20 June was a Big Day – it was the nearly 6 weeks since the swarm took up residence and I took a first very tentative peek at what was going on between the follower boards (the main hive area). A few bees had been hanging about outside the hive

A friend called me about a nest of bumble bees in an outbuilding he was about to renovate. He did not want to kill the bees if it could be avoided. In my ignorance I volunteered to come and have a look. The bees were going in and out of

I must begin all this with a disclaimer. I’m a complete novice at beekeeping and top-bar hives! So while I’m learning a lot on-line and through dealing with the bees, I am most certainly not an expert. I opted for a top bar hive because I have developed