A mother-daughter beekeeping adventure
Something knocked our hive entrance reducer off and left scratches in the wood. The bees were furious. Detective Bee Girl reviews the evidence and the suspect list — badger, magpie, squirrel, woodpecker, rat — and reveals her prime suspect.
A Buzzword Post There are moments in beekeeping where the bees do exactly what you hoped they would do, exactly when you needed them to do it, and you have to resist the urge to ring someone about it at an inappropriate hour. This was one of those weeks. But we’ll get to that. The … Read more
Everyone has their own way of lighting a bee smoker. This is mine. By Bee Girl We got a smoker this Spring. It came in a box and I got to open it which was the best bit. It is very shiny. I don’t think it will stay shiny for long because that is not … Read more
A Buzzword Post There is a specific kind of beekeeping day where the sky looks at you, then looks at your hive, and makes a decision on your behalf. Today was that day. The BBC had been threatening thundery showers since Wednesday. By Saturday lunchtime the air had gone heavy and the bees were flying … Read more
A real hive inspection from 24th April 2026. Bee Girl ran the whole thing. Mum worried about chalk brood. It was a drone larva. Six frames of solid brood and a lot of optimism about this year’s honey.
BEE HAPPY HONEY | The Bee Garden | May The hedgerows are alive with blossom. Your colony is at its most ambitious. And somewhere in all this abundance, there is a problem waiting to catch you out. May is the month that beekeepers talk about all year. The blossom is out. The hedgerows are white … Read more
Last Saturday afternoon was warm, still, and sunny. A rare thing around here. We suited up, opened the hive for a quick look, and Bee Girl quietly asked if she could borrow my phone. She does not often ask for it. Usually I am the one pressing buttons and she is the one tending to … Read more
A spring varroa board count in County Antrim, a gust of wind at exactly the wrong moment, and what we learned about mite monitoring when the week’s debris ends up scattered across the apiary gravel.
It is hailing outside. Not drizzling. Not “a bit damp.” Hailing. In April. In Northern Ireland. So today we are not opening the hive — and here is why that is absolutely the right call.
April in the bee garden: willow, dandelion, and why the scruffiest corner of your garden might be doing more for your bees than anything you have ever planted.