Hive visit

One of the highlights of this week has had to be when Hermione and I went with a friend and his mum to join a local bee keeper and observe him checking one of his hives.

Hermione looked a bit uneasy at first. The weather was very windy so a lot of bees stayed around the hive when it was opened. She was very calm though and quickly adjusted to being surrounded by buzzing bees.

 

Here to the left you can see the queen bee which has been marked with a special paint on it's abdomen.

 

That odd looking thing beside the hive is a smoker. The keeper uses this to calm the bees.

The piece of glass with a white looking paste on the top of the hive is a treatment to help kill the varroa mite.

 

Here are the base sheets of wax that go into the hive. The bees draw them out with thier own wax to make honey comb and create cells in which the queen can lay eggs.

 

I do love home ed. We're not confined to reading about things. We can go out and experience them!