From A to Bee(44)

JUNE 2



I got up early this morning to sort out the mess from yesterday and walked into the kitchen with the bags from Sainsbury's. They were full of sugar, thankfully, but when I pulled it out of the bag I realised that Jo had bought unrefined golden caster sugar, which was not exactly white and so I am again concerned. I take full responsibility here as I wasn't particularly specific and just said, do not get brown sugar. I never realised just how many different types of sugar there were. Although I know that white, granulated sugar is best I have decided to take a chance as it was only a little off-white and so I think it will all be OK.



As I did a few nights ago, I melted the sugar into warm water and, after letting this cool, transferred it up to the hive. I had a quick peek outside the hive and they all looked like they were flying around again, which was good news. I hadn't killed them all then. I went into the Man Shed and lit the smoker and then headed out to the hive to change the syrup.



I felt a little bit better after doing that but I still had a nagging suspicion that something wasn't right. I felt it was an apt time to call upon the oracle once more and popped Adam a quick email. Sure enough, about half an hour later my suspicions were confirmed on my way into work – golden sugar was just as bad. For Christ's sake!



Therefore my day involved getting some white sugar and then rushing back from work to deal with the same issue once more. It didn't help that tonight Jo and I were going out for dinner, having organised a babysitter for the evening. Before I could do anything I had to rather subtly suggest that I had to melt down some sugar and feed it to the bees… again. I cannot say it was a passion-killer but I will say that I got a rather 'I cannot believe you are doing this' type look.



Anyway, with the feed safely in place we rushed off to dinner with me feeling a little bit relieved, though still quite guilty, that the situation had now been resolved in the short term; I only hoped it would have no lasting effect on the bees, though I'm not actually sure what to look out for. I certainly shan't be thinking about sugar in the same way ever again.





JUNE 3



Crazy, isn't it, how time flies? I cannot believe it is the third of June already. Today I got up early to check on the bees, to make sure they were alive and, ultimately, that they were still there. Apparently a swarm of bees is still likely to swarm again if they don't find the new location suitable. Fortunately they were still there and a quick look at the hive entrance showed them to be more active than normal, probably due to the fantastic morning we were having already. The sunrise was beautiful.



Anyway the astonishing news today was that I may not actually have Nefertiti, the queen I was told to look after by Suzy's daughter, Laura. I may have Cleopatra, who was the mated queen she received in the nucleus she had purchased six weeks previous before they swarmed. I am pleased about the possibility of a more memorable and easy to pronounce name! This was due to a bit of guesswork on the part of Richard, the swarm-catcher, who, when inspecting the bees she had left, discovered a virgin queen in her colony.



This therefore could be interesting as my colony could get going a lot faster – she was a prolific layer, hence why Suzy's colony kept swarming. That would be nice as I originally feared that Nefertiti would have to go out and get mated. So fingers crossed as more bees means more workers, which should mean an increased chance of a jar of honey this year.



Although I've left it rather late in the season, if Cleopatra produces as rumoured, I could still be in with a chance.





JUNE 4





I went up to the beehive today and had a quick look outside. There they were, flying in and out happily – amazing really, and slightly mesmerising. They seem so content to just keep on going in and out, in and out, it is quite therapeutic to watch. The great news is that I saw several bees flying into the hive with huge great pollen sacs attached to their back legs. In short it means the hive is content and is going about its duties. Great news. It also means that I haven't killed them off with the brown sugar. Happy days.





JUNE 5





The bees seem pretty hungry, I have to say. In only twenty-four hours they have been through 1.5 litres of sugar syrup. That seems a lot to me but this is quite normal and still a good sign, as is flying with pollen sacs, and apparently I just have to keep feeding them. Therefore I gave them another 2 litres this morning. It will be interesting to see how quickly they get through that.



One event today made me realise I have a long way to go. I went up to the allotment for a couple of minutes to see how they were getting on; it must have been about midday and so I knew they would be a little bit busier than during my morning visits.