There were four of us at the apiary yesterday; Glynis, Joy, Richard and me. We examined the hive that had died and concluded that it was due to starvation. It still had some candy on top, but no brood at all and heads in cells which is a typical sign.
I tried to heft the other hives but they were frozen to the stands so we had to crack the ice to free them. We gave some more candy to one hive that felt a bit light.
I had put the varroa boards in 10 days ago so that we could count the daily drop.One hive had 12 mites over the 10 days, the others between 0 and 3 which was very good. Glynis thoughtfully plied us with hot chocolate and coffee and biscuits which helped to thaw us out. Hopefully the weather will improve before our meeting in 2 weeks time. Dennis
I tried to heft the other hives but they were frozen to the stands so we had to crack the ice to free them. We gave some more candy to one hive that felt a bit light.
I had put the varroa boards in 10 days ago so that we could count the daily drop.One hive had 12 mites over the 10 days, the others between 0 and 3 which was very good. Glynis thoughtfully plied us with hot chocolate and coffee and biscuits which helped to thaw us out. Hopefully the weather will improve before our meeting in 2 weeks time. Dennis