I decided to take the Asian Hornet protection/cage off the front of the hive on Christmas Eve, as there shouldn't be any hornets on the attack now. Same day I talked to a fellow bee-keeper selling honey at a stand outside some of our local shops, only to find he has about 30 hives about 800m away from our house - interesting !
Today I've been to observe the bees - a fair few are going in and out of the hive, and when they leave they seem to be on a mission - shooting off northwards over our neighbours gardens (approximately in the direction where the said 30 hives would be, 800m away)
Not sure what the bees are collecting - no sign of pollen on their legs.
It's about 18° today, and after a few showers this morning, we now have sunshine.
The last week has been really mild too.
Hope the warm weather doesn't mess their winter routine up too much !