Apologies for by absence

I have been too busy beekeeping to blog!

Well, it's the best excuse that I can come up with (ending the sentence with two prepositions - naughty!) [the best excuse up with which I can come - there, that's better].

A summary of the season: started with three hives, now have eight, but am about to give away one (the last hive on National frames - hence the generosity).

The increase is down to swarm-catching. The downside is that I have no idea what sort of bees I have - their health, termperament, etc.

I will blog again on trumps and disasters of the season.

A tout a l'heure.

Propolis by the kilo

A swarm that I hived earlier in the year, in a commercial hive, has produced a huge amount of propolis. See photos.

The floor was, perhaps, a bit too deep, making the entrance a bit large.

But I have never seen so much propolis.

They made a complete blockade from it - punctuated by tunnels for ingress and egress.

I have now replaced the floor with an open mesh floor.