Beehive Re-location

After a morning of training on Sunday, we had to move a couple of our beehives. The out Apiary in Llandre where we had been keeping them was due to have some building work nearby and the bank that they were on needed some stabilising work carried out in order to allow access to the building site. We therefore had to move the bees away from what had been our only productive apiary last year.

We hadn’t been out to them for a while so were a little worried that we might be confronted with a hive full of dead bees. Mind you, I thought that a couple of weeks ago when I went to feed the three hives at the bottom of the garden and was pleasantly surprised to find that all three had a live colony of bees in them. I sliced fondant into strips and laid it across the tops of the frames so that the bees could access it without leaving the confines of their cosy hive. Assuming the hive in Llandre also had a colony of living bees, the plan was the same for them. Once fed they would be bundled up and moved to our apiary in the hills above Talybont.

Thankfully, the hive did have live bees in it so they were duly fed. We then blocked up the entrance, taped up the hive a little and put some straps around it before bundling it into the car for the short journey into the hills. After a bit of fiddling around to find a secure, flat location for the stand the hive and it’s precious cargo of bees were soon installed in their new location next to the other hive we have here. As we finished, the sun came out and started warming the hillside so hopefully the bees will be happy in their new home.

We fed the other hive while we were there and then headed home for lunch.

We’ll have to be vigilant now though and keep them all topped up with fondant as this is now a critical time of year for them. As winter draws on, they may well have used up all of their stores in the hive, the population of bees will be reaching a low and the ones that are there will be old and tired. Warm spells may well tempt them out of their hives, but there is very little for them to forage on yet, so without a helping hand from us they could well starve. We’ll keep an eye on them and start planning for the Spring though. Bee-keeping season will once again soon be upon us.

Tags: Beekeeping