After struggling to get the smokey thing to stay lit - which is a bit ironic as everything around here is bone dry and everyone is on guard not to start a forest fire - I lifted off one of the top boxes, and checked the frames inside , swapping any slightly less complete with ones in the top box that stayed on the hive. After brushing off as many of the bees as I could ( even tho' I'd put the "chasse abeilles" in place the night before, some had stayed in the top boxes overnight) - I covered the top box and frames I'd taken off the hive with a damp towel, then pushed them back to the garage in our wheel barrow. Somehow things didn't go as smoothly as the previous times - the extracteur we'd borrowed this time needed the legs screwing on, so I couldn't put the frames straight inside to store whilst we got everything else ready, as it had to be rolled on its side to get the legs on. I carried the top box into the kitchen - cleared a space and put it down ( quite heavy) then decided to take it back outside, then changed my mind and brought it back inside... each time creating a bit more stickyness.
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Have just borrowed an extracter again from Bee School, and tonight I've put the one way exit, the "chasse abeilles" in situ between the brood box and the top boxes.
So tomorrow (bank holiday in France - Bastille day, 14th of July) we will be busy doing our third honey harvest of the year ! Have now made a caged area out of 13mm mesh to protect the hive entrance. The bees can get through the mesh, but the holes are too small for a hornet to fly through. It's hooked onto the hive with little metal hooks screwed into the wood, and twists of wire onto the hive stand. Thanks to Marc & Jeff for helping in the construction and fitting ! Still getting two or three hornets circling outside of the caged area, and keep attacking them with the badminton racket - great when you get one ! Have once seen a hornet manage to crawl into the caged area, but then it couldn't get out -Ha! served it right ! Anyway, it does seem to be giving the bees a bit of protection - fingers crossed it's enough ! Spotted two Asian Hornets circling around the hive this morning, trying to catch bees returning from foraging. Couldnt believe it at first, as I'd been told to expect them much later, from August...
but then it has been so hot, perhaps it has advanced their season. First action - climbed into the loft to find an old badminton racket - the recommended weapon against hornets - and managed to kill one of them - took out my anger on it, so the photo attached shows a bit of a battered hornet. Then decided to get my bee-suit on, and put the entrance limiter on the hive, to prevent any hornets crawling inside. I'd planned creating a wire mesh threshold protection thing, but haven't yet got round to it, as I thought we still had another month till it would be needed, so, as a temporary measure, I have rigged up a bit of protection using some drainage grills that we had been keeping. Bit Heath Robinson, bur hopefully should give the bees some protection. Watched, unable to get it with my racket, as the other hornet caught a bee mid flight, and carried it off to the apple tree - where I understand it would have pulled off the head, legs and wings, then carried the body back to the nest to feed their young. Guess I will be spending most of my summer on guard swinging a badminton raquet around the end of the garden :( Will keep you updated ! |
Jill G novice beekeeper & blogger
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