Disaster

Well I was warned that they looked top heavy! I was meaning to tie them down but thought the olive trees would act as a wind break. Started with heavy winds t'other day and both hives went over and separated. One went down a 6 foot ravine. They are heavy and I had to use my tractor lifting bucket to get it back up. Both hives tops were open and the cloud of bees were determined to get me. Some did manage to get into my overall legs and I was stung on the calf.

So I have to start all over again. I can't lift them up myself so I am going to have to wait until I can get my brother around again. Boy these bees are going to be confused! One minute upside down next right way up and I now have to invert them again!

I promise myself I will tie them down next time

Still blowin! 3 straight days now. It takes a heavy toll on the bees, temps are around 9 degrees, I can see snow on the far mountains towards Granada. The bees sense the temps are OK and it is bright and clear so out they go. I suspect I am loosing far more flying bees than I will to the bee eaters.

Spent time in the workshop devising new methods of non intrusive transfers between layens and warre. I have made a transfer box that takes eight layens frames and almost sits directly on a warre box. I just need two fillets to close the bottom. Using just the eight brood frames, I think the bees will go down in time because they wil need to use these frames as honey storage. I have made a crown board with a feed hole. The 4 other frames which should be full of honey will be fed back to them with a feeder over and enclosed by a type of eke I have made. I have also made a warre style roof for this box which should also be able to be used for a warre eventually.

I also discovered that two layens frames sit perfectly diagonally in two warre boxes. If a crown board is fitted over these, a split of two frames with a queen cell, a shake of a couple more frames and some honey being fed back to them will be an excellent way of not only increasing stock, artificial swarming, and easy transfer from Layens to warre.