Where the hives are
The bees have done well, and we have three good colonies, two of which are very strong, and all of which look well set to take advantage of the main honey flow which should be happening now.
A small, fourth colony has been put in a glass-fronted box for display at the Lambeth Country Show, which runs over this weekend. All being well, it’ll take pride of place at the London Beekeepers stall in the Farm Zone behind the Hall in Brockwell Park. We’d be delighted to see you there.
In other news, we’ve had a number of disease alerts from the National Bee Unit on outbreaks in the area, though we’ve not found anything very nasty in our hives yet. We’re still checking for swarming preparations – although July is a bit late in the year for swarming, the season got off to a fairly late start in London, so there’s still a chance of some nonsense. We’ve not had anything like the problems we had last year, but two of the hives swarmed, nevertheless. However, as one of those was a cast from an artifical swarm, which is almost excusable, and the other was swiftly caught and rehomed, we’ve had no disasters.
From now on, we’re now preparing for the harvest at the end of the month. Or, more accurately, leaving the bees to themselves for a couple of weeks while we run around sorting out jars and labels and buckets and extractors. And, of course, taking a little time out to enjoy the Lambeth Country Show.
