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So we have a beehive at our office, we went with a Warre hive because, well, I don't know really.
We got a bit of honey from it last year and thought it had survived the winter, but come the spring, the hive was empty.

Fortunately a friend of mine just happened to have that same day a swarm that she'd caught and boxed up, so we got a new swarm pretty quickly!

At first they seemed a bit confused as a beard formed outside.


But they've all settled in now and they're out and about being busy bees doing their amazing work.

Anyone else here keep bees? Would be useful to share info.

Yes, I got 2 hives last year. Both survived the winter and now we are learning the hard way how to deal with swarming!

I hadn't appreciated how much there was to learn about bees.

We're getting a second hive - seems like the right thing to do!

I got up to over thirty colonies before my health issues. Could not cope with them after the bypass op, so now have a very few at a couple of sites. They have had to look after themselves for long periods due to my inability to cope with them.

Beekeeping is really quite easy/simple if one thinks of what the bees need or what they would be doing. KISS principle nearly always applies - too many panic and don’t think things through.

Two colonies are easier to manage than just a single. If one dies out (it does happen) it is easy to get back to two; if one colony is weak, it can (if appropriate) be bolstered from the stronger colony.

Swarm prevention and reducing the colony number to that wanted is a standard type of operation. But you do need more kit than for the number of colonies you keep.

The biggest single problem is managing the varroa mite - ignoring infestation will usually lead to death of the colony.

Good. However the present hive is down in the rain splash. I once kept hives. They were all sat on 450mm high block plinths which gave a better height for managing the colonies as well as getting them above the grass.

Thanks for the advice about height off the ground, will sort.