The bee keeping season has started again, not that it completely stopped, but we are visiting the hives regularly again.  Both hives have needed  food because of the appalling  weather, and we gave them fondant because sugar water could freeze when there is a frost. 
Johns hive is still small, but doing well with new bees, larvae and eggs.
Mine was over run with bees. There were lots of queen cells which was a bit worrying because it could mean they are thinking of swarming to get more space, despite the fact I'd put a super and frames on the top.  So it was suggested by our tutor that I do a Shook Swarm.  This involved using a new brood box and setting it up with two empty frames, one between them with brood in it. Then all the bees are 'Shook' into the new box, a queen excluder is put on top, and the old box with the brood in it is put on top.  Over night and into the next day the worker bees will go up to attend to the brood frames, the queen cant get up there, and she has attendants who stay with her.  The next day the boxes are separated, and put 3 feet apart.  We did all of that and left the hives last Saturday afternoon, both with fondant, and next Friday we go to check on whats happening, and to remove most of the capped queen cells, just leaving one good one to hatch into a queen.

                                                  The tall box are two hives and a super.

The separated box with the origional brood box.

Some of the bees who had landed on the floor.  The will find their own way back, but I gave them a helping hand, and they walked off my hand back into the hive.  Sweet.

5th August. .

5th August. We were supposed to be treating the bees for varoa mite today, but Mike had forgotten his book to record who had it done, so its put back to next week.  So we checked through, I found my queen, and there were lots of babies in various stages of growth.  Johns hive was ok, and we left the feeders full of sugar water.  The idea with feeding them is to make them breed more babies, and these bees will last 6 months through the winter, against 6 weeks in the summer. They will then produce the next generation in the spring.  So they need lots of food to get them through the winter, and young bees too.  The owner of one of the hives was away, so we found a feeder and put it on the crown board of her brood box.  The bees had been running around on the crown board, and when the feeder went on they all made a bee line for it, so they must have been hungry.5th August. We were supposed to be treating the bees for varoa mite today, but Mike had forgotten his book to record who had it done, so its put back to next week.  So we checked through, I found my queen, and there were lots of babies in various stages of growth.  Johns hive was ok, and we left the feeders full of sugar water.  The idea with feeding them is to make them breed more babies, and these bees will last 6 months through the winter, against 6 weeks in the summer. They will then produce the next generation in the spring.  So they need lots of food to get them through the winter, and young bees too.  The owner of one of the hives was away, so we found a feeder and put it on the crown board of her brood box.  The bees had been running around on the crown board, and when the feeder went on they all made a bee line for it, so they must have been hungry

29th July

We both went to check the bees tonight.  The doctor had rung to say she was trying to find out what to do next, and  I went with John to look at my girls.   I was a bit nervous of checking them, but they were a lot calmer, and we looked through quickly so’s not annoy them.  The queen cell had hatched, so perhaps they are calm because they have a calmer queen.

22nd July

I didn’t go be keeping tonight under doctors orders.  My neck, nose and hand  had swollen up, and I went to the doctor.  She said she’d get a blood test, and not to go to the apiary, so John went to check everything , and found a queen in both brood boxes,  and  new queen cells, so it looks like both queens will be replaced.  Hopefully mine will be nice and peaceful, and Johns will be more proactive, and build is hive up.

15th July

Well, it had to happen eventually, but I got stung four times today!   My bees are feisty, one stung me on the leg and one got into my bee suit and stung me on the throat and nose.  Then when I headed to the car to take a couple of minutes out I got stung on the hand.  Vicious things! 
I know how the one got inside my suit, so I'll block that up, but its un nerving.
My hive is thriving, and Johns though small is also doing ok.  We wont get any honey this year, but  we've plenty of babies, and next year hopefully we'll have had a good start.  I might look into getting a calmer queen bee for my hive, that would settle them down and make them calmer.

9th July

IVE GOT MY OWN BEES!  Ive been given the brood box that was abandoned.  Its full of fiesty bees and lovely larvae, so Im well pleased.  Johns box is doing well and has babies, so his bee population will grow well.  The season is over by September when we have to feed them up with 30lb of food so they make it through what ever the winter throws at them.  A good day. :)

1st July

I was away this Friday, and John went down and finally we had eggs laid, so we have a queen!  Such good news.  The second hive was doing well, and he was advised not to feed them because they had lots of food!  Amazing what a difference a week can make.