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Monday 31 August 2009

Cretan Hives

I visited Crete on holiday with the family last week, and of course, when I spotted the hives below I screeched the car to a halt and leaped out with the camera.


Of course, the hives are more "rough and ready" than UK and US versions. See below. But I guess the bees don't mind.


I spotted a giant hornet land on this hive and carry off a bee. As I said in a previous post, the hornets treat them as a take-away dinner. Bite the heads off and suck the nectar out of the stomach. Discard the rest. See the next post for more on the hornets.

2 comments:

  1. Looks like you had a 'beeman's' holiday ;)

    Hope you all had a great time!

    News hot off the press - we might be allowed to have bees up at the allotment. Not sure if it's us that'll be allowed or whether a registered beekeeper will be using the space somewhere. We've got to let our warden know if the ideas acceptable or not.

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  2. Yes, thanks, VP. Good time had by all. Watch for more Cretan posts.

    Good news about your lottie.

    There's a big difference between gentle bees and aggressive bees! Make sure you get the former for the lottie. MBKA breeds bees for gentleness. They are noticeably more docile.

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