Mike a
Drone Bee
- Joined
- Feb 13, 2010
- Messages
- 1,785
- Reaction score
- 3
- Location
- Hampshire
- Hive Type
- Langstroth
- Number of Hives
- Between 17-20
Just been to check my hives are all ok still, after I found out some one decided to have a bonfire night with fireworks last weekend within 20 ft of my apiary and the thick black smoke from the fire was blowing across my apiary because some ***** though it would be funny to burn a load of plastic and an old car tyre. Despite several complaints from the neighbours they didn't remove the tyre.
As far as I can tell from the outside of the hive they are still ok after tapping the hive with my finger and could hear a dull roar but when I gave them a quick heft they are all light.
After chatting with a few other bee keepers across my local area they have also reported a large quantity of the winter stores has been eaten already and their hives are well below the recommended weight for winter.
So for all you new beeks, I would recommend you heft your hives at least once a month and if you think it is light then grab some fondant cut it up into a suitable amount and put it in a plastic bag, greaseproof paper (dont forget to cut a hole) or a plastic takeaway container that will fit in the space in the roof cavity and feed your girls provided you have a hole in your crown boards of course.
There is no excuses for losing a colony to starvation.
As far as I can tell from the outside of the hive they are still ok after tapping the hive with my finger and could hear a dull roar but when I gave them a quick heft they are all light.
After chatting with a few other bee keepers across my local area they have also reported a large quantity of the winter stores has been eaten already and their hives are well below the recommended weight for winter.
So for all you new beeks, I would recommend you heft your hives at least once a month and if you think it is light then grab some fondant cut it up into a suitable amount and put it in a plastic bag, greaseproof paper (dont forget to cut a hole) or a plastic takeaway container that will fit in the space in the roof cavity and feed your girls provided you have a hole in your crown boards of course.
There is no excuses for losing a colony to starvation.