Category Archives: Uncategorized

A new queen arrives for Christmas

Posted on December 26, 2019 by

Happy Boxing Day/Day after Christmas everyone – was a busy one for us as we have a new Queen in the family. Holly Cariad Elowen arrived on Sunday. She doesn’t issue many commands yet but I have a feeling that … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 17 Comments

All tucked in for winter

Posted on December 11, 2019 by

A quick post on what I do to get my bees ready for winter. Here’s how the hives are looking right now. Over the years I’ve found this works for me: A thymol based anti-varroa treatment in late August – … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged | 12 Comments

Honeyland film review

Posted on November 17, 2019 by

Today I went to see Honeyland, which was being shown at the Falmouth Poly cinema as part of the Cornwall film festival. It’s a documentary about a female beekeeper named Hatidze; she and her elderly mother are the last inhabitants … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged | 14 Comments

August bee update

Posted on August 28, 2019 by

My beekeeping activity is winding down now for the year. The threat of swarms has passed and my focus is now on getting them ready for winter. My Nessa hive seemed to lose Queen Nessa sometime in July, so I … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 16 Comments

US and UK honey bee colony survival rates

Posted on August 1, 2019 by

I saw some new data come out recently on US and UK overwintering rates so thought I would take a look at it. It’s probably impossible to compare the two countries though, because the climate, diseases and scale of commercial … Continue reading →

Posted in beekeeping, Uncategorized | Tagged | 19 Comments

Bees, bees everywhere

Posted on June 27, 2019 by

It was a hot summer’s evening. I stuck my head out of our attic window and looked down the hill over Truro as the sun came down. The cathedral spire in the distance, pastel pink, blue and cream rhododendrons in … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 30 Comments

Tips from Cornwall’s Bee Health Day 2019: How to keep healthy bees

Posted on June 24, 2019 by

I enjoyed Bee Health Day at the weekend – it’s an annual day run by the two Cornwall Beekeeping Associations (CBKA and WBKA) and the National Bee Unit Bee Inspectors. There are talks on keeping healthy bees, varroa and the … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 10 Comments

Going on a (mini) bee safari

Posted on June 5, 2019 by

Last weekend I went on a very enjoyable mini bee safari at the home of two Cornwall Beekeepers Association members. For their privacy I won’t give any names and shall just say the location was central Cornwall. A bee safari … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 11 Comments

The tree bees come down

Posted on May 21, 2019 by

You may remember from my last post, ‘Surrounded by bees: a tale of four swarms‘ that I had a swarm which was determined to stay high up in a tree. They had been there a few weeks and had been … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 7 Comments

Garden before and after photos & average hive loss survey

Posted on April 24, 2019 by

I looked back at some garden photos from when we first moved into our house in 2017, and was quite taken aback at the change in the patio area! There is a lot more green. I know that some people … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 12 Comments