Flying weather

Spent much of the night & early morning following the weather events in the British Isles. Was having some online chat with daughter Kate in Ireland, north of Dublin and it got worse by the minute. Luckily it did stop raining just as it was getting critical and so she didn't, unlike her neighbours, have to evacuathe their house.

Meanwhile the low over UK is shovelling up warm air to us, with temperatures well in to double figures. For some reason took a closer look at the bees and noticed some hives seemed lacking in activity. Sadly what I had considered my strongest colony and the only one in two boxes has disappeared. Not a single living bee and very few dead bees. I have no idea what happened but perhaps MrB was right when he suggested overwintering only in one box. Another colony had a mass of dead bees piled up at the entrance and while there are still some living bees I doubt they will survive.

I opened up four of the seven hives, one of which was the dead hive. Left the other three for the time being as it was by then late afternoon and getting cool. At least there was some activity in all three.

I suspect the weather this autum and early winter has had some effect. MrB would say look at yourself first to find the fault and maybe I fed and did the varroa treatment too late. But I wonder how the bees cope with a 30°C change in temperature within just a few days and that in November, then followed by very wet, cold, damp, foggy conditions.

I hope the girls hold up to what I and the weather throw at them.

It is Nikolaus Day here in Germany with the children being visited by him and his sidekicks, in Swabia the "Klausens" pretty horrifying creatures, who take care of the naughty ones. Luckily our property is too far out of the village for any of them to pay me my dues.