Tips for the month:
• The very warm December temperatures are presenting our bees with a challenge. Many are still flying and bringing in pollen, but this increased activity at a time when usually they would be clustering, means that they are using up more food supplies than normal.
Keep checking on your hives every few weeks to make sure all is well - eg roofs have not blown away, and heft hives to check on stores.
Review your hive records to see what worked and what did not - thinking about which hives you want to increase from, which hives need comb changes - by doing a Bailey comb change or shook swarm.
Hopefully all mouseguards are in place. Now is the time to also protect against woodpeckers if you have seen the large green woodpecker in the vicinity of your apiary.
September and October have provided some surprises weather-wise, and given the bees a little extra time to top up stores and pollen for the winter ahead. It is important now not to disturb the bees and let them form a cluster for the winter.
The branch apiary is set for winter now with feeding complete and the hives protected from woodpeckers (and hopefully badgers) with staked chicken wire.
