2026 Cliffe Castle Bee Blog 11

Andy and I found the box “bursting with bees” this morning (Tuesday 7 July).

We couldn’t see the queen until the last frame was removed and then I

spotted her lurking on the woodwork in the bottom corner of the hive.

The colony continues to grow and the queen is now laying on 7:9 frames.

We removed another frame of stores, to replace it with a frame of

foundation. At this time of year, the bees will start to “backfill” with nectar

what used to be cells used for the queen to lay in. This risks her running out

of space. The bees will draw some fresh comb from the foundation and

provide her with more cells to deposit her eggs in and keep the balance of

the hive under control.

With things the way they are, Anthony and I will be checking the

observation hive again, next week. This will be on our usual Monday.

Linda