It may be Winter but we are still busy......

It was a bustling Saturday morning at Temple Newsam. Andy Gowdy and lots of of helpers turned out to apply oxalic acid to the colonies to treat them for varroa mite. The bees were fairly active as it was quite a mild morning. Fondant was also placed on the hives as a supplemental food. Some hives were definitely in need of this as they were quite light on stores.

A couple of hives were moved so that they are ready for the queen rearing course later in the year.

Andy brought along his DIY hive carrier and demonstrated how to use it to move a hive.

It's a very useful piece of kit and made it a very easy job.

Sadly one hive was found to have died off though, probably as a result of being queenless and consequently being too weak to sustain itself.

We also put guards on the hives to prevent damage from Green Woodpeckers which can be a problem once cold weather starts to set in.

The shop was busy with customers buying equipment to make up for the season ahead and Paul had the kettles on and biscuits open for any one that felt a little peckish or thirsty.