Dismal end to the season

I have gone into winter with just three colonies.

Three weak ones were destroyed by wasps.

So I have two WBC hives for sale. Any offers before they go to ebay?

I will cut down the number of types of hive that I operate from three to two: Commercial and Polyhive.

Keeping more than one type of frame format is barmy - it just happened that way. So now I need to rationalise.

Next job: dose the hives with Oxalic acid. I did this last year and the bees survived. Would they survive anyway? Dunno. Do they have a big varroa infestation? I don't think so. But I'll follow the prescribed treatment.

News from the home hive: the weather has just warmed up to about 8C. A few bees are on cleansing flights and there are quite a few bodies on the landing board, so they have had a clean-out.