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The days are getting longer, yet the world is dark at 5pm. At least we're on the uphill slope now towards longer days and Spring....although that will be a couple of months away as today I woke to another heavy hoare frost and then sleet when out and about. Out and about in Tier 3 and Tier 4 that is delivering honey to essential retailers who are anticipating a busy January. I have been sitting thinking about what the year may have in store. Having suffered two bouts of Covid in the past 12 months I know it's not something to be enjoyed, although the second time wasn't as bad as the first. I do hope that local food outlets will continue to be supported by those able and willing to do so. Certainly it seems there has been a move to...

So after a busy few weeks with my main work sorting picking up the pieces after staff came down with Covid, deep cleaning , reopening and then further staff sickness I decided to take today (Friday 15 Jan) off - joining the population WFH (Working from home) with a few emails and then the rest of the day in the garage making kit up... First thing I had a honey delivery to a local farm who have a milk station and sell own-labelled honey in their rotating sales machine thingy. The milk lady wasn't there as agreed so I plodded around to the main farmhouse to see if I could drop the honey off there and the main man greeted me at the door. He took the honey from me and said wait there, disappeared back inside to find his phone and said he...

So I posted the bulk of what's to follow on the Political section but to expand on a few parts as it's my blog as such (expanded content underlined and italics) So I logged on to a local BKA zoom meeting the other night for an hour or so's talk by some beekeepers from the SW on CPBV. I won't name the pair here as that's a bit unfair...but then again maybe I should ? The CPBV bit was interesting and they had some good images and video of examples they had encountered. But then they went a bit off piste in my view and started linking CPBV with hive numbers and then the IOW disease in the early 1900s and even the Greeks suggesting a bee that had turned black or something. (TBH you could interpret the Greek quote any way you like but to...

Been studying the subject for years, took courses more than once but until now, never really had the ideal space, time and energy for what I wanted to do. Located in Mid-Wales is a very remote part of the UK. Quite mild on the eastern side of the Cambrian Mountains. Not nearly as wet, it seems, as other parts of Wales (when the forecasters state rain for Wales, they rarely get it right for me!). For the last 2 years (as long as I have lived in this house), there have been swarms in the garden and a hive in the house. The house hive died this year, but I am sure it will get occupied again (no sign of any damage). So this year I set up swarm traps and build a hive and 3 nucs. After a few tentative examinations, bees really started getting...

When I inspected my hive a week or so ago there was one queen cup with an egg in it at the top of a frame. I looked again a few days later and the egg was gone. I noticed today, though, that there was royal jelly in the bottom of the cup. I couldn't see ant larvae. Help please? No sign of any other queen cells.

Well we’re getting to the end of 2020....not a moment too soon I hear you cry. We officially enter Autumn this week and while the weather seems set fair for a few days looking ahead the temperatures are starting to fall and overnight temperatures are certainly dropping. This’ll mean the bees take that little bit longer to get going and that little bit longer to evaporate any excess water from their ivy haul. And it looks like it’s going to be a good ivy year too. Yesterday I fed and treated 23 colonies at the home paddock apiary and they were all extremely active and strong too. Such a shame our beekeeping season is so short really as you get the feeling if it was warmer or even mid summer the bees would be pulling in a fantastic...

Hi I'm Dan and I am based in Norden near Rochdale. I'm completely new to bee keeping but I'm interested in learning . I have an acre of land with trees hedges and wild flowers. I guess the first step for me is to attend a basic bee keeper course . Can anyone advise me on when and where I might be able to fine one? Many thanks.

Good evening dear reader Well after a busy week with work there’s been a fair amount of beekeeping going on too. Mid week I removed colonies off the Buckwheat and Phacelia - a fair few supers had so was worth it in the end - but it was past 1am after a long day at work when I finally fell into bed.. these were moved with the broken finger - I taped up the outside of a large rubber glove (blue Maisemore type with the cotton cuffs) to stabilise the break. It worked quite well..but I omitted to tell the hand specialist the next day at Salisbury hospital what I’d been up to. 3 more xrays later and they confirmed the dislocated and break in the finger and break in a bone further back too. No wonder it ached. Fast forward to a proper job...

BH weekend - all plans made to get the last of the honey off hives and treat them for the autumn varroa treatment and feed with syrup and then on Friday I managed to dislocate my finger while clearing a flat ahead of it's impending sale. After being up for 12 hrs ( 11 of them working solidly on aforementioned flat clearance) I was unloading the van for the last time at a lock up and I tripped and fell into it as I stepped up to heft the larger part of the sofa. Having worked through the day with a sore finger, having previously pulled the joint back into place, this was the final straw. Cut to me hopping around the yard using rather un-godly language and the realisation that the 'crack' I heard as I broke my fall was a lot louder...

Well the season progresses at pace Here in N Wiltshire the OSR is fading and the winter field beans are flowering producing their watery dark nectar and I’ve heard Lime is also flowing - will check on an apiary this week that has 100 or so in neighbouring parkland to see if it is indeed in flow.. We had a flow from hawthorn - the one year in 5 and it’s left some colonies on no fewer than 6 supers and one with 7. And it’s only 31 May... Worrying to me is the blackberry starting to flower. It seems 2-3 weeks ahead of last season and the white clover is also out in places too, looking lush at the moment but unless we get some decent moisture it’ll soon burn off, and the summer flowers will also struggle as it’s very dry. At my...

Yesterday was harvest time for my bees at the farm. Assisted by my long suffering partner, we drove the twenty miles from Birmingham. As usual, blue sky quickly turned to grey, then positively dark! Rain was not far behind and we nearly turned back. However, we decided to press on. Lucky we did, as it did eventually stop. We ended up with a window of a few hours to work with before the 'real' rain arrived. I cannot say that it was the easiest harvest I have ever done, as two hives were particularly nasty. I think that the weather was the reason. It was not raining during this period, but had been before we arrived. The the main bulk came in later, just after I had called a halt. The bees obviously knew heavier rain was...

Went to my farm apiary today. First time for three weeks, due to inclement weather and plague restrictions. Last time i was there I expected to be harvesting, but it was a tad too early. Plenty of honey, but not all capped. Decided to leave it for a while, as it is a new area for me to be operating in. Best to be sure? This time, greeted by the usual frenetic activity seen on the other two sites. I had only gone down with some extra hive-benches and to do a light inspection. Despite the previous few weeks weather, I found out that all the supers were now totally stacked with mainly sealed honey. I already have jars and labels ready, but maybe not enough. I think that things are about to get even more busy! I then dropped in to my...

Sometimes in beekeeping, luck is just not on your side, and you find a beehive has died out. Surviving winter in my first year of beekeeping was something I wanted very much to see in my honey bee colonies. I made a lot of preparations for the colonies but still ended up with two colonies out of the game by the end of winter. I was lucky that the colonies had not died from the disease. I guessed condensation or poor ventilation to be the causes. In subsequent years, all colonies have successfully wintered. You could bet that experience with the colonies and knowing how the honey bees behave helps me get them through winter safely. Recently, I have felt confident enough and implemented major buildups in late winter. The colonies I tried...

Diseases of honey bees are caused by various agents including bacteria and viruses. Some other diseases are caused by fungal infections. The bacterial ones are the most devastating. Their effect is due to impacting the brood of honeybees. By denying the honey bee colony new bees to replace the aging and dying ones, the diseases cause a quick decline in the overall health and strength of the beehive colony they infect. American foulbrood and European foulbrood are the most famous diseases of honey bees caused by bacteria. In the American version of the disaster, the larva of honey bees dies at the pupal or pre-pupal stages. In the Ropiness test, the thread of liquefied larva remains stretches to about 3-5 centimeters long! It can be...

In the beekeeping operation, one of the biggest enemies of honey bees out here is the bear. It is a notorious predatory animal on honey bees. The brood of honey bees and honey stored in the beehive is at risk if a bear reaches a beehive. Stings from honey bees do not penetrate most areas of the bear’s surface. The lucky stings to the face and nose area of the bear are often endured in exchange for the food the bear knows it will get from the beehive. As winter approaches, bears must build up nutrient reserves in their bodies. They do this in preparation for hibernating. A honey bee larva has high protein content. Bears eat the larvae if they reach it. It is their main target. If the bear can reach stored honey in the beehive, it...

A strong and healthy honey bee colony is important for the best productivity. It ensures your beekeeping operation is able to meet the costs and demands of running it. If you haven honey bee colonies that are not living in a poorly managed space, the colony can get weak quickly or over a period of time. The beehive you are keeping the colony in requires to be well made and the beehive environment well controlled. Honey bees do most of the work required for environmental conditions stabilization in the beehive. Sometimes, however, a little help from us beekeepers is needed. The major areas to keep in mind are; • Aeration – Make sure the beehive is well aerated. Honey bees are living organisms and require oxygen for their metabolism...

Many people ask me why beekeeping is my preferred agricultural practice. They often cite the possibility of getting stung and ask if it pays off against the possible benefits of beekeeping. My answer is always unique depending on who is asking, but it generally always involves mentioning a benefit or two of beekeeping. After the benefits, I inform the person asking that the benefits are enough for me to practice and love beekeeping. To use this tactic when you meet non-beeks out there, here are a few benefits from my arsenal; • Bees can bring communities together. They help the beekeeper integrate better with the society around them. Every once in a while, you make a trip to gift neighbors some honey or reach out to the community...

I already had a total of around fifteen hives, various parts and some nucleus boxes. Most parts were either pine or cedar. All of it was a bit tatty and over the years had got worn and warped. I decided that the new project would be built 'from the ground up,' so I started to think about hives. I decided that whatever type I bought, that I would go for polystyrene. Having lost a few colonies over the years to inclement weather, I could see the advantages of instant insulation. I know that there are pluses and minuses, regarding poly hives, but I decided they were going to work for me. As I think I have already said, I toyed with the idea of using Langstroths or even Dadant. The problem is the location of my new apiary which...

I already had a total of around fifteen hives, various parts and some nucleus boxes. Most parts were either pine or cedar. All of it was a bit tatty and over the years had got worn and warped. I decided that the new project would be built 'from the ground up,' so I started to think about hives. I decided that whatever type I bought, that I would go for polystyrene. Having lost a few colonies over the years to inclement weather, I could see the advantages of instant insulation. I know that there are pluses and minuses, regarding poly hives, but I decided they were going to work for me. As I think I have already said, I toyed with the idea of using Langstroths or even Dadant. The problem is the location of my new apiary which...

I was forced to leave my job. Not a moment too soon really. Then had a spell of potentially serious illness. They call me 'Lucky!' I'm better now. Last year I learned that I had a small pension that I could cash. Obviously I thought 'Wine....women....song' at first. However, my partner was not happy with the 'women' aspect and pointed out that I actually make enough wine to float a frigate. As for 'song?'.........Nahhh! I decided that putting together a bee-keeping business would be better at this time. The first reason to do this was the break from the E.U. Imports of cheap foreign honey may well be affected by tariffs and increased transport costs? The importation of bees from the likes of Italy could also be in...