The look my bees give me when I open their hive. This particular bee is a fluffy bumblebee cousin of the honey bee but they share that – go away and don’t be bothering me – look.
Letting go
It’s World Bee Day and the bees are celebrating by swarming indiscriminately. I’ve taken swarm control measures splitting hives and knocking queen cells and all I can really do now is hope for the best. In the meantime, I’ve already bagged a number of swarms in my bait boxes e.g., image above. I had put… Continue reading Letting go
A winter tale (continued)
“Get out of my way, I must dance!” My sister butts me out of the way. She butts a load of others out of her way too. Then she starts wriggling, shaking her tail like crazy, runs a few steps along the comb before turning around and dashes back to where she started, turns and… Continue reading A winter tale (continued)
There be dragons
It looked like the dragon was poised to attack my beehives. It’s obviously not a dragon nor is it attacking my hives. It is an exceptional example of the kindness and generosity that I’ve encountered on my bee keeping journey. The farmer who owns the land offered the use of a man and a digger… Continue reading There be dragons
Paparazzi and bees
The long winter wait was over. Several days of fine sunny weather, temperatures creeping up to 15oC, and essential for a hobby beekeeper, it was a weekend! I couldn’t be happier. Out in the orchard I lit the smoker, put on my bee suit and started laying out all the things I’d need by the… Continue reading Paparazzi and bees
Pining for bees
“Come out and play” I plead. An odd bee flies out to investigate who is tramping around their hive. And, an odd bee flies in. What’s this on its hind legs? Pollen! Beekeepers can get excited by such small things and pollen is exceptionally small; a grain of daffodil pollen weighs about 50μm. It is… Continue reading Pining for bees
Christmas present (for bees)
Yesterday evening I abandon my couch, cosy fire and my Christmas tree sparkling with a million coloured lights, to brave the dark and cold to go Christmas shopping for my bees. Bees have been so active because of the recent mild weather that the bees are getting through their stores of food fast, too fast.… Continue reading Christmas present (for bees)
Storm prep
Splish, splosh, slide and glide, we sloshed or way through the mud visible in the headlights of my stationary car. The wind was picking up and a job that I could have done last weekend or even weeks before, had been left of course to the last minute. The storm was imminent. “Don’t shine the… Continue reading Storm prep
Amoeba
I’ve got maybe a wee bit carried away. I had a brainwave and an enabler (what more can anyone want), so we rigged up a contraption so that I could make 10-13 moulded beeswax candles at a time instead of 1 or 2. Oh, the excitement of it all! Morning and evening (in between… Continue reading Amoeba
Bees on Ivy
“Bees on Ivy”, This was my first published photograph, and it was chosen as the front cover photo for a beekeeping magazine. I was so proud. It was only after it was published and circulated across the globe that it was pointed out that the featured insects were not honeybees! Nope, they were not even… Continue reading Bees on Ivy
