Friday 27 November 2015

What the bees do now....

So it's been a long time since I mentioned my bees so just thought I would let you know what's happening now.

Well quite frankly...not a lot!!

No bee in sight....all tucked up keeping warm!!
No bee in sight....all tucked up
keeping warm!!

Chilly days mean quieter bees!
Chilly days mean quieter bees!

Honey bees don't hibernate over the winter. They are certainly a lot less active and I won't carry out inspections over the winter as I don't want to drop the temperature of the hives as this could be devastating to the colony within but I will keep 'hefting' the hives which is where you lift them slightly to check the weight and if you think they are feeling a little light then it may be because they are getting low on honey stores so you can slip some fondant in to give them a boost.

I have made sure my bees are as prepared as I possibly can for the winter. I have used hive alive and fed them ambrosia syrup to give them a boost. Then just before the weather turned really cold I put some fondant in a feeder on the hives just as a little extra security.




As you can see from these few photos there is some clearing that needs doing around the hives which I will sort before spring. It's hard to do this on balmy autumn days as the bees will come out and fly and they can be a bit 'tetchy', this is due to there being less food about so I like to disturb them as little possible and wait for colder days to sort things out!

Although around the hives is a bit messy looking down the plot from the hives looks nice and I am pleased with how it's looking as winter approaches.

Looking down the plot from
the hives.
Although it looks nice and tidy I am thinking it is looking a bit bare and I am thinking next year that I might add some more herbs and fruit bushes to fill in some of the 'blanks' and to make it a more productive space as although I want to keep it low maintenance I also want to gain as much as possible from the plot and also to provide the bees with as much as possible.
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8 comments:

  1. So you don't wrap anything around the hives to keep them a little bit warmer?

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    Replies
    1. No Sue, I have polystyrene hives which are better naturally insulated than the wood ones but even the wood ones I wouldn't wrap. The bees control the temperature themselves...they're clever little buggers that way!

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  2. sounds like you have learned quite a lot about the bees.

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    Replies
    1. I think I have Ann...yet there is still so much more to learn....I think that is what I am loving so much about the experience.

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  3. An interesting post about the bees and their needs which includes thinking about the vegetation and plants that you're growing on your plot.

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  4. It's wonderful your infos. Thank you very much..

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keep it clean...keep it relevant...I look forward to reading your comments!!