The drones should have been snuffed out by now , as we have had several single figure temperature nights on the trot.
The Ivy is now starting to flower in my garden .. if I still had my bees I'd be looking in each hive very soon in between showers to check on how close the bees are to having a full brood box & a full super of honey /stored to see them through winter .
Then start making up the syrup ready to feed them in a weeks time .
As we cannot sensibly long term forecast the weather , take what's happening in the USA as a gypsies warning . For we tend to get their tail end storms & rains about 5 to 10 days later for the same length of time as they did .
Therefore may I suggest you don't leave it to the last minute , the Queen is still laying her over wintering replacement bees , so getting the hive fully stocked with stores before any prolonged bad weather starts is essential . If you ensure the bees have plenty of syrup close to hand to make their honey they can spend more valuable time between storms & rain etc collecting the late pollens for the vital bee bread to bring on the new replacements for spring next year .
We are still getting bees & wasps on the fuchsia shrubs , so in this area 2 bee space hive blocks will need to be in place till about the first average frost time.
Then it's hive block out & mouse guard on .
Topic: The ivy is flowering (Read 2838 times)
