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The Natural History Museum here in Oxford has a large observation hive in the "bee room" with the entrance via a tunnel outside. Would love to know how they deal with swarm management, etc... See: http://www.oum.ox.ac.uk/collect/beehive.htm Good way to waste a lunchtime hunting the queen down...

Quick inspection this evening - hive 1 looking well - double brood national with 12 frames of BIAS, and space to lay still. Found Q too (elusive!) and she didn't get superceded last year as I suspected. Hive 2 a different matter. The Q that decided to take off in last inspection is not there -...

Argh! Hope you have drones around and can requeen successfully. One of my queens apparently wandered straight through the excluder and laid right through the super.... :hairpull:

Moved a nuc to my parents pre hiving up - I need to move it a way across the orchard, so using a double move to avoid foragers getting lost in the process...

Inspection this afternoon, in final hive found queen laying in super above QE, despite being below last time. Found her and went to move her back and she flew from the frame, unsure if she jumped back into the brood box directly below, or if she's gone... :hairpull: Will take a look in a few...

Did the first inspection of the year - warm and sunny here and all bees out in force. Both hives and the nuc are Q+ - the hive on double brood have lots of stores remaining: 8 complete frames or so and a few with pollen, which I may have to keep an eye on... Has 6-7 frames of brood too with...

Had a couple of frames of foundation munched by wax moth last season while in the hive - not so bad it needed chucking (passed it through the freezer and back into service).

Not sure I'll approach them on them peeing in their tub :D (they may well be visiting the farm next door for their urine fix as much as I know!) I assumed it might have been the salts, but I know they have also taken water from another neighbour who had plastic sheet in his garden with water...

One of our neighbours has a hot tub on their garden, and it appears that our bees have taken a fancy to their water. The neighbours don't mind, but I'd like to try and give them a source away from the tub... Which got me thinking as to why they are choosing it rather than other water nearby...

Made up a couple of floors, couple of roofs and a brood box. Only another couple of boxes to make for the minute, and then a load of frames to knock together.

Lovely shot in the crocus! My colonies were enjoying ours last week (I planted 1000+ bulbs down the orchard where they live a couple of years ago, as well as ones in the garden...) - all of them piling crocus pollen, and some other luminous yellow and pale white pollen in. Weather going back...

Popped a little more fondant on a nuc that had locked the last lot clean. All colonies out taking water and foraging on the crocus that has opened up nicely in the sun.

Tightened up ratchet straps on hives this evening - blowing up strongly here.!

Lots of activity in week according to neighbour (who was a bit surprised by it!). Hazel in flower here, snowdrops starting to come through too, so possibly a bit of pollen for them to get hold of, but suspect cleansing/orientation/water collection mostly.

Had it in my head that it was a week - will hold tight then!

Added fondant to nuc and to smaller hive. Checked monitoring board for drop after OAV treatment last weekend - had produced a reasonable drop, especially on the double brood hive. Will monitor for a couple of days to see what the natural drop is now to decide if they need another go...

Hopefully get 3 colonies through the winter... Bring nuc into a full size hive and then replace queen (getting old). Try Snelgrove vertical split method on remaining 2 colonies - will probably use one of the splits to do the requeening. Of course, the bees might have other ideas... :D

Yesterday OA vaped all colonies as have a high enough drop rate to warrant it. A few flights here and there, but otherwise not much action outside of hives (though fair increase in noise after the OA). Ordered frames, boxes, etc for coming year....

Mouse guard onto hive I hadn't yet done. Moved Nuc up into better position as no bees flying today and last couple of days. Thought about cutting grass around and under hive stand and then it started to rain...

First ground frost of the season this morning. Quickly topped up one rapid feeder - might need a bit more in that hive and the nuc. Still taking it down nicely.