2026 Cliffe Castle Bee Blog 10

Steve and I did the inspection on 22 June and found all to be well with

the new colony. The blue queen was laying on 5 frames on comb. We

still need to keep an eye on how the colony builds up, to make sure they

don’t get overcrowded again, especially with more hot weather on the

way.

From the time of the Summer Solstice (21 June 2026), the queen

gradually begins to reduce the number of eggs she lays each day. This

allows the colony to shrink to a manageable size to get through the

winter and have enough food to survive. It’s still important to make sure

that the queen has enough space on the combs to lay the numbers of

eggs she needs to and check that the foraging bees aren’t using too

much cell space to store nectar and honey at the expense of leaving her

enough room for eggs.

We will be keeping an eye on how much space there is in the

observation hive over the next few weeks. If the bees feel too cramped

for space, they can still swarm in July to split the colony in two and find a

new nest site. We manage the space by removing a frame of stores and

replacing it with a frame of wax foundation, for the bees to draw out

comb and make more cells for eggs and larvae. At the end of the

season, when we return the colony to our ABKA Apiary, the frames of

stores go with the bees to provide some of their winter food supply.

On Monday 29 June, Andy and I checked the bees to make sure they

have enough space. The queen was now laying on 6 frames of comb, so

we decided to take out a frame of stores and replace it with some wax

foundation. It is still very warm in the museum, so the younger bees will

have no problem using wax they produce from the wax glands on their

tummies to make some more comb space. You may be able to see them

doing this if you visit the museum, as the frame of foundation is on an

outer side of the hive.

Do you remember that Steve made the wooden ends of the frames a bit

thinner, the week before last, using a tool called a box plane? This was

to help the frames fit into the hive more easily than before. Well, Andy

and I found that they had obviously decided the frame tops were too thin

for their liking and had built them up with propolis, so that they could get

stuck again!

Propolis is a very sticky, resinous material, that the bees collect from

buds and shrubs – beekeepers often call it “bee glue”. When it is warm,

propolis is tacky and can be used for several different purposes. When it

gets cold, it sets hard. The bees often use it to fill in any small gaps

around the nest, to stop draughts getting in and lowering the

temperature of the brood nest. They can also use it if their nest entrance

is too wide for them to defend easily, making strings/columns of propolis

to create a more manageable opening. Propolis has antibacterial

properties, and helps keep the nest clean, offering some protection

against diseases. If a large intruder, like a bumble bee or a mouse, gets

into the nest, but is too large for the bees to remove easily, the bees will

first kill it then use propolis to mummify the body, so that no disease

results as the body of the intruder breaks down. Young house bees use

propolis to deep clean the walls of cells in the brood nest, when a new

bee emerges. It also serves to strengthen the walls of the cell so that it

can be used again for the queen to lay eggs.

Linda