Beekeeping in Germany

Hi
so just thought I would post some pictures of catching a swarm on sunday.
It was tricky as it was spread on 3 branch stubs. (read on below)


So after wetting the bees I used a tin to shake them into. (Would have loved to use a bigger box but the stubs blocked access) ...

Nice week so far, the bees have been busy collecting pollen and water (see picture).
It is about to get colder and more snow is forecast. Hope it does not catch the bees on the wrong foot.
Mind you they have been doing this for a couple of million years, so they are a little way ahead of me.
We are still a long way off from the spring though (the second photo).

Attached Thumbnails

   

Poor weather over here +10°C!
After a nice long cold (down to -20°C) it is worryingly warm.
The bees are out 'feeding the flowers' which is good.
But there is condesation under the lids of the hives.
The bees are in brood - bad news indeed.

Local logic goes along the lines of if the bees are breeding early (and with a small brood) the varroa are too.
The older bees will die earlier and the product from a small brood will have very high varroa ...

Attached Thumbnails