Monday 5 July 2010

Busy Birgit











Finally got to inspect the hive for the second time. We had put it off for a day because of the very high winds on Sunday, much better today- calm and sunny. A little smoke but all seemed extremely calm as we took of the roof and crown board. Had everything ready and there were a lot more bees than last week- as I took out each frame I made notes so I know exactly how things were progressing. Birgit had started laying on one of the new frames and the bees were begining to draw out a further two, but were leaving one side of the frames that they came on. I can only think that maybe that frame was originally too close to the others as it is not a self spacing frame and the bee space must have been a bit close. But Trev managed  to get good pictures- there was good capped brood, new eggs, stores and pollen. Birgit was easy to spot on one of the original frames but she had obviously been busy. It was exciting to look in and see what is happening- we have spent lots of time in this fantastic sunny spell just watching the comings and goings, its reassuring to feel that all looks well inside!

2 comments:

  1. Fantastic!
    You might consider explaining some of your technical terms to the uninitiated! For instance: how does a crownboard differ from a headboard or a sideboard?
    Rob

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  2. The crownboard fits just under the roof on top of the hive, so that when you lift the roof off all the bees don't come flying straight at you!
    Will show you!

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