Clean Slate

A different apiary to yesterday, different bees and a different, much more intrusive procedure. Again, the bees are getting a new hive, in the same place they have always been. This time, however, we are not gently moving the combs from one hive to another, we are replacing all the combs, shaking all the bees from the old frames to new ones. It's highly disruptive and, of course, they lose all the larvae they have been tending for the past 3 weeks. Their task, in the warm days to come, is to mass-produce wax and create a new brood area, with reduced risk of disease and parasites. Cruel to be kind

The queen was moved gently as an individual - no rough handling for her. No picture, though; today you can spot the feather, and wonder why it is there