Making themselves at home

Our bees are thriving! The queen has been spotted today. It is good practice to mark the queen to make it easy to spot her in a busy hive. This was done for us in bright blue marker by the nuc supplier prior to arrival. As we progress in our beekeeping, we will teach the young people how to catch a queen and gently mark her. Sometimes this is needed mid-season as the follower bees might nibble off the marking, but this queen looks pretty clear - extra paint on her wings - oops!

We were also delighted to see the range of colours of pollen being brought back to the hive. The bees have a wide menu to choose from in the meadow - and they look like they are making the most of it. They are starting to make good honey stores too, so we are likely to get a crop this year.