Ten things to do to save honey bees

A link to a great web-site and an even better place to visit and support.
Steve and I have supported CAT for several years and always find it a beautiful and inspirational place to visit.
Most importantly, as you can read from the link above - they support our bees!

Know your bugs!

Hi Peeps!
I was teaching today, and used a picture of a Buff Tailed Bumble Bee taken in our garden last summer. I was trying to promote Bees as friendly creatures during a session on 'Anaphylaxis and it's Treatment'.
The picture was taken on a chilly day, and she seemed quite happy to be perched on my finger....('cupboard love' me thinks, as my finger was probably nice and warm!).
Can anyone identify the mites on her? I think that they are Braula Mites, but i'm not sure........don't phone in, it's just for fun!

Oxalic Action...Part 2!

Hi! Just back from the Apiary on a bright, sunny, but chilly windy kind of day! Helped Tim & Julie with their Oxalic Acid treatment, and 'battened down the hatches' as there are storms forcast. Nice to see heaps of bees flying around the hive entrances, just stretching their wings and orientating........bless em!
However, Tim was less than enthusiastic about the couple of stings he recieved from one of their rather 'enthusiastic' hives! But lots of stores all round and, more importantly, lots of healthy bees!

Frost! .......it does what it says on the tin!

Frost! "It does what it says on the tin.....", well, thats what the TV advert used to say! So I thought...painful sometimes! ...why not use this burst of wintery weather to my beekeeping advantage!
Hive & apiary hygiene are so important these days, and we don't have a chest freezer at home in which to freeze bits of hive to kill pests and harden off wax. So, why not use mother nature instead!
Hence, I put out our brace combed queen excluder and Miller feeders to let Jack Frost do his thing with them! After an hour or so, tapped the comb with the hive tool and, kerr-ching! Wax shatters into dust! Sooooo much easier to clean up!
Now for a Soda crystal wash up, and then re-varnish the feeders to seal them and...presto! Nice clean hygienic feeders ready for the Spring feed when required!
Also, we are in the process of ordering a shed for our garden apiary.....too much bee equipment for the spare bedroom!, as well as our allotment produce from this years harvest! Anyone who has seen the UK television series 'The Good Life' (from the seventies) will know what we mean! lol!

Greetings!

Greetings to Beelore! Hi, and welcome to our small piece of Oxfordshire! Best wishes from the team at LAAG!