After the long winter huddled together inside the hive, the bees were starting to venture out and Chris had arrived to check up on the health of the colony.
Unlike Bumblebees, honey bees don’t hibernate overwinter. Instead, they nestle together in a football sized ball to keep warm, taking turns to brave the winter chill on the outside of the huddle.
The bee hives are at the far end of the lawns and surrounded by tall green netting which is there to raise the height of the flight path the bees take as the enter and exit the hives.
Chris showed me the honeycomb from one of the hives, pointing out the crystallised ivy honey from last year.
Remote monitoring equipment will allow us to measure the temperature, weight, and activity of the colony. As the year goes on we’ll keep you updated with the latest news from the hive.