We are sure you are missing the beautiful Palace garden, especially in Spring when it is blooming and the wildlife is thriving. Fortunately, the bees seem to be enjoying the quieter atmosphere and are in the very capable hands of the three Fulham Palace bee keepers, who are doing an excellent job at keeping the bees happy and healthy!
We are thankful to Kathy Stevenson for kindly writing this report. Read all about it!
Our beehive
Hello, fellow volunteers! I'm one of the three Fulham Palace beekeepers and I'm here with the Post-Winter Bee Report.
After the winter months it is important to check the hives for stores of food, as late winter is a crucial time for colony survival. This we first did in February, providing a kilo of commercial pollen supplement which helps feed the new brood. The thick paste was cut into strips and placed directly on top of the frames to enable the bees to feed without leaving the warmth of the cluster. If the weather remains dry and sunny the bees can fly to collect their own food when blossoms are available and a March feed is not always necessary. This year we had a very wet winter which prevented bees flying on many days and, being confined indoors like many of us at the moment, they were eating all the food in the house. Therefore, in March we provided a kilo of fondant containing trace minerals that provide a balanced diet normally available in the local flora.
Apple Blossoms in the Garden
A word on winter losses: This is the term we use to describe a colony that has failed over the winter. When we looked in on our two colonies in February, it was discovered that one of the colonies hadn't survived. A possible contribution to the cause was the very wet winter conditions combined with the general weakness of the colony going into winter. It is not unusual for this to happen, but with our small apiary this left us with one colony.
Checking on the remaining colony in mid-March, it was upsetting for us to find only 3 frames of bees inside. We fed them and crossed our fingers. On 31 March the weather was still quite cool for taking up the roof and draining the central heating, but the sun was with us at 1:30pm so we donned our suits. And what an uplifting sight greeted us - the colony had grown to 5 frames! And they were not happy to see us! Good, strong bees. Who could blame them for their annoyance at the intrusion? We quickly replenished the fondant and closed up.
And now we wait for warmer weather. The plan is to get these bees into a clean hive, working on drawing fresh comb for their clean house. There are several reasons for this:
To provide a healthy environment
To give the bees more room to expand
To keep them busy building comb into the early part of the swarm season.
We need to limit visits during lock down, and I can't think of a better way to keep bees happy than by leaving them alone for as long as possible.
You'll be hearing more about our bees later in the season, as we are on schedule to obtain some new colonies that were pre-ordered in October.
‘Til then, keep well everyone!
The wisteria is blooming in the Walled Garden.