A frisson of tension mingled with expectation and curiosity fills the air - Have our 2012 Buckfast Queens survived the extraordinarily harsh autumn and winter conditions? Diana's colony were strong and numerous compared to young Epona, the fertilised Queen, who arrived at VGP last via Royal Mail in a jiffy bag last September. The first step is to sit quietly by the hives, to observe and talk to the bees, this meditational process calms us all and allows the bees time to adjust to our vibration. Under the midday sun workers return home laden with pollen foraged from hazel, hellebore and mahonia. This suggests that the nursery is full of hungry brood, the pollen will provide protein, fats minerals and vitamins.
Eggs galore! Epona's bees are calm and purposeful, the hive bustles with activity; industrious workers are polishing cells in preparation for their prolific young Queen to lay her eggs, larvae are being capped and newly-laid, iridescent eggs sparkle in the sunshine. On sighting the beautiful Queen we are surprised, the colony have polished and nurtured her fastidiously, removing her identification marker. We are delighted but know that we will have to husband this hive with care, when the weather improves they will quickly run out of space and there is a danger that they may decide to swarm.
In contrast, Diana's hive is sparse. Standing in the shadow of Epona's hive to the south, it has struggled to gain warmth while the sun is low in the sky. Further stress has been caused as the syrup that I fed last autumn must have held too much water, this has caused mould on the frames. Our only glimmer of hope is in the behaviour of this small colony - they are calm and orderly - not the behaviour of a Queenless hive. At the end of the inspection we finally spot Diana looking fit and healthy, huddled in a cluster at the front of the middle supa, although she is not laying prolifically there is brood. With luck we are just in time, we decide to feed the bees their own honey for the next few weeks in the hope that their liquid gold will heal and strengthen them. The contrasting tales of these two hives, standing side by side, perfectly illustrates the fine balance between life and death in the natural world.
