from hive 5. I brushed the bees off with the bee brush and started placing the full frames into an empty box placed on the wheelbarrow.
I moved onto hive 4. A big strong colony. I took off 2 supers that were full, brushing the bees off each frame again I placed them in the wheelbarrow. By now there were quite alot of flying bees around the wheelbarrow. I covered the frames over in the super with a crown board so the bees could not get back in - or so I thought..they sneaked in underneath where the wheel barrow's sides went up there was a 2 inch gap at the bottom - the supers did not sit flat. I moved the wheelbarrow further away into the shade and moved onto hive 3. As soon as I took the cover off I knew something was not right - no honey, I moved down into the brood chamber (where the queen, eggs and larvae live) some pollen, no queen, no eggs or larvae. Previous re-queening had not worked. Possible robbing from other bees or wasps? Closed the hive up and made a note that I will have ti unite 2 hives togehter or re-queen again. Moved onto hive 2, doing OK but will need feeding, not alot of honey, but enough for me to take off 2 supers three quarters full.
By now the air was thick and full of bees. They were very noisey - the weather had turned and it was feeling very muggy and stromy. We pushed the 2 wheelbarrows back away from the hives and were followed and joined by ever more retuning foraging bees. We decided to put them onto the woodden bench and open the supers up so the bees could fly home - big mistake!
3 out of 5 supers full of honey were completely robbed of honey stores. The bees had reclaimed their winter stores - and we lost the summer honey supplies, a year's bee keeping work.
Feeling very stupid, frustrated and fed up I had to accept it was nature's way. The bees are in charge, I am their guaradian and observer - not their keeper. It has been a costly reminder that beekeeping is a practical art that you can learn the theory by the book - but who wrote the book? certainly not the bees!
I'll extract the 3 reamining supers and let the bees keep what they reclaimed...they must need it, and it will be better for them than feeding sugar solution for their winter supplies.






The 2 new hives Rose & Hoenysuckle I have left alone and not tried to extract any honey this summer. The were bothe new swarms and need their supplies to see them over winter. They are both doing well with bees over 9/12 frames lovely temperments and easy to handle. The new brood and super frames I put in with them have all been drawn out - so they have worked hard this season.


Now I am looking into various natural methods of reducing verroa mite over winter. As an aromatherapist I can blend and mix various natural oils to help the bees and make up small patties to put in the hives - it's just finding the right combination! Research beings .....

Lime Tree Trading: August in the Apiary

Lime Tree Trading: August in the Apiary: "What a month August has been for bee keepers. With the changeable weather it has been very hard to take off honey - sunny, showers, windy..."

August in the Apiary

What a month August has been for bee keepers. With the changeable weather it has been very hard to take off honey - sunny, showers, windy. The most amazing butterfliers and hoverfliers visited the many varieties of buddlehia we have in the garden - so beautiful to watch, a fleeting presence. The raspberries have now all turned and are past their best. But, thanks to the high pollination rate we had our best crop yet this year. There seems to be alot of honeydew on the leaves, plums are ripening and wasps are about in abundance. Is it just me, but why are wasps instantly angry? Bad karma maybe. The signs of changing seasons are all around us, rowan berries ripening, blackberries and elderberries will be ready soon.I have fitted entrance blocks to all of the hives to help the bees guard against unwanted visitors - hornets, wasps etc. I have taken off some really beautiful combs this year but the bees have been a bit bad tempered as the weather has been so stormy. Time to give them a break and go and have a shower...hot heavy work this bee keeping...