With the wet weather, we have a lot of very damp undergrowth, as you may be able to see from this picture. This will need trimming back but shouldn’t be too much of a difficult job now that the bees are starting to cluster and we are seeing less activity from them outside the hives. In addition, at this time of year going into winter, we should see less growth and so the apiary should stay under control somewhat.

We are still feeding syrup at this time of year, despite the weather cooling. We have found that the bees are clustering high enough up so far that having syrup on is still the quickest way for them to feed and use the food.

As you can see from this photo, the last lot of syrup got taken down completely, but you will notice that the little holes that allow the syrup into the area with the cup are blocked with propolis. Before adding more syrup in here, we would give the feeder a quick clean up and remove the propolis. For now, we have fondant ready to go for when the temperatures really drop.

Next jobs will be to get all the hives strapped up. We have some already with straps on, but some just have bricks on the roofs. With all this bad weather, the last thing we need are toppled over hives! Another job which we always look forward to with great anticipation is clearing out the bee shed. Not really, but it always needs a good clean and tidy by this time of year!