Tag: buckfast bees
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Bees in Transit If you read the previous beekeeping blog you’ll know that June was especially difficult, and despite the welcomed warmer and drier weather, July had an equally deadly sting in its’ tail. I had ordered a nuc last year, for this season, and so booked a ferry for a day trip off-island to…
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Robbing B’ees It has been a difficult time for the bees and the beekeeper here on the Isle of Lewis. The average temperature for the last 30 days has been around 11-12°C and it has felt generally cool. It’s hard to think that tomorrow is the longest day and only this week I had the…
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A Hive of Activity In my 2026 diary April 19th marks the first day of spring with blue skies, little wind and double digits showing on the thermometer. The bees agreed and so it began – the first inspection of the season. Just a brief look at the colonies to check that there were no…
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Spring hasn’t Sprung In many parts of the UK the bees are already fetching in the nectar from oil seed rape and dandelion; beekeepers are splitting colonies, adding supers, seeing honey, and having concerns about swarming. But here in the Outer Hebrides the seasons lag and it is a nervous time to be a beekeeper.…
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Spring has Sprung With the spring equinox today and the opening off the daffodils on the 1st March it seemed like a good time to look at the season ahead, and say hello to the bees! The first signs of spring have arrived at the apiary with the opening of the daffodils. I planted these…
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A Barrow Full of Bees Winter is normally a quiet time for the beekeeper. As the year draws to a close here on the Isle of Lewis the days are short and the nights longer. There have been lots of things happening on the croft, but little in the way of beekeeping. For the bees…
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Hi Honey! September has been a mixed month. The winds have increased and the sunny days are equally broken by days of rain. It has also been a mixed month for the bees and the beekeeper. September found a box of capped honey on hive one which was ready for the extractor! I wasn’t expecting…
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Newbees August started wet and windy as we were hit by a storm (I won’t add to the hysteria by ‘naming’ it), but quickly gave way to some calm, warm and sunny weather. The bees immediately took the opportunity to go out and forage, quickly brining in the pollen and nectar. The 1st of August…
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What Can Bees Teach a New Entrant About Land and Livestock Management? When most people think about livestock, sheep, cattle, or hens usually come to mind. But there’s another livestock species that’s smaller, winged, and surprisingly rich in lessons for land management: the honeybee. In our ever changing world it is hard to imagine a…
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To Super, or not to Super, that is July… As we entered July the rainfall was still fallin’, the breeze still breezin’ and the temperature still, erm, cool. So much so that by the 4th July I was concerned about the amount of rain that appeared to have been driven into the hive. More about…