Honey Stripes - Thymol, Old Costessy

I took what honey there was stored in Honey Stripes supers off yesterday. The bees had eaten any that wasn't capped and are not making honey from the ivy yet. There were plenty of queen eggs in the top brood box but also signs of a high mite infestation with several bees with deformed wings So today I treated the three hives at that Apiary with thymol and gave them each a bucket of feed. Honey Stripes hive has had two brood boxes on all season and today I put on a third with frames in that need a clean up and switched the two existing boxes around as there wasn't much food stored in the bottom box. I expect they will soon empty the bucket of feed I gave them today and need another in three or four days time.

I was expecting to do much the same at Old Costessy but I found that there was nectar flowing into the hives there and the bees were making honey. The bees were entering the hives with white pollen on their backs and I think they are working the Himalayan Balsom that is growing along the river banks nearby. Certainly there was plenty of Balsom flowering in the pub garden on the river bank just down the road from apiary a week or so back. In just one season it can grow to an amazing height if it has some support to grow through.

I did take a few frames of honey off from a couple of the stronger hives - but I left most of them on as we could get a warm sunny week this week and if we do the bees could well fill a super completely with honey.

I gave Holly's hive three wet supers (above the crown board) to clean up that I had extracted honey from after taking them from Honey Stripes yesterdy.

The smaller hives at Old Costessy need feeding and I gave them each a fist sized lump fondant to keep them going.