The BeeHolder, October 2011

Whilst the apiary is looking very good with the new observation hut, and we have held several successful apiary visits and training sessions there since opening, we have to say that this year has not been an unqualified success.

Losses have been considerable and in spite of having bought in five new colonies, we will be going into the winter with the same number of hives as we went into last winter. Further there is very little honey to harvest from the hives that have survived. Perhaps it is not in a good place, but Eric Franklin is only a couple of miles away and has 17 hives with tons of honey. Several local beekeepers said it was a good place for bees, and the estate manager told us that lots of swarms used to come in to the estate.

The plan was to concentrate on making increase in the early part of the season (whilst the rhododendrons were in bloom), and then add supers for a honey harvest towards the end of the season. Perhaps this was too optimistic, or other factors were in play which meant that both objectives were not met.

There was some damage to the bee mesh of one of the observation hut windows. People have complained about the number. of bees that get caught inside the hut, trying to get back to the hives, so perhaps this was deliberate damage? When the hut is finished off (just a few bits of tidying up and cladding to do) a bee space sized gap will be left so that returning bees can negotiate the hut safely.

On a positive note, we do have a good range of different types of hive (including Warre and top bar hives) and colonies at different stages of development, both of which are good for educational purposes.

Chris Leech