Went back today to feed the other 2 colonies - what with being off work moving house I’ve not been able to get to them sooner. however the weather has been glorious this week, and they seem to still be covered in Himalayan Balsam, and there are still a few drones floating around, so they’re not settling down just yet.
Took the feeder off Rebecca, which was empty (apart from a small amount which had run to the wrong end as it sloped uphill). A quick look showed that they’d filled all but the outer side of the outside frames, so one more light feed should be more than enough for them to be stocked up for winter.
Tess is still quite low on bee numbers, but they’re covering 5-6 frames, so might make it through. They’ve drawn all the frames, but there’s no stores in the 4 outer frames (2 at each end) so they’ll need a few feedings to get enough laid down.
Sarah is full of bees, but like Tess, has empty frames at the edge. I’m more confident that they’ll take it down faster though.
So thats 2kg of sugar into each of Sarah and Tess today - I’ll top them up with another 2kg each towards the middle of next week, and maybe another 1-2kg into Rebecca, just in case they need it. Then it’ll be time for mouseguards and sugar bags and a close-up for winter!
