We went to a wedding knowing that a swarm of bees was hanging high up on the 11th century church. I left the empty hive on a dustbin and, when we came out, they had taken up residence. The swarm would be hanging on the church because the ‘scouts’ would have identified a place to…
DetailsI am surprised to learn that a small sample of our black bees have shown themselves to be 90-94% Apis mellifera mellifera as a result of genetic analysis undertaken by Dr Mark Barnett of Beebytes Analytics CIC. During the 1950’s very many Italian queens were imported into this country and so it was very normal…
DetailsThe pygmy shrew often spends the winter in the inner cover of a beehive where he eats dead bees and leaves a pile of black excrement in a convenient corner. When we find the pygmy shrews they are often dead, probably from ingesting too much venom. They do little or no damage to a hive…
DetailsHoneycomb is made of beeswax. Beeswax is made by young bees from the nectar of flowers. Generally they make it during hot weather in the Summer when there is a ‘honeyflow’ and nectar is being secreted by flowers. The wax is kneaded into honeycomb which is then used to store the honey which is being…
DetailsTREES – By Willie Robson of Chain Bridge Honey Farm I was thinking the other day about the sycamore tree and the other trees that will soon be flowering. There are already tassels laden with pollen on some of the willows and the alder will also provide plenty of pollen. Much more prominent in…
DetailsAll the bees are now home in their Winter quarters. We try to put them into sites that can see the sun between midday and 2pm, given that the morning sun warms the hive up and the midday sun will make the front of the hive much warmer. A sunny site improves the morale of…
DetailsAt present we are wondering how the bees are coping with the Winter. All of them have been brought down from the hills and put into Winter sites, often in disused walled gardens and other sheltered locations. It is important that winds from the North West (piercing) and the South East cannot get at the…
DetailsHere is some aerial footage of the current restoration of the Union Chain Bridge. It includes the Spencer Engineering compound based at the Honey Farm. For more information go to the website of the Friends of the Union Chain Bridge (If you become a member you can receive a regular newsletter) and to their new…
Details-Originally in skeps (our family had 60) and then into cottage hives (north) and W.B.C (south). -Swapping sites with feral bees and often mated with feral drones. -Very small broodnests (6 frames). -Kept for sections (comb honey) which they hated because they were designed by humans. -Prone to swarm every year. Often got good crops…
DetailsHoney Facts from the Chain Bridge Honey Farm Honey is a unique natural product made by honeybees and although it has been analysed is has proved impossible to make synthetic honey. Bees collect nectar from flowers and by adding enzymes which change the sugar content and evaporating off excess water, they convert it into honey.…
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