Now that all our hives have plenty of honey in them to keep them stocked through the winter I have closed them up. I’ve put mouse guards over the entrances to prevent vermin from creeping in and helping themselves to the honey and brood. I have put straps round the hives, if they get blown over then at least they will still be held together and should be relatively easy to right again. I have also stuffed the roofs with insulation to prevent excessive heat loss.

We have also put up a temporary willow fence along the railings in front of our home hives. They are 4 floors off the ground on the side of a hill – the wind is pretty strong up there, so I hope that the fence will help to stop it from howling straight into the hives and chilling the bees.