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A Cautionary Tale.

Strong hives went into the winter well and the beekeeper had been kind to the bees by leaving on the honey. The problem was that the hive was full of set honey, mainly OSR and Ivy. Suddenly it appeared that the bees had died out. It appeared that although the hives were very heavy to lift the bees had starved. Their heads were in the cells in the traditional configuration for starvation. With six weeks without being able to get out of the hive to collect water the bees could not use the honey that was set like concrete. If you are leaving honey in the hive you need to be sure that the honey is liquid. At the last meeting we discussed the way ahead for our bees this year, It became clear that we confirmed that what we did in the Autumn was probably the most crucial. We

agreed that hefting hives needed to be done carefully as we do not want to break the cluster at the cold time of the year. Feeding a jar of syrup at the end of this month and the beginning of March will help to build up the colonies. Putting new frames with foundation will also help the bees to expand. Despite ideas to the contrary we have found that bees prefer clean combs and the colonies expand much better.

Alan Johnson

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Meridian Beekeepers Association was founded to further the craft of beekeeping and to raise the standard of bee husbandry by ensuring that new and experienced beekeepers alike learn to look after their bees to the highest possible standard.

Meridian Beekeepers. Pollination for the nation, working with Hill Farm Juice to bring award winning apple juice from hand picked fruit from trees pollinated by Meridian Bees. All made on the farm in Hampshire's beautiful Meon Valley.