Not much to report now winter is approaching. The bees are still pulling ivy pollen/nectar in with varying intensity depending on the weather. I have been feeding syrup via rapid feeders since the completion of varroa treatment and at last they seem to be slowing down their rate at which they take the syrup down into the hives. I keep looking in through the Perspex crown boards I made and the gaps between frames are full of bees so it looks as though they are ok.
Sometime in the next few days I will be cutting up the 1" Kingspan seconds I bought and creating cosy boxes for the hives.
I read all sorts of comments about insulation with bees overwintering with none, some and lots. It does seem to me the use of fantastic thicknesses of insulation is bordering on the obsessive so I am going for what I consider a reasonable compromise.
I will be making mouse guards up soon but with the hives being mounted up on blocks and having overhangs from block to entrance its going to be a pretty agile mouse that can get to the entrances anyway.
Sometime in the next few days I will be cutting up the 1" Kingspan seconds I bought and creating cosy boxes for the hives.
I read all sorts of comments about insulation with bees overwintering with none, some and lots. It does seem to me the use of fantastic thicknesses of insulation is bordering on the obsessive so I am going for what I consider a reasonable compromise.
I will be making mouse guards up soon but with the hives being mounted up on blocks and having overhangs from block to entrance its going to be a pretty agile mouse that can get to the entrances anyway.
