New sites

Sunny afternoon but winds still coming from a cold direction and only one or two hardy bees were flying in the allotment. I'm creating some new sites for hives in the allotment nearer to the hedge and away from the allotment next door.

The aconites and snowdrops are now also waiting for a warm sunny day and a visit from the bees.

After a sunny morning the warm weather retreated and the afternoon turned cold again. Our brief respite from winter was over yet again all too soon.

Bill's bees (box 4) were flying again and still around the feeder on the German hive.

I hadn't seen them yesterday I wouldn't think there were bees in hive 5.

Tina's bees were out and all over the hive. I think many were sucking up water from the wet wood. I guess they need it to process the fondant.

I took the bucket off the top brood box of the two boxes that the German bees are in. There were no bees feeding from the bucket feeder but there were a few dead bees around the hole in the crown board. The hive had no flying bees (in stark contrast to Tina's hive next door but one). On taking the crown board off it was plain to see there were no live bees in the top brood box at all. The two boxes were well stuck together but I did manage to separate them. There the bees were in quite a large cluster in the bottom box. I quickly put the top box back on. These bees are not coming out for just a few hours of sun, they seem to know that this hard winter is not over yet.

On the next sunny day I will take another look at the top box and may take it off in order to get some fondant placed closer to the bees.

Bill''s bees have fondant on top of a second brood box. I think I had better check that the bees are getting to it OK.

Bill's bees

In the allotment Bill's bees were flying today and throwing out their dead for a while I removed the entrance and any dead bees that I could. The bees were actively cleaning up sugar syrup from around the edge of a leeking rapid feeder that was still top of the German queen's hive. I guess it shouldn't still be there. I 've numbered Bill's Greengage bottom brood box 4.

The other hive that had flying bees was in the top corner of the plot (I've numbered it 5). They were busy fanning at the entrance. There was some bee excrement around the hive entrance and immediate area. Unlike hive 4. That may be a sign of Nosema in the hive. The colony was the first to have a block of fondant put on in the summer and at the time I didn't think it was a strong hive.

Flying bees ???

The weather was just warm enough today for the bees in my stronger hives in the allotment apiary to be flying again.

This winter it seems that only my strongest colonies have survived. The smaller colonies and late swarms that didn't manage to build up their numbers up in time to build up good stores in the brood frames have not made it through the winter.

Fondant on top of the crown boards has been half consumed but the prolonged cold has prevented the bees getting to the food that isn't in the frames already. Or it was just too cold for a small cluster of bees to stay warm enough. Either way the critical mass of bees needed to be high for the bees to survive such prolonged freezing weather.

The small colonies that I merged with other bees do seem to be OK.

In the allotment Bill's bees near the greengage tree are by far the strongest colony and are flying much more than the others. Even in less than perfect conditions it always Bill's bees that have a few bees flying in and out of the entrance.

Snow, ice and frost

The winter so far (I fear it may not be over yet) has been colder than I have known it since I started bee keeping some fifteen or so years ago. Only in the last few days (since the first week of December) have the bees been out and about in any numbers and I know that some of my hives havn't survived the cold.

Out of the three hives at the UEA bluebell road site only Honey Stripe's large hive of three brood boxes had flying bees in it yesterday. The other two both had dead bees.

A lot of the hives at Old Costessy seem to have done better. The hive facing south and the hive on bricks were positively booming. One or two of the hives that looked lifeless did in fact have live bees inside but still in their cluster. I decided not the open any more hives there until the weather is positively warmer.

The four hives at Ringland all had flying bees and they still had plenty of fondant to keep them going.

So far so good

The bees were flying today and I checked all of my hives at Bluebell Road (Honey Stripe's bees were out in abundance) Old Costessy, the Allotment 83, Postwick and Thorpe. Those that were running low on fondant I gave an extra lump. Some of the bees were taking in pollen.

Willow(2)09 vandalised, Old Costessy, Postwick

It was a bright sunny day after days of wind and rain. A check of the apiaries was in order. Willow(2)09 at the Bluebell road UEA Permaculture apiary has had an unwanted visit. The bucket feeder was laying by the hive empty with it's lid off and the brood box had the crown board off. I put the hive back together and seeing the size of the wooden poles left near by I fear for the other two hives. I will now need to visit this site frequently throughout the winter.

The bees in the bigger hives at Old Costessy were taking pollen in. One hive there still had a box feeder on . I took it off and replaced it with a block of fondant.

It was getting too late to see bees flying at Postwick but the hives there seem to be OK and all had fondant.