I go to check the beehive and close it up for winter; put up a zinc mouse guard, a strap around the hive to prevent the roof blowing off. The screen base is covered with carcass material; a decapitated head, a lost limb, but I don’t remove them. They will act as insulation through the winter months, in between the ventilation holes, that is. Dead bodies everywhere in the time of Covid-19.
Inside the hive, the bees are perfecting their own form of lockdown. The colony will have formed into its “winter cluster” -- a ball- shaped coming together. The outer bees line up side by side, facing into the constellation, so creating a duvet of insulation. It could be one bee thick, but if the temperatures drop there will be several lines of barrier bees for protection. Within the cluster the bees are free to roam around and top themselves up with some honey. Depending on the temperatures, they consume up to 20kg over the winter period.
