All was not lost, however, and we reduced the number of queen cells down to what we think are a few good ones. This meant that the colony may have a fighting chance of getting a half decent queen rather than taking a chance.
Fortunately, the other hive was a breeze but it was interesting having the kamikaze bees from the previous inspection still dive-bombing twenty minutes later. They obviously have a better memory than we all thought.
A pint was needed after this evening session, if only to look at all the war wounds and for Chris and I to gloat over our successful escape as we were the only ones in our group not to have been stung. Lady Luck was obviously with us tonight.
JULY 18
Now my bees are settled in the hive, it is essentially a waiting game to see what they can produce by the end of the season. I have noticed a distinctive shift in my attitude towards the bees. This journey all started with the setting of an aim to get a jar of honey and, if I am honest with myself, the caring aspect of looking after the bees came second. I knew they were in trouble but I was selfish in thinking the honey was what mattered.
I feel like I have changed. I have realised just how obsessive beekeeping can become and it is so obvious how fraught their situation is. When you consider that a third of our dinner plate is pollinated by the bee (though this is any sort of bee, including both honey and solitary bees; which as their name suggests live on their own but are prolific pollinators) you realise just how important they are to our survival. When you consider that a beehive of bees would visit several million flowers in one day and one person can only pollinate thirty trees a day it puts it all into perspective. Without bees our food options would dramatically decrease. This is not something I think any of us would like to see and as a result I just feel the need to talk to everyone about it and share my new-found knowledge.
On Saturday I took my parents up to the hives to show them what I had been working on for the last six months. I have to say, I think they were impressed but I couldn't really tell as I was just talking at them for about half an hour about how amazing bees are. That distant look in their eyes had appeared and so I felt it was time to stop. I sat them down behind the hives and got them to watch the bees flying in and out of the hive for ten minutes. Needless to say, they enjoyed the first ten seconds but I think that was it.
I did the same with Jo and Sebastian today. I could have stayed there all day watching the bees. I think Jo now has a quiet fascination with bees (given the level of knowledge she has gleaned from my endless ramblings, which I hear when she is recounting my new-found passion to friends and family). A twenty-one-month-old is not quite as enamoured by bee flight paths as a grown man, but he did pick some peas for the first time and seemed to enjoy them. One of my dreams was to have an allotment so that he could understand where food comes from. Lovely to witness him take the first steps of discovering the origins of food. I felt quite proud.
We also went to the Hampton Court Flower Show this morning and I found myself judging all the gardens by the number of bees in residence and making notes on any flowers to which bees took a particular interest. I left thinking I had lost my mind!
I got more concerned however, when I discovered I actually wanted to have a discussion about washing-up gloves. Having undertaken a successful stealth mission to take them out of the kitchen on Saturday and gotten away with it, I had decided that washing up gloves were the way forward but I wasn't convinced that yellow was the right colour, especially with the khaki bee suit.
Having posted a blog article about the best colour washing-up gloves for beekeeping, I then entered into a conversation about the matter. Who would have guessed it would be so topical? People said that bees love the colour blue and so you should avoid the blue and purple gloves as the kamikaze bees could start up again. The general consensus was that yellow was the best colour. Damn.
When I reflect on a day like today and realise that I have discussed rubber gloves and their effect on bees and judged a flower competition by the number of bees in residence, I have to reflect on how beekeeping has changed me. I would sincerely love to get a jar of honey this year but the overbearing feeling I have now is the well-being of the bees. I want to ensure they are well looked after and that everyone I know sees them for what they are; a minor miracle of an insect and one we should all be aware of and looking out for.
JULY 19
Will I actually make any honey?
Recently I have been starting to have some doubts and when I did the inspection on Saturday I was very aware of the lack of stores being built by the bees. If they are not building enough stores then there may not be enough for winter, let alone a jar for me.