February 2010...

The weather this time of year is still very cold and there are reports of more snow on the way. The bees will continue to cluster in the centre of the brood box but on warm days you will see them flying, performing cleansing flights and also on the hunt for early pollen sources.

Sunday 14th was a lovely warm day (10 degrees), quick get your shorts and t-shirt on. On days like this you should be checking to see if there is any movement at the front of the hive, also check that your bees have still got enough stores to take them through this cold time of year. To do this you have to heft the hive, this means lifting the hive from the back and tilting it forward slightly to see how heavy it is. This takes time to get the hang of but the hive should feel like a lump of lead, if it does this means that they have plenty of stores left in the hive. If the hive feels light the bees have been busy eating up their supply of honey and may need you to start feeding them to ensure that your colony doesn't starve. You should not feed syrup (sugar solution) at this time of year so what I tend to do is feed fondant (ready made icing sugar) this you can buy from any supermarket. To do this pick a very warm day and quickly remove the roof of the hive and place a lump of the fondant directly above the cluster of bees so that it is easy for them to find and feed on. This will keep the girls going until we can start feeding them syrup or the nectar starts to flow. Don't leave the roof off the hive for very long as you will cause the cluster to get a chill, a couple of minutes is enough time to do this job.
Also this month continue to check that the mouse guards are still in place at the entrance to the hive and that there has been no damage to the hives or none have been knocked over by some wild beast.

This page will be added to on a regular basis so that you will be able to follow our beekeeping year from Spring to Winter, which will including feeding our hives to swarm control and honey harvesting. There will be pictures and information about what we have been up to during the year and also information and tips for the new beekeeper.

Our Beekeeping Year............

Sorry that I have not updated this page, as I have been busy making balms & soap

and very busy with the bees.

I must try harder !