Solitary Bee Cocoons and how to look after them.

As I said in an earlier blog, the problem with some commercial Solitary Bee Houses is that they can't be cleaned which leads to a build up of parasites and generally nasty stuff.
However the ones I now use improve the success rate of the cocoons as they can be taken out of the houses, cleaned and then stored so they can be released at the optimum time. The houses themselves can be cleaned to give a better start the following year.

This a video of my attempts with the cocoons I collected during the summer.
I'll do a second video on the cleaning and storing process.

Other bee news:-
 - In a previous blog I said that for the first time a bee [Rusty Patch Bumblebee] in American had been put on the endangered list.Think again. The day before this was due to come into effect Drumpf suspended the order. What a bastard.
To be put on the list means
Listing under the Endangered Species Act generally restricts activities known to harm the creature in question and requires the government to prepare a recovery plan.
As the Rusty Patch Bees' problems are primarily a loss of habitat in mainly agricultural areas where the Rednecks voted for Drumpf, this is obviously a problem for him.

 - I was contacted by a young girl from Sharnbrook who wanted to do a Duke of Edinburgh award and to include bee keeping as a skill. Unfortunately she wasn't able to sign up for it after all but we paid a visit with her Mum to Scald End anyway to say hello to the bees.
It was far too cold to take frames out of the hives but as the morning went on and it warmed up, increasing numbers of bees emerged to have what is politely called a 'cleansing flight' or as I would call it 'a dump'.
We had a good time and they want to come back when they can see the bees properly.
The main reason I wanted to go to Scald End was to switch their food supplement over to one that has pollen in it as the queens should now be laying and the larvae need pollen for food.. It gave me a chance to see how things have gone and their chances of surviving until Spring. I make Eeyore look like a hopeless optimist but things looked OK.
Next weekend someone is coming to Ravensden with their son to see the bees and will do a similar assessment on them then.

- the Wildflower Meadow thing isn't going to happen. Don't ask.

 - I had decided I needed to clear the area just behind my garden so I can site my solitary bee houses. Its very overgrown with some huge brambles.
Fortunately as part of his stewardship responsibilities, the farmer did the job for me.
I have started to put up the houses and get the bumblebee house ready