It was a bitterly cold March morning when 10 drama students from Anglia Ruskin University joined me at Meadowfield to acclimatize themselves with beekeeping.
A forthcoming production involved Ronald and Madeline, the former being a beekeeper. In order to look convincing they wanted to get a feel for the equipment and clothing involved and experience handling honeybees.
Unfortunately, the 'beekeeping experience' could not be experienced due to the weather. We did however look in an unpopulated hive, inspected wax and propolis, looked at dead bees and handled the eqipment neede for a hive inspection.
Hopefully Ronald won't look an absolute duffer on stage although how he is meant to earn a living from only four hives is beyond me.
Anyhow, they were all a friendly bunch, keen to learn what they could and they accepted an invitation to return and meet the bees, when the weather was more clement.
In January I found that two hives had died. On opening the hive I fouind the cluster had been just too small to survive. There were no visible signs of Deformed Wing Virus and varroa levels had been kept very low by two winter sublimations and ten weeks of Apivar. The queens were from 2021 but these two colonies were the best yielding producing 7-8 supers each previous year. Why did they dwindle away? I'll never know. The hives have been removed and sterilizing pads put in each so that the uneaten frames of stores can be employed elsewhere.
The demise of two colonies however is not a major loss as I am now back to the eight colonies I’ve over-wintered in earlier years. Hives 9 and 10 will be moved across to the gaps left by 5 and 8. The boy’s go-cart was renovated last year so I now have an ideal hive transporter. The hives to be moved were very heavy; too heavy to be lifted for each move. On the seat of the g-cart however they can be easily pulled a further 3 feet every flying day.
I stress the flying day as I have yet to read a beekeeping book which recognises the fact that if you have ten days of bad weather and the bees stay indoors, continual daily moving of the hive means they will emerge from a hive 30 feet away from its original position. Too far for them to re-orientate.
Hive 10 reaches its new destination.
February has seen the longest, fattest hazel catkins I’ve ever known. The are many hazel bushes in the hedge and it's been marvellous to see so many bees all over them returning to their hives loaded with the pale greeny-yellow pollen.
Bees collecting hazel pollen from catkins.
Enough for two. Apis and Bombus share a crocus
The snowdrops, aconites and crocus have provided the regular springtime diet. One of two emerging queen bumbles have been joining them for a meal on the crocus.
The bullace and cherry plum are about to burst into flower and it's then that the spring feasting can commence.
