Sugar Coated Bees against Veroa

Today three of my four hives underwent the Powdered Sugar treatment. A dusting of pure icing sugar gently shaken over each side of every comb. Plenty took to the air but generally they underwent the proceedure in good spirit without too much complaint.
Wearing my top tunic veil and Marigold gloves I was not stung at all but the heat was in the region of 30degC and I had to retire before attempting to dust the fourth and final hive.

I shall not count the Veroa drop 'till later tomorrow.

Several of the combs were quite heavy with honey

Some flying while others entering still well coated in sugar powder

The mouse guard has been in place all year on this hive

Plenty of brood and lots of drones

This design hive is quite easy to manage without upsetting the bees much

The end follower boards blank off either end - heat loss here is minimised by the use of a 3/16 balsa wood lining

Dartmouth early morning Jaunt

Another scorching hot day in the South of Devon so we venture out in the Morgan 4/4 to one favourite watering place looking its best.
An early start enabled us to miss the worst of the traffic and park up beside the river promenade.
Helen has some presents to buy for up and coming birthdays while I enjoy taking these photos to add to the growing portfolio of snaps.

Arriving here at 8am ensures ample free parking

A beautiful warm start to the morning

The inner harbour soon drains of the ebb tide

The Butterwalk - built in Tudor times has granite columns and intricately carved doorways

Low Tide exposes the mud

Cream Tea at the Castle

Mog AwayTo Finch's Foundry

The National Trust operates many a wonderful heritage property but this particular venue is probably our favourite one in all of Devon. Today the sun was beating down and the grass rapidly turning a parched shade of biscuit brown.  We enjoyed a gentle picnic in the Orchard Garden that slopes towards the south.
Finches Foundry lies in the middle of South Tawton just off the A30.  From the road it does not appear to be much of any significance, blending easily with the roadside cottages, local pub and is easily overlooked. But spare a moment and look closer; behind the row is a delightful tea garden and cafe alongside an ancient Quaker burial ground beside the river Taw. Within the building the old foundry and blacksmithy houses a wealth of machinery and collected tools that were made on this site.
Out of sight from the road A382 are the waterwheels that still operate below the elevated waterway which channels thousands of gallons every day into this power house of industrial archeology.
After our stop here our next stop was at the National Bee Centre in  Okehampton and then a pleasant drive over the moor via Grimspound and Widdecombe.  Had to reverse about two hundred yards for a 30Ton lorry - Enjoyed an ice cream to cool off.

One of several such water wheels

Above head hight the raised leat flows with the crystal clear Dartmoor water

This wheel powers air blower fans that generate heat in the blacksmiths forge

The shoot carries surplus water away down the leat

The forge and the anvil 

Off road parking where the 4/4 is quite safe

The ton and a half power hammers

Ancient timber gantry with pully wheels and belts overhead

Cogs and bevel gears hum and drive belts flap and flail

The teeth on the cog wheels lift the power hammer

The leat that powers the wheels underneath

My first honey harvest

One full comb of my TbH holding about eight pounds of sealed honey was taken today, enough to share with friends and neighbours. Sweet and slightly minty in flavour.
Something interesting learnt and well worth a mention. I had placed two large field mushrooms a couple of days ago, down onto the hive floor, and all but the centre stalk of one mushroom had been consumed. I read of bees sipping at the water draining off  fungus and of some American research into the benefits of fungus regards the health of bees, said to benefit with their resistance to the Veroa.
Today was very warm and bees are seen here drinking from the bird table a short distance from the Apiary.

Sweet and natural

Drinking from the bird bath

An Oasis of Calm Bees

My brother and I both keep bees in home-made hives, but in very different locations. His are in two separate locations, one Warre hive sits at the bottom of his south facing hilltop garden, the others are out on an acre of fairly steep ground that overlooks the beautiful Teign Estuary facing south. The Warre is a tall, multi-layered structure with four oval shaped observation windows on the north face. This week Andrew's Warre had a super top and bottom added making the hive about six feet tall. Already the bees are seen to be making fresh comb.  The other two hives at the outfield are thriving but left relatively undisturbed as they would be in the natural state.
Neither of us is fussed to harvest honey as the motivation for working with bees - the subject is more to do with the variety of tasks we set ourselves; from catching a swarm, to puzzling out the best way to fabricate the bee house. Andrew prefers to secure his hives with guy rope straps fixed with stakes,  I prefer to mount the hive on a wider base, and rely on the weight alone, for it to stay put.
My plan to get a "Bailey Transfer" movement mentioned in a previous post has suddenly been put on hold, due to a secondary swarming from one of the other hives. Yesterday evening I had a shout to say a large swarm had settled in the Willow thicket - come quick. So it was that I came to box them up, after a balancing act on a fence below the branch that was about twelve feet off the ground. They were captured complete with a section of the branch, once it had been pruned down to go into a box.
Conveyed the short distance to the Apiary they were then deposited into the upper hive, still perched on top of a flat top-bar hive. The window between the two hives has been temporarily filled with a folded up towel to prevent squabbling, and today I shall be there  again to see if all is well. The swarm is small and hopefully will combine with the colony below. Sunday dawns warmer than yesterday but his afternoon I learnt the swarm caught yesterday had already absconded so its back to plan "A" ....The hive below is the most active.
Andrew has helped me out a few times but yesterday was out when I called him. He is unsure of his way to my out apiary. Several miles out into a steep sided valley that runs from the Haldon hills down to the sea. High Devon hedges, cross-roads,  blind bends, many potholes and green lane running water, slow progress to a walking pace much of the way.   Once there, it is a hideaway oasis of calm, where even the birdsong is gentle on the ear.
 

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