Tag: Bees

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Dead bees outside a beehive in winter

Bee Clean

I look out on the beehives every day, but make an effort at least once a week to do a quick walk around and check there are no issues.

Most of the time, they seem quiet with nothing happening. They might as well be empty boxes. However, today one of the hives had this big pile of dead bees outside.

Bees keep there hives clean and tidy and this one had just had a big clean-up pushing out all the bees that had died.

It appears alarming to see this small handful of bees on the ground, but this can be quite usual. As the bees born in the summer die they fall to the bottom of the hive.

Dead bees at the entrance of the hive
Dead bees at the entrance of the hive

As part of housekeeping, the overwintering bees will cast all the bodies out of the hive entrance.

This happened to bee a bright warmish day, and later on bees could be seen flying from all the hives, including this one.

Geese inspecting the beehives at Chilcotts Farm
Geese inspecting the beehives at Chilcotts Farm
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Honey bee on an ivy flower in autumn

Ivy Flowers, good for the Bees

Even though October is drawing to a close, on warm days the bees are VERY busy.

If you look closely at the ivy, you can see it covered in insects busy at work on the ivy flowers. Not only honey bees, but wasps, flies and bumble bees. All going about their work gathering or consuming the produce of the ivy flower.

The Ivy flower is quite easily overlooked, but is a valuable source of nectar and pollen for the bees. Especially at this time of year when there is not much more forage around. This is one of the last chances for the bees to gather last minute stores.

A fly on an ivy flower in October
A fly on an ivy flower in October
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Honey Bee on ice plant Sedum spectabile 'Iceberg'

Busy Bee

We are having some warm weather at the moment. The sunny warm days are great for the bees allowing them to get out and about to build up their winter stores. Caught this lady foraging on a flowering ‘Iceberg’ (Sedumspectabile ) plant.

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Propolis taken from a honey bee hive

Propolis or Bee Glue

This year, the bees seemed to have produced a large amounts of propolis, which has made working the hives quite difficult.

Bees use this to seal up small holes and gaps in the hive. Quite often the small gap between the frames are glued together making inspection a bit harder as the frames have to be unstuck and the propolis scrapped off.

Proplis is a product of bee saliva, wax and tree resins. It is meant to have anti-bacterial and fungal properties and can be found in the use of health and healing products.

This picture was taken on a warm day when the propolis was really sticky and flexible. When colder it can become quite brittle. The picture shows the propolis after I had scrapped it off the top of a frame. The frame was stuck to the crown board (a board that covers the top of the frames).

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Honey bees emerging from a capped brood cell

New Bees for the Winter

As we move toward the winter months, the hive is beginning to prepare for the colder weather. Having gathered their honey as winter food to keep them going until the first spring flowers, the winter bees are beginning to emerge.

If you look closely, you can see some bees just poking their heads out of their cell. They are removing the capping from the cell where the egg was laid and they have transformed into a bee. Once emerging they will join the rest of the colony.

These new bees are potentially the bees that will take the colony through the winter until early spring. Winter bees tend to live for 5 months, whereas the bees hatched out in spring and summer live for about 6 weeks!

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Wildflower meadow in Barnstaple

This is what I want, I really really want ….

I have a two acre field, I really want to turn into (revert to?) wildflower meadow. How do you do it? Can anyone help?

It seems really complicated and expensive.

Done the research over a few years and got the facts, just spent £40 on seed! (mixture of perennial and annual from Pictorial Meadows #PictorialMeadows) only does 10 square metres. 2 acres is equivalent to 8,000 square metres …… so at a price of £32,000 …. not really achievable????

A lot of money, but it needs to be done right, so hopefully this autumn we will get started. I then just need to work out how to do it affordably over the next 5 years ….. yes a 5 year project ….

#RHSGardensRosemoor have stared a wild flower meadow, and it is looking good. They are just down the road, if they are reading, perhaps someone could help out, after all we are members. I could pay in honey, vegetables or fruit ….. but I suppose that is coals to Newcastle???

Anyone any thoughts on how we can do this in an environmental way, for little cost, to achieve a native meadow.

Cornflower growing in North Devon
Cornflower growing in North Devon
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Honey Bee on at Rose RHS Rosemoor

Bees are enjoying the roses at RHS Rosemoor Rose Festival

The RHS Rosemoor Rose Festival was glorious. The roses were all out in bloom and their sweet scent wafted through the warm summer air.

Even though the blowsy colourful blooms thickly clustered with petals looked magnificent, it wass the simple open single rose flowers that attracted the attention of the bees.

This is always the way, the double blooms may look glorious to us, but simplicity is beauty to the bees.

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Honey Bee Swarm in Barnstaple on a Building Site Underneath Scaffolding Boards

Honey Bees Looking for a New Home in Barnstaple

I have just collected this nice little swarm of Honey Bees from a building site in Barnstaple.

I got a call from the Site Manager. The bees had been clustering underneath some scaffolding since yesterday. Conveniently located at ground level, I put them in a box and brought them back to our isolation apiary.

Honey Bee Swarm Gathered up from a Building Site, and ready to be transferred to its new home
Honey Bee Swarm Gathered up from a Building Site, and ready to be transferred to its new home

Remember, if you have a Honey Bee Swarm that needs collecting and the swarm is in the local area of Bickington or Fremington, contact me.  My details are below, or go to my webpage:  https://chilcottsfarm.co.uk/bees/local-swarm-collector/ to find out more and to check it is a Honey Bee Swarm.

Contact me if you have a Honey Bee Swarm that you need removing:

Telephone: 07403 311920

Or, email me using the form below:

    Your Name (required)

    Your Telephone Number (required)

    Your Email (required)

    Your Post Code

    To Assist with Identification, if you can, Send A Picture

    Additional Information:

    Swarm location; Size & how long it has been present.

    If I am not available, or you need a Swarm Collector for another area, please go to the British Beekeepers website and put in your post code:  https://www.bbka.org.uk/swarm This will provide a list of Honey Bee Swarm Collectors near to you.

    If you have had a Honey Bee Swarm collected and wish to make a voluntary donation toward expenses, please complete the form below:

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    Honey Bee Collecting Cherry Blossom pollen in April North Devon UK - Chilcotts Farm

    Bees are out and about

    A couple of weeks ago I noticed a couple of bees flying from the hive and returning with pollen. It looked like cherry blossom pollen, perhaps from the blackthorn that had started to flower in the hedge rows.

    Anyway, the last couple of days, which have been very warm and bright, the bees have been flying and coming back with loads of pollen.  In addition, the cherry and plum blossom in the orchard is covered in bees.

    Hopefully the weather will remain kind to the bees, and this year’s fruit trees will be well pollenated and produce a bumper harvest of fruit.

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