There’s been a hive of activity going on over the past week, excuse the pun. Our beekeeper Stuart carried out his Spring Inspection in the first hive. He was checking that the brood is growing nicely and have food stores, (back to the teenagers who I mentioned in my previous blog, who in contrast are constantly complaining the cupboards are bare and the only thing in the fridge is Ashling Park). Stuart was making sure the bees are bringing in the all-important pollen.
Once a young bee reaches six days old it will feed the older/younger brood. They feed them a mixture of honey and pollen called bee bread. It’s full of nutrition and gives the bee everything it needs for when it hatches.
At this time of year, the bees are feeding on Willow Tree pollen, Blackthorn and the top flower of Oilseed Rape. There’s plenty of that on the farmer’s field next door. This is a very important time for the bees. Making sure that these plants are available is quite important, so those Bees are in for a real feast.
