February has been quite a drizzly month here in Ermington in South Devon. When the sun comes out our bees are off on their flights and return laden with pollen. We have primroses, snowdrops and a hazel tree out in flower in the garden and I have takenthe mouse guards off the hive, just to ease the path in and out for the bees. Removing the mouse guards has shown just how rotten my brood chamber has become in places and there are now a couple of sizeable gaps in it where it sits on the stand. The bees don't seem to mind, as they use the holes as their new entrance doors and now have multiple exits from the hive. However, it will also make it easier for the wasps to get in when autumn comes, so I shall probably replace the brood chamber box with a new one after the weather has warmed up in the next couple of months.
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