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The certainty comes from nearly 40 years in the horticultural trade - and I still get things wrong! Still learning horticulture as I am about bees.............

Symphoricarpus Orbiculatus

Housekeeping this weekend. All hives (9) gone through and re arranged, brood down the bottom, stores to the top (no qe). As they have not been able to get much in the way of forage in recent times quite a few boxes worth of empty frames removed and taken to storage. In about another week I will...

At the moment I wash my own bee suit at home in our family washing machine. My wife does not handle any of my bee clothing nor does it get put in with any other clothes. Question - is this enough separation between my bee clothes and by definition traces of venom and my wife. I remember reading...

It had to happen. Missed a qc last week and one of my hives has swarmed as usual into the highest branch of the surrounding trees. Honestly I go to the trouble of giving them a box to live in and this is how they treat me...............

I think you may be right Cazza, I went back this afternoon to finish and although still a bit crabby, they were better. It's what comes from having to fit the bees in around life stuff!

Inspection as usual this morning, 13C next to no wind overcast, 10am start. All hives were unpleasant in the extreme. Stings in my gloves and suit and they were following which they don't normally do. I gave up half way round. The rape has nearly finished but there are plenty of other things...

Amelanchier possibly Laevis or Lamarckii. Hivemaker was spot on with serviceberry.

Moved last years bait hive 100 metres from our car park to a place where guests are less likely to get stung! Did this yesterday and apart from a few nosey girls checking out the old site they all seem to have taken to the move. I covered the hive entrance with a big pile of hedge trimmings and...

Had a good look yesterday in the little bit of warmth we had - still got 6 hives alive. They are noticeably behind where they were this time last year. Moved some stores between hives to balance things up a bit and somewhere in 26 acres I managed to lose my hive tool. First real visit of the...

Early days yet - starvation is still a very real possibility. Chickens, eggs etc.

We have tractors occasionally right in front of the hives and it doesn't seem to bother them at all. Fairly low frequency vibration. Strimmer and higher frequency = ratty bees. I would block the entrance and let them get on with it (with supervision!)

Decorators sponges from any diy place do the job if you only need one or two hive entrances blocked.

Ordered on the third came today and included national deeps. Excellent service as ever.

Sometimes I think I see more bumbles than honeybees here. But yes this needs looking at. Koppert is one of the companies involved if anyone wants to look further. We also have semi protected strawberry crops around these parts which use bumbles as apparently they do a better job than our girls...

Good tip. I use old hessian sacks hung down the front of the hive (brick on top) to cover the entrance. Stops the little girls seeing the light and keeps the entrance clear at the same time.

Not such a good idea for those with plastic excluders!

I haven't done anything in the apiary today. The bees however...... 7.45 this morning, light rain and not that warm and the hive in our car park has a continual stream of bees heading out toward the local glass houses. Winter pansies? I come home for lunch just now and there are several hundred...

Might be Solanum Atropurpureum but I need to do a bit more research. A lot of the information on the net is duff and the best place to find out involves dusting off some old text books! (If I can find them!)

Four out of six hives have had their last Varroa treatment and all have very good stores on them. At this rate I will only need to have some fondant on hand for possible emergencies this year instead of having to feed syrup which is a first for me. Of the other two, one has a test frame in to...