Thwarted

We are hosting friends at the weekend, so organisation and planning required. This afternoon's schedule had Mrs M buying provisions while I visited this apiary - a contrast to our primary one on so many ways, not least that I haven't got around to cutting down the grass and nettles yet!

The two larger boxes, with metal roofs, are full-size hives, of the design that is far-and-away the most common in Britain - the 'British Standard National', usually just called the 'National'. It comprises a simple pile of boxes, with a lid and a floor - none of the elaborate 'pagoda' profile that is common in nostalgic pictures of hives (and like our hives in the other apiary)

The one on the right was our strongest colony for a while, but had contacted a virus disease, leading to a large number of deaths. There is no treatment but, to try to reduce the transmission rate (we all know about R numbers now), I have removed the hive floor. Dead and dying bees now fall out of the hive, rather than lying on the floor to infect the living (transmission is by bee-to-bee contact). They showed signs of responding on our last visit

The other three are small 'nucleus' hives, containing less frames. They all contain queen cells taken from other hives, with a small colony of workers to tend to them, and to care for a queen who we hope will emerge, fly out on a mating flight and start laying

My intention was to check the status of these new queens in particular, as well as the health of the sick colony. As Mrs M has the car, I loaded equipment into a pannier bag and cycled here. Notwithstanding that it is up hill, by the time I arrived, I was cold! I stood and watched the entrances for a while, noticing the keen north-east wind under low cloud, and got colder. Foraging bees were leaving and arriving from all the colonies, which is encouraging, but not in the numbers they would be with warmth and sun

I did not put on my bee suit, did not light my smoker or remove any roofs. I watched for a while longer, decided that - in the circumstances - they are doing everything I could hope for, got on the bike and came home! Replanning in the morning

Postscript: it's bedtime on 31 May; I've just filled a hot-water bottle and we are in bed listening to the wind whistling around the gables. I'm glad summer starts tomorrow