Swarms, Supers, and Season Updates: Welcome to our Apiary Chaos!
- Sharon Green
- Aug 17
- 3 min read
What a season it has been! Between dodging swarms, battling the unbearable heat, and scaling oak trees, the apiary has been non-stop chaos and triumph in equal measure.
First, sorry for the delay in posting! If you’ve been following along for a while, you’ll soon get to know that I am consistently inconsistent... likely due to my ADHD! I post when I remember, but I am always very busy behind the scenes working on making our business the best it can be (while still working 4 days a week!) so that we can bring you the best knowledge, experiences, and products.
Now, grab a cup of tea (or something iced)—here is everything that’s been going on in the yard.
Annabell’s Rogue Mission
Annabell has certainly kept us on our toes this summer. It started when I found brood in the super, despite her being safely below the queen excluder. Thinking a slender virgin queen had squeezed through the plastic grid, I swapped it out for a sturdy metal queen excluder.
Then came July 3rd. I was scheduled to Demeree Annabell, but exactly ten minutes before I started, she decided to swarm right into a nearby oak tree! After a delicate rescue mission, we (basically I mean Dave as I sent him up the tree...) got her safely down, hived, and successfully Demeree’d.
Feisty Temperaments & Fresh Blood
Not all hives have been on their best behaviour. One particular colony, yes Annabell again, proved far too feisty for comfortable beekeeping work, leaving us no choice but to requeen. She’s now been replaced with a calm, lovely Carniolan queen (who shall be named Violet), and the mood in the apiary will hopefully improve! We will find out when I check on her on Wednesday.
Defending the Yard: Hornets, Entrances, and Heatwaves
It’s been a sweaty, exhausting few weeks. Inspecting hives in full suits during this intense, insufferable heat has left us absolute sweaty messes by the end of the day!
On the pest front, I had to take down a European Hornet that was brazenly picking off my bees right at the landing board. Fortunately, wasp pressure has been minimal this year—a massive relief compared to last year's nightmare.
To keep the colonies protected and ventilation high:
3 hives are now running on our custom homemade underfloor entrances.
The rest of the apiary is fitted with Hive Five setups, which are working brilliantly. (You can view these here, not sponsored, just passing on a good buy!)
Swarms, Rescue Missions & Backbreaking Supers
It’s been a heavy season in every sense of the word. I nearly fell flat on my face the other day trying to lift two fully laden supers off together—note to self: take them off one by one next time! But we have had a great season for honey, despite the weather.
By the numbers, this season's hive management breaks down to:
2 Splits
2 Demerees
2 Swarms (one retrieved from the tree, one left to raise a fresh new queen)
We also took on a massive rescue mission in Spring! We were called out to extract a wild colony living inside a neighbour's outbuilding ceiling. It was quite the wild experience, but the bees are now settled into the apiary and doing remarkably well.
Board Disasters & Big Milestones
It hasn't all been smooth sailing—we suffered a messy clearer board / crown board disaster that resulted in a sticky, chaotic clean-up; my fault as I forgot I had put the clearer boards on and they built up into the eke, but the hives back in order now.
On the business side of things, we have huge milestones to celebrate:
Trade Stalls: We hosted our first trade stall of the year at the Sykehouse Show and absolutely loved meeting everyone in person!
Website Revamp & Online Shop: Our website has had a full revamp! You can now browse our full collection of fresh honey and hive goods in our newly opened Online Shop or learn about the bees
Experience Days: Want to get inside a hive yourself? Our Beekeeping Experience Days are now live and open for booking! Inc. 2027 dates!
Speaking Engagements: I’ve officially booked my first big beekeeping talk for next year!
Thank you all for following along with the high drama and sweet rewards of this season. Keep an eye on our Blog Page or socials for the next update on our new queen hunt! (if I remember to post about it that is....)
Sharon x
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