Category: Beekeeping

Collecting from a Crocus 0

FERA Warning of Bee Starvation

Just thought I’d post an email I’ve just received from FERA, The Food and Environment Research Agency, seeing as it echoes what I have been saying about the risks of bee starvation given the mild winter we have had. With the continued mild weather persisting past winter, it is possible that some colonies may be...

Crocuses 1

Spring Bees

With the mercury rising – into double figures at least, light winds and almost some sunshine, I thought it was time that the bees should start flying. The temperature in our garden peaked at 10.9°C today, but the sun didn’t quite make it out properly. However, I took a quick glance at the hives and sure...

Hellebore 0

Is that the Spring that I See?

I don’t think anyone would deny that we’ve had a fairly awful winter so far this year. It hasn’t been cold yet, but it’s just been wet, windy and miserable. There does seem to be hope on the horizon though. There’s a brief respite in the stormy weather today, the wind has gone and it isn’t raining at...

Checking on the Bees 2

Checking on the Bees

After the recent storms and flood damage everywhere, we’ve been wondering how our bees have been faring. It has been a funny ‘winter’ so far as it has just been really mild and really wet. The bottom of the garden, where our beehives are is still waterlogged and flooded, but with wellies on I can...

Too Windy for the Bees 1

Too Windy for the Bees

I think we may have had a lucky escape with the bees this morning. It’s been blowing a hoolie here all day, after starting to do so last night. I took a quick look at the hives this morning and all looked OK, although it was dawn so the light wasn’t great and I was only...

Honeys for tasting 0

Honey Show

After spending all day baking and decorating cupcakes on a Saturday it was time for the competition at the ABKA Honey Show on Sunday. Actually, we had a few things to do before the show, I went for a run and swim in Machynlleth and Morgan went to Junior Triathlon Training for an hour afterwards giving Anna and...

Cake Decorating Supplies 4

Bee Cupcakes

With the Annual ABKA Honey Show on Sunday, we had to make an effort to prepare our entries. We didn’t really have enough honey to enter and hadn’t made anything from wax. No candles, no combs of honey and even the cookery class that we were looking forward to was different this year. The various...

Ynyslas Honey 2

Honey Harvest

It may be a fairly pathetic harvest in comparison to some, but seeing as we started the year with no bees and had to wait a while thanks to the poor Spring for a couple of nuecs I don’t think we’ve done too badly. Especially seeing as the queen died in one of our colonies...

A Fera Bee Inspection 3

A Fera Bee Inspection

We had our first visit from a FERA bee inspector yesterday. There has been a recent case of American Foulbrood in the area. American foulbrood (AFB), is a highly infectious and destructive bee disease caused by the spore- forming Paenibacillus larvae ssp. larvae. It is widespread and a huge problem in America, but thankfully fairly rare here in...

Hives 1

Busy Beekeeping Day

We had a busy day yesterday full of all sorts of things. Triathlon Training in the morning, followed by beekeeping in the afternoon. The triathlon training finished a little late so we then had to rush off to Llanafan for a beekeeping meeting. There was no way we’d make it by 2pm so we let them know...