Swarmzzeee!

April was extremely dry and cold.

May was extremely wet, but the last week at least saw temperatures rising. 

This has made for an insanely busy half term for me here on the smallholding. The logjam of young plants is finally starting to clear and the garden is filling up, but my efforts have been somewhat disrupted by the honey bees who have been waiting for this weather to swarm.

In fact I have taken on the pseudonym SWARMZZEEE!

Since the first swarm which I mentioned in my last blog, we've had quite a few more, peaking at three in one day. Our plans to reduce the number of bee hives we keep have been well and truly scuppered. The smaller and medium swarms we offer to other beekeepers or we house them in a small hive known as a nucleus. As the old queen who left with the swarm continues to lay in the nucleus hive, we transfer the eggs into the original hive which is waiting for its new queen to hatch, undertake her mating flight and start laying.

The whole swarming phenomenon is amazing. It's like snow, I never tire of seeing it and just sit and watch in awe. We don't always see the whole process, but when I'm working in the garden I'll hear the bees being unusually noisy. A quick look will reveal many more bees than normal swirling around the hive and flying over the garden near the apiary. Gradually they'll start congregating on their chosen perch where the queen has landed and the tight swarm steadily grows as more and more bees settle. It's possible to get within feet of the swarm if you're brave enough (and ready to leg it if one gets too defensive!)

Once they are settled, they send out scouts in search of a permanent home. Sometimes they leave after a couple of hours, sometimes a couple of days. If we want to catch them, it's a matter of getting them into a nucleus or more usually a cardboard box. If they're hanging on a branch it's easy. You just give the branch a sharp shake so the swarm drops into the box. If they're on the trunk, you have to scoop them in.

If you've got the queen, the rest will head into the box. Some will position themselves at the entrance to the hive, point their abdomens into the air and vibrate their wings. They are fanning the pheromones from the queen as a signal to the other bees. It really is quite astonishing.

If you've missed the queen, they'll go back to the branch and you start the whole process again.

A couple of swarms this year have been absolutely massive, too good to give away. 

The long and the short of it is that we are now up to ten hives, all doing extremely well. With no honey to collect after a disappointing April and May, they are finally starting to make enough to share some with us.

A wet May has meant a larger than usual slug population in the veg plot. I need to encourage more ground beetles in. Until I manage this though, slug hunts are the order of the day. My motto is Show No Mercy! They really can do a lot of damage to tender young plants which I've spent ages raising. So I've developed a routine.

First I clear the ground and scrape off any mulch. I mow the surrounding grass short and clear the edges. This gives the slugs nowhere to hide. Ideally I leave it for a day in the sun. Basically I am removing the slug habitat. 

When the ground is ready for planting, the more vulnerable plants get a pair of woolly slippers made from scrap fleece. I'm using organic slug pellets too, though I only use these sparingly. I'd rather not.

Fortunately we are not short of scrap fleece. The sheep were sheared last week which is one of those annual events which marks the passing of the year. We had to bring them in for shearing as it was a day of heavy showers. For a few days afterwards they were quite cold but when the hot weather arrived they will have been thankful for the trim.

Insects have started appearing in the garden now too. I am seeing lots more butterflies, with orange-tips and brimstones predominant. If I notice anything different I like to take a snap and identify it. This glorious specimen is a red cardinal beetle I found. The variety of insect life never ceases to amaze me. If they were large animals they would be astonishing (and quite fearsome).

The two young turkeys have finally vacated the old shed in the veg plot, along with just two young chicks. Unfortunately one was not strong enough to make it through the first night, so we now have two turkey hens looking after just one chick. I managed to lure them into a temporary set-up in the stables where they have settled in nicely.

Meanwhile the older clutches are growing fast. Here they are trying to establish the threat level of a lettuce.