Apichat

26th February, 8 degrees, a wet and breezy morning. Not the best for checking colonies but needs must and we are now in the pre-spring danger zone.

Predictably the colonies that were strongest at the end of autumn are sound and starting to bring in early pollen from snowdrop, crocus, and hazel ...

Current Situation

Existing populations of dark European honey bees in Europeare either:

(1) Endangered by imports. Local populations of the dark European honey bee are largely intact across much of the
country.

(2) Viable in reserves. Local dark European honey bee populations remain viable in ...

9th February, 7 degrees and overcast, but today definitely has a faint spring feel to it, and there is a discernable change in light quality. Snowdrops are in full bloom and crocuses slowly making their appearance, spring is on it's way. We might like to let out a sigh of relief, but hold that ...

Granite Town Film Project

A documentary short about three generations of beekeepers from the North-East of Scotland, which is famous for its heather honey and rich beekeeping traditions.

Directed and filmed by Maxim Nekliudov.

Granite Town Film Project: “Natives”!

This project that I’ve been working on for three years, delves into the world of Scotland's native honey bees and highlights the efforts of a dedicated group of conservationists and scientists working to ensure their future survival, both on their reserve on ...

13th January, amazing the difference in the weather in just a few days. Last visit was in glorious winter sunshine, today it was 8 degrees but felt sub-zero, was dark, overcast and raining. We carried out the 2nd round of OA sublimation which should catch any mites that were in sealed brood at the ...

10th January - last few days have seen sub zero temperatures which will have tightened the clusters following their first sublimation. 1℃ this morning, no wind, cold and bright, the sun on the snow and ice dazzling, perfect for a quick round to check feeders and top up where necessary.

https ...

30th December, the sun in a cloudless sky and with overnight temperatures sub-zero it was an ideal opportunity to carry out the first OA sublimation. The bees were clustered tight up in the hive and less inclined to object to the wand coming through the entrance. It made for an easy and straight ...

14th November, cold 4C start to the day with rain forecast for later. High winds and very heavy rain over the last week, time for a quick round of the colonies.

All hives are now configured for winter - a super of honey under the brood box, queen excluder removed, eke in it's place, fondant feeders ...

No updates since the end of April due to a very busy year leaving little spare time to spend on the laptop! Quick summary of the seasons activities - great start, colonies built up well and collected a fair amount of honey. Swarm control success was varied despite ample space to expand. When they ...