Winter is here

Our bees are snuggled down and keeping warm in the wintered down hives. This is a period when the beekeeper gets a well-earned break after a hectic season.

Going into winter the hives are checked for food stores, disease, and placed into a small area of the hive so that they only need to keep a smaller area warm. During this period the bees semi hibernate, and the queen bee normally stops laying eggs, the hive population is at it lowest for the season.

As soon as the weather warms the queen starts to lay again and the hive sparks into action. The population starts to build, and the bees get ready for the coming honey season.