Autumn Feeding

I moved Colony 11 on Thursday night (30th Aug). The move was simple and worked smoothly. I removed empty supers during the day and then strapped up the hive. I then waited until after dusk, blocked the entrance and then lifted the whole hive down to a waiting car. At the other end it was simple too. After half an hour on the stand in my garden I opened the door to the hive. No drama.

Yesterday morning (Friday) there were orientation flights leaving from the hive. All day there was activity. The bees were not even slightly defensive. I will look out for pollen coming in today.

It has been hurricane season in North America and the Caribbean. We get their weather second hand. No sharp edges or extremes, just a bit out of the ordinary.

Tonight we are forecast to have winds gusting up to 45mph (72km/h; 39 knots). That's a big blow for England but still only Beaufort Force 8 Gale.

I visited my roof top apiary this evening to fit the hive straps. It's bad news for the hives to blow over, but even worse if they break apart. They won't break apart now.

Everyone seems to feed their bees - even most of the low intervention bee keepers. I'm not convinced.

Bee keepers feed their bees for several reasons: