nucleus colonies – The Walrus and the Honey Bee

How many types of hive can one beekeeper manage?!

Apiary with different hive types Is there method in this madness? As you can see from the photograph showing part of one of my apiaries, there is plenty going on. One might even conclude, upon initial investigation, that the resident…

1 May 23 Walrus

Creating A Lovely New Apiary

The Mole at our new apiary site I have my bees at ‘out-apiaries’ and have never risked keeping them at home. That’s a personal choice which works for me (and my neighbours) but I have far more hives than could…

27 Sep 22 Walrus

Installing Bees For The First Time

New cedar hives in a field Moving New Bees Into Their Hive My three previous articles have been for prospective and new beekeepers because this is the time of the year when beginner classes get going. If you are enrolled…

New queens in cages with attendant workers

16 Jun 22 Walrus

Summer in the apiary

New queens in cages with attendant workers Swarming Is Finished, Now What? Phew, it looks like the swarming season may have ended. I'm tempting fate, but that's what it looks like to me. Also, after about three weeks of nothing…

23 Jun 21 Walrus

Summertime, and the living is…

It's a busy time for bees and beekeepers in my little corner of Cheshire. Here's a quick update from the Walrus Honey apiaries.

1 Dec 20 Walrus

Amazing Nucleus Colonies

Nucleus Colony in Winter (Murray McGregor) As many say in the beekeeping world, ask ten people about something, and you'll get eleven different answers. I don't think that's entirely true, but beekeeping is undoubtedly a 'broad church.' A common way…

31 May 19 Walrus

Mind The Gap

Green Fields https://flic.kr/p/8RnP8z So Long, Spring Spring is over. I'm not going by the calendar but by what I see at my beehives, although as it happens, the two are in synch. We are now in what they call the…

24 May 19 Walrus

Mrs Walrus has Spoken

Correx Nucleus Box The honey flow seems to have slowed down for a while, and my bees are less desperate to swarm. Last week I discovered that three of my hives swarmed even though I had checked them, which goes…

1 Mar 18 Walrus

Hivemaker and the Walrus

With Peter and Andrew Little I can be an anti-social walrus at times. I am currently sat alone in a beautiful apartment in Funchal Old Town, Madeira, while my wife and daughter are off exploring the island doing Levada walks…