We called in to see my parents this afternoon. My father is a beekeeper and most of his 13 colonies were flying strongly and bringing in pollen of various hues. I helped him do his Apiguard treatments in the Autumn and I thought a lot of his colonies were weak at that point. We checked the Varroa trays today and there was no sign of any mites. He keeps his trays in over winter and I don't but we try and not fall out over it! He has good natured black bees and he has kept bees continuously ...
What a marvellous bright sunny day we had here. Rolling up at the old orchard around 1 pm, the mud in the lane behind the walled garden was still sufficiently frozen solid to take my considerable weight, but the sun was on the hives and the bees were out in numbers. Three of the survivors were bringing in lots of pollen, and one - the Monkish bee colony - didn't seem to be. Might it be queenless? Too early to tell. It may also be well out of its comfort zone, climate-wise. So, ...
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