Here are some Beekeeping Notes by Willie Robson for July 2026. Colin Weightman kept dairy shorthorns at Riding Mill on the Tyne and spent the greater part of his life as an understudy to the late Brother Adam from Buckfast Abbey. I have taken these notes from a little book edited by Colin but written…
Here is our May 2026 Beekeeping Report. Despite May being very cold our bees have done well on the early spring honey flows. Wild cherry was exceptionally good and looking at the honey, which is of medium colour, oilseed rape has not been the main source. There will be some in the mix and the…
I don’t know when the wasps last failed, but they certainly have this year. As always there were plenty of queen wasps in the spring, but they need great amounts of protein to build bodies. Unlike honey bees that get their protein from pollen, wasps being omnivorous get their protein by consuming caterpillars and greenfly…
We purchased 9 tons of Thuya logs from the Ford and Etal Estates, trees that were brought down by Storm Arwen in 2021. They have been cut into planks suitable for making beehives by the Barbers at Brackenside Farm. We would expect to get about 4.5 tons of usable timber as a result of this…
Recently we have been building new hive bodies (brood chambers) out of Western Red Cedar. A brood chamber is usually the bottom box of a hive and houses worker-made cells where eggs, larvae and pupae develop. Some cells in this part of the hive also hold pollen, nectar or honey which is used to feed…
In response to an enquiry from Eire regarding overwintering of honeybee colonies (30% year on year winter losses). A good way to minimize winter losses is to get the hives into sites that are totally suitable. It is important that the fronts of the hives are exposed to the winter sun all day and that…
You’ve probably already noticed that we love our bees here at Chain Bridge Honey! But the incredible products they create, from propolis that works wonders for natural healing to the delicious honey that we all know and love, is just the tip of the ice-berg. Bees are essential for human life on this planet, but…
