Unused Honey Stores In A Dead Hive
Barely Used Candy (And Dead Bees)
One Dead Hive
Just what we expected...4 locations, 4 different colours, 4 different textures & 4 different tastes
The strained honey is left in the settling bucket for a few days
The honey pours from the honey extractor into a settling bucket, via a double strainer
The spun honey at the bottom of the honey extractor, ready to be strained into settling buckets
The wax cappings are strained and then later on, will be melted down and converted into candles
The uncapped honey frames are loaded into the honey extractor
The uncapped honey frame revealing the freshest honey ever!
Step 3 - super safely added
Step 2 of adding a super - placing it on top of the open hive without squishing the bees underneath
Step 1 of adding a super...remove the hive top
with the super back on, the bees clamber over the queen cage, desperate to get her out
Once in the hive, the existing bees soon find the queen
Queen in her cage being added to the hive
New queens arrive in the post
A perfect frame of bees
A close up of the hive frame - you can see capped brood, larvae and honey....and a few bees
Richard about to do his first hive inspection
the swarm safely moving in to the new hive
Richard transferring the captured swarm into the new hive
The new hive from Paynes Bees (thank you) all ready to receive the swarm
The temporary hive is covered in a black bag to make sure that it's nice and dark inside the bucket
Most of the bees now captured in a fermentation bucket
A natural swarm of bees - a nuisance to some, a God send to us
Here's what is inside the hive
David getting his first close-up look at some bees
Not quite a catwalk, but our version of a fashion parade
Raspberry bushes are a natural health boost for bees
Our dad standing next to a column of 15 "supers" (he'd made up 30!!)
After a long journey, all the bees wanted to do was get out of the hive and stretch their wings
Our 15 hives in-situ following their long journey from Gloucester
The humble bumble bee joins in the fun with the honey bees
Does my bum look big in this?
Irrespective of the colour of the flower, the collected pollen tends to be yellow
Early May and with the blossom in full bloom, our bees are busy collecting pollen
Inspecting the frames within the hive is an important job
Honey bees working hard, despite being lifted out of the hive for a routine inspection
