Buzzy Bees!

An enjoyable and informative day was had by us all...hubby, eldest, youngest and myself. This morning was indoors learning the history of bee keeping and some basics then after a lovely lunch we were suited and booted and allowed out amongst the hives.

Our group transferred a colony from a Nuc box into a new hive. It was exceedingly difficult to take photos wearing a pair of rubber gloves!!

Top and bottom left and bottom right show bees with pollen sacs on their hind legs..the pollen is taken back to the hive as a food source. Whilst these sacs are various shades of yellow some of the bees had lavender coloured ones after being in either the lavender or spear thistles.

Top middle shows the Queen bee (painted with a yellow dot!); top right you can see the eggs laid in the combs; middle shows the inside of the Nuc and bottom middle shows the bees settling into their new home.

My extra shows eldest and myself suited up and the formal garden of the venue. The kids both got stung (along with several other participants/keepers)...the good news is they didn’t have an allergic reaction!!