I inspected the bees this morning, straight after breakfast. Apart from checking that the hives were still intact and the right way up, and one quick look to see that they didn't need more space, I didn't disturb them in July. Two had already swarmed by then, I didn't believe the one that requeened this spring would swarm, and the swarm I collected had to sort itself out, so I would have been stressing them to no good purpose. Today I thought I'd better finally see how things were going.
All seemed to be pretty well. I found eggs in the third frame I looked at in the number one hive, which told me that the new queen had hatched successfully, and returned from her mating flight without getting lost or being eaten by a bird or a hornet. Once I'd seen the eggs I didn't even go through the rest of the hive. There were no eggs yet in the number two hive, but the bees seemed quiet and some of the cells in the brood nest had been polished, so I'm hopeful that there is a queen in there and that the bees expect her to start laying any day soon. Another inspection in a week or two should confirm whether this is the case. The number three hive, as I expected, had not swarmed. There was still plenty of brood, of all ages, as though they know they need to make up for their late start this spring. Queens can stop laying in the late summer, but this lot are still working hard. There was a bit of honey stored in the super, and I should get a very small crop this off that hive. The swarm was tiny, but there were eggs and brood of all ages. They are very dark bees, that set up a loud and not entirely amiable hum as soon as I took the lid off their little box, though they stopped as soon as I put it back. Today was humid and not ideal weather to be inspecting bees, so I won't form a firm view on their temperament on the basis of this one inspection. I'm not convinced that by autumn the colony will be large enough to meet the criteria in the textbooks for successful overwintering, but at the moment I'm inclined to think they'll have to take their chance. I don't especially want to risk upsetting my other colonies by trying to combine them. The empty hive I'd left up there on the offchance hadn't attracted another swarm, but I think I'll install one earlier in the season next year.
By late summer wasps can be a nuisance to bee colonies. They will rob the honey if they can, much as they eat apples and plums on the trees. Wasps mainly attack weak bee colonies with inadequate defences, and if the bees become demoralised the wasp incursion can get so bad that the colony is destroyed. I was pleased not to find wasps inside any of my hives. One reason for opening hives as infrequently and for as little time as possible at this time of year is to avoid letting wasps in.
In the meadow, on the way to the bees, I discovered an area of freshly trampled grass, with a hole the size of a bucket dug in it. A few wasps hung around the hole, and there were some grubs in the bottom. It must have been a wasps' nest, and I should say that it had been dug out by badgers, probably last night. Once the residual wasps have disappeared I'd better pick up the stones, before they can get mixed up with the power scythe or the lawnmower, and find some earth to fill in the hole. I hope that the badger, having had a tasty meal of insect grubs, won't start on the beehives. Badgers are a known risk to beekeepers, and I have been lucky that so far I have not had any problems. The solution would be to surround the beehives with an electric fence, but it would be an awful nuisance, keeping it clear of vegetation and making sure the battery was charged. When I used to listen to the Archers I formed the distinct view that electric fences always let you down in the end. But maybe the badgers won't make the extrapolation from wasps in the ground to bees in wooden boxes.
Back in the house, I saw a green woodpecker probing the lawn outside the sitting room window. This has been an astounding year for ants, so it may have been after those. Our lawns are not the most pristine, but I would far rather see woodpeckers just by the house than have an immaculate, pest-free bowling green.
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