Forage Alimighty

I haven’t inspected now for a week and a half and truth be told I am itching to see how things are going.

How has the recombine gone for the previous double hive? Has the extra comb meant that all those bees finally have someone to put stores ahead of that prolific queen of theirs’?

How are Mata Hari and the sneaky bees getting on now they don’t have a leaky roof and a hive that resembles a colander?

Have the poppy hive managed to grow down from their colossal cross-comb catastrophe into the box below? I have heard that post june there is lot less comb building done. I am still concerned I have given them too much the achieve.

As for Boudica and the meanie bees (as Kyle calls them) I am a little less curious.  They have made it clear that they want space. Space that is roughly the same size and shape as me! In honesty they are more nervous  than mean.  Even the way they move about on the comb appears more frantic than the other colonies. The brood nest is expanding in a single direction in the hive with some stores placed at the other end. I have found (supprisingly) that they seem to prefer me inspecting from the brood end. As soon as I remove the follower board from the stores end they get very interested in my face as a possible dartboard. .. It may be that the one of the other colonies is performing some robbing. Which would explain the defensiveness.

On a walk past last night despite the weather (which has been typically English) all hives had bees out flying. Hardy Yorkshire bees and no mistake. The blackberry and elderflower flow is obviously finished. The bees loss being our gain as the berries start to form. I am already collecting empty bottles from friends for wine making. The main nectar at the moment seems to be Himalyan balsam, lime trees, poppies are still going strong (from the oilseed rape fields), as well as a glut of rosebay willow herb. The gardeners of the village are doing us proud with micklemass daisies and still plenty of lavender to go around.