Ridgeway Bees

12/06/2024

Asian Hornet Identification

I’m being contacted regularly regarding hornet sightings.

The European Hornet is our friend. We (beekeepers) refer to them as BFG’s - Big friendly giants.

The invasive non-native Asian Hornets need to be reported.

This is the most recent post from the BBKA - The British Beekeepers Association and the best video to aid identification I have seen to date:

Correct identification between yellow-legged Asian hornets (YLH) and European hornets is vital to target resources against the invasive non-native YLH

European on left - YLH on right

Yellow Legged Hornet:

1. Does it look very black?
2. Has it got a wide orange stripe on 4th segment of abdomen?
3. Do its legs look as if they have been dipped in yellow paint?

See it. Snap it. Send it here:

[email protected]

Please ensure you include full location.

European on left - YLH on right

10/05/2024

So tonight was a first!

Honeybee colony in a willow tree. Anywhere else we would have left them to get on with it but unfortunately this colony have swarmed 4 times in the last week and the risk to the four families and their houses was too much, especially with all this lovely warm weather.

Grove Parish Council agreed for us to remove this section of the willow and Rehome the bees in a more rural location.

I’ll leave them in the stump for a few days, if they settle in their new surroundings, all good. If not, I’ll open the stump and Rehome the bees into a hive.

Chainsaws, loppers, bee suits, ropes and pullies, and two extremely professional tree surgeons made for a very successful rescue.

Thank you Bertie and Dave for making this a very safe and simple exercise, and to Grove Parish Council for agreeing the rescuing of the bees. Many would have simply called pest control to have the destroyed.

I love my job 🐝 🐝 🐝

02/05/2024

When you set your alarm for 5.30am to move a huge primary swarm collected yesterday evening, to a huge thunder and lightening storm. Only one thing for it… call it and say ‘no chance’ and go and make yourself a cuppa and get back into bed.

Bees and thunder don’t mix well.

Anyhoo, storm passed, 12 degrees now so have hives them and put grass in the entrance. Hopefully they aren’t too peeved with their new digs 😱

Will return in two days to top up feed and ensure they’ve pushed the grass out so they can forage their new surroundings.

I was joined by this lovely avian specimen 🦆 not entirely sure what it is, but very friendly and happy to accompany me whilst I moved the 🐝 🐝 🐝

19/04/2024

26/11/2023

18/11/2023

Today is day 1 of the Christmas fair at Roves Farm Shop, Butchery & Café.
It’s warm.
It’s dry.
Bacon butties on tap and lots of indoor activities for kids.
Come and say hi 👋

Amy and the bees at Ridgeway Bees 🐝

01/03/2023

Questions I get asked...

What do honey bees eat?

Honey bees feed on nectar and pollen collected from flowers.

Nectar is a sweet, sugary liquid produced by flowers to attract pollinators like bees, while pollen is a source of protein and other nutrients. Bees collect nectar using their long, straw-like tongue called a proboscis and store it in their honey stomach. Enzymes in their stomach break down the nectar into simple sugars, which the bees regurgitate and pass to other bees through their mouths until it is stored in a honeycomb.

Bees collect pollen using their specialised hairs on their bodies and legs and store it in pollen baskets located on their hind legs.

Besides nectar and pollen, honey bees also need water to survive. They use water to regulate the temperature of the hive and to dilute the honey they feed to their young. They also use it to create honeycomb wax, which they use to build their nests, where the queen lays her eggs and the honey is also stored.

Photo of honeybee tongue in pink flower - www.mzephotos.com
All other photos my own

28/02/2023

Questions I get asked...

Do the honey bees sting you?

Yes, honey bees are capable of stinging. Honey bees use their stingers as a means of defence, and will typically only sting when they feel threatened or provoked. When a honey bee stings, she will release venom into the skin, which causes pain, swelling, and other reactions. Unlike some other species of bees, honey bees can only sting once, as the act of stinging will cause the bee's stinger and attached venom sac to detach from its body, which ultimately, sadly leads to the bee's death.

27/02/2023

It's that time of year again. Lots going on behind the scenes in preparation for the new season.

Ridgeway Bees will move into full swing over the next 4 - 6 weeks, as the weather begins to warm (post the inevitable snowstorm in March of course).

I will be consolidating and moving several of the apiaries to a more central location, remaining local to Wantage, prepping, cleaning, and building hives and hive parts, and clearing old hives ready for the season to start in April.

I will post updates when we move some of the Ridgeway Bee hives to their new home, and I will regularly post some general content about the importance of bees.

We're back and raring to go!!

Follow, comment and share - small businesses rely on you fantastic followers to do this!

Amy and the Bees at Ridgeway Bees 🐝🐝🐝

30/11/2022

Ridgeway Bee Christmas Gift Hampers now available to order.

£30 - this one
£50 - medium (large hex honey + extra beeswax and bee friendly products)
£75 - large (small and large hex honey + extra beeswax and bee friendly products)

Order and Collect from Wantage Artisan Market on the 11th or I can deliver locally if preferred.

Thanks
Amy and the Bees 🐝

06/08/2022

A lovely hour spent at Hendred Vineyard this afternoon with Michael, a new budding beek (15) on his first year beekeeping journey. Huge interest, lots of questions asked, lovely calm bees who have filled a super already and are working hard on the second.

Bonus…. The bottle of rose I was given as a thank you accompanied our dinner perfectly this evening, if you are passing I highly recommend calling in to grab a bottle or two.

There is something very special knowing the grapes grew and the wine processed less than 2 miles from my front door 🍷

First turning by the speed camera in the hendred dip 🐝