This was a bit of a “Fluid” hive inspection. I wanted to have a look at all the bees and make sure things were OK as well as change the batteries in 4 of the hive hearts. These batteries that should last for a year have managed 6 months. I also gave the area a … Read more
The plan today was to put supers on all ready for spring. the bluebells are out and there are lots of flowers around. The colonies were looking strong last inspection so it is about time. I also like to get supers on early with the poly hives as they are easier to keep warm. There … Read more
The plan today was to add the scales and hearts to the final 4 hives to give me some hive data. The first experiment went well with the 2 hives set up and the new arrival of the 4 set-ups arrived this morning. The weather is about to turn cold so this is the best … Read more
Firstly this is not an endorsement for any product or company. This is a description of my journey and the ups, downs and reasoning behind my discissions. The Problem 2023 was an awful year for me with honey. I had 3 flow supers and one cut comb and a double brood for Queen rearing and … Read more
Wooden Blue hive gets a super. Have added a flow super to the blue hive (PBH) it is more than half full and this will give them a chance to clean it out ready for filling. Nice for them to have some extra space. Blue Poly nuc was rammed full of bees The blue poly … Read more
So the idea here was to make a really nice bee water feeder in order to keep the bees happy during the hot spell we are encountering. The designs for this are fairly simple, though I have to confess this is not my invention and I did see it somewhere online. The main concept is … Read more
This year I am going to revisit my Queen cup method of queen rearing. So the idea is to breed up some drones whilst preparing the cassette to accept new eggs. Progress Red hive is double brood from the beginning of the season. 3/6/23 step 2 got everything together. 3/6/23 Step 3 inserted the cassette … Read more
Some swarms are easy to collect and can be done simply with a white sheet, a bucket, and a nuc hive whilst others require a bit more effort. My main piece of kit is a multi-functional box swarm box. This box is set up to take the Langstroth frames that fit into the normal hive … Read more
4 good hives going strong. Last week there was tall grass all a round so I took out the strimmer. Strimming early evening when the bees had gone to bed and work as quickly as I could in a suit seemed to be the way. Cut back all the grass to prevent the ants from … Read more
So… My beekeeping adventure started due to a facebook advert for a new form of beehive that makes beekeeping super easy and follows the dream of being able to turn a key and run your honey straight out into the jars. I had for a long time been thinking about keeping bees and loved the … Read more
