The White Stuff

Sugar fondant, that is. I buy dedicated beekeeping fondant - supposedly it has had some of its sugar 'inverted'. This is an old-fashioned chemistry word for cane/beet sugar - sucrose - being split into its constituent sub-molecules, glucose and fructose, which is what the bees would do as the first step in digesting it. In theory then, it makes it easier for them to use. I don't know if anyone has rigorously tested whether it actually makes any difference

In the past, I have given them catering fondant - the 'icing' on the top of iced buns - cut into blocks and put on top of the hive (under the roof) in old take-away containers. No complaints from the bees. 'Inverted' refers to the optical properties of sugar solutions. Sucrose solution rotates the waves of polarised light in one direction; glucose/fructose turns them the other way - inverts the rotation - a property that was known before the molecular chemistry was understood. History, science and beekeeping, all in one word. Perfect

This is really just prophylactic; for the peace-of-mind of the beekeeper. I'm almost certain they have plenty of stores and don't need it. They provided reassurance in another way. As well as popping the fondant above them, I opened up the entrance and scraped out a few corpses with the hive tool - saving them work and keeping the entrance clear. I assumed they would still be clustered together, keeping warm. Far from it: the rapid rise in temperature after the snow must have roused them, and several came out to object to my impertinence

A couple of them got inside my bee suit, as I realised when one appeared inside my veil! Reasoning (quickly!) that she was going to die anyway, I squashed her before she stung me. A second one stayed hidden under the suit and walked the half mile home with me, only reappearing when I took the suit off. Sadly she hid somewhere in the kitchen, so I couldn't send her home. A minor tragedy, but the bigger picture is signs of a strong and alert colony. Result

The snow came, the rain came, the temperature rose ten degrees, the snow melted. I was surprised to see these remnants. February is supposed to be the 'fill-dyke' month, but I saw a lot of water running out of ditches on my short walk. I fear for areas that have been harder hit. There has been so much flooding already this winter