Category Archives: Queens

‘The Cornish Bee’ – notes from a talk by Rodger Dewhurst, Gwenen Apiaries

Posted on August 16, 2018 by Emily Scott

Last Sunday I went to a ‘Bee Fayre’, which is an annual weekend event held at Enys Gardens in Penryn, Cornwall. It was a haven for bee fans, filled with stalls selling every bee themed product you can think of, … Continue reading →

Posted in Disease prevention, Queens | Tagged | 6 Comments

Case of the disappearing queen: mystery solved

Posted on July 5, 2015 by Emily Scott

It is always satisfying to solve a mystery. Even when you turn out to be the culprit. You may recall me mentioning that Queen Andromeda has been missing in action since I combined her colony with Queen Cassiopeia’s on 6th … Continue reading →

Posted in Honey, Queens | 24 Comments

The queen who went in the wrong place

Posted on May 16, 2015 by Emily Scott

Today I found a mystery awaiting me at the allotment. Ever seen this many bees under a hive? Just hanging out? And bees with pollen disappearing within their midst? Usually you might get maybe a couple of bees wandering around under the … Continue reading →

Posted in Queens | Tagged | 33 Comments

A tale of two queens

Posted on June 15, 2014 by Emily Scott

After a gloriously hot Friday, it was disappointing to be making my way to the apiary in rain on Saturday afternoon. Luckily the rain soon cleared and even turned to sunshine later, leaving Emma and I free to inspect our five … Continue reading →

Posted in Queens | Tagged | 25 Comments

Easter inspections; a new queen emerges

Posted on April 21, 2014 by Emily Scott

There was a lot going on at the apiary on Saturday. Naive people might think that on a bank holiday Easter weekend the apiary would be quiet. Not so when there is tea to be drunk, hot cross buns to … Continue reading →

Posted in Queens | 45 Comments

Middlesex Beekeepers’ Day – Terry Clare, Queen rearing for the average beekeeper

Posted on February 23, 2014 by Emily Scott

As I like to do each year, yesterday I went to the Federation of Middlesex Beekeepers’ Associations annual Bee Keepers’ Day. Each year the Middlesex associations (Ealing, Enfield, Harrow, North London, Pinner & Ruislip) take it in turn to host … Continue reading →

Posted in Colony management, Disease prevention, Queens | Tagged , , , | 19 Comments

A bad day’s beekeeping

Posted on July 21, 2013 by Emily Scott

Feeling quite demoralised after yesterday’s beekeeping session. Things started off well. I spotted one of our new queens, Emma pinned her down in a queen cage and marked her perfectly with a neat blob on her thorax. Yellow as we … Continue reading →

Posted in Queens | Tagged | 32 Comments

Queen introduction – the easy way?

Posted on June 18, 2013 by Emily Scott

Earlier this year I attended a talk at Kew Gardens by Professor Ratnieks, Professor of Apiculture at the University of Surrey (blog post – Bee foraging on garden plants: Sussex University research). This got me interested in his work, and while … Continue reading →

Posted in Queens, Uncategorized | 20 Comments

Our queens come in eights

Posted on May 25, 2013 by Emily Scott

Last week Emma and I split our hive into two. Today we returned to check the progress of the two colonies – luckily the rain storms of Friday had subsided and beautiful sun ruled the skies. At the time we … Continue reading →

Posted in Queens, Swarms | Tagged | 46 Comments

Hunny time

Posted on August 7, 2011 by Emily Scott

Yesterday was all about the honey. After three years of trying, I finally have some! On Friday Emma put a Porter bee escape on our super, which allows the bees to go down but not up so we can come … Continue reading →

Posted in Colony management, Disease prevention, Honey, Queens | Tagged , , | 16 Comments