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Back with the bees

I don't have photos this time but have been bee-servicing again. This time we were just scraping honeycomb wax from the wooden frames so they can be reused for the coming year and the new bees.

Bees are in a bad way and unlike other creatures in a similar, or worse, situation, People are notcing. This is because
a) bees are quite cute
b) people like honey
c) bees pollinate fruit crops, and the fruit crops are suffering.

I saw a little while back a Haagen Daaz campaign to help honeybees - because the bees are not there to pollinate fruits, and this is making it harder for the ice cream manufacturer to source and pay for fruits. It is a very serious problem in the US and also I have rumours from China and the Ukraine that they are losing fruit crops.

One of the main threats to British honey bees is a parasitic mite called Varroa destructor. Originally confined to Asian honey bees, it has spread across Europe and reached England in 1992. It now infests 95 percent of hives.

You can get a bee chamber for your garden to provide a home for bees here - search for bees to see bee related stuff

Read about bee conservation here

Article about bees problems in the Daily Telegraph

Reuters report on the bee problem globally

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