Greetings Earthlings!
Yes, its been a while - but for reasons unavoidable - a necessary absence…but…and there’s always a ‘but’…I have finally got bees! Photos are always best:
Now here’s a line that many of you already know - they are simply astonishing creatures and I have ‘wasted’ a LOT of time just watching them come and go from the entrance to the hive! In the 7 days that I have now had them they have easily increased in numbers by a 1/3, drawn out all 5 plastic frames that came with the nucleus purchase and have drawn two of the timber frames either side. They empty 2 ‘Chinese Take-Away’ containers of Sugar syrup every 24 hours.
Some of you dear folks may remember that I’d also posted a modification (Hive Base & Screened Bottom Board Modification Idea) to the bottom of the flow base with a tray for SHB - I am delighted to report (though dissapointed that so many came with the Nuc!!!) that it works like a charm with 7 SHB corpses removed from the olive oil in the first 3 days - none since then.
Plan: Continue feeding syrup and place 2nd brood box on top this coming weekend, continue feeding for a few weeks after that…Reading up on all of your adventures I have some catching up to do!
Cider anyone?