A bell jar observation hive

Bell jar bees

The nectar flow is still strong in southern England at the moment, so there may be a chance for this little nucleus colony to fill the bell jar. Usually the summer flow has finished by this date, but everything has been so late this year, it is still going.

The bell jar sits on top of the small nucleus and was primed with a few slim strips of foundation stuck to the wall of the bell jar — one strip with a wiggle to see what the bees would make of it.

Already they have started to build on the starter strips. Let’s see what happens in the next few days!

Vita’s Guest Beekeeper Blogger