Cliffe Castle Bee Blog #23 2023
Just in case you are missing the little colony of honeybees from the Observation Hive as they enjoy their winter break at our Association apiary, here’s a little peep under the roof of their hive.
On 6 October we went to check they had enough food supplies and make sure that the varroa mite treatment strips we had added were still in the area of the brood nest. All looked to be doing well and our red queen is still in residence. You can just see the tops of the treatment strips suspended between the frames.
We will remove these strips in four weeks, but for now, the bees can just continue to gather nectar and pollen. Now that the ivy is in flower, you might well see honeybees, butterflies, hover flies, bumble bees, wasps and all manner of other insects enjoying this last big flower feast of the season. Ivy flowers look like drum stick lollipops and yield a bright yellow pollen.
