Bees and Deluge

At the reserve today we had the first day of the Richmond and District Beekeepers’ Association Introduction to Beekeeping. This is a weekend course to basically see if beekeeping is for the folk attending. We spent the morning in the activity room having a fact filled lecture by Keith Bartlem.

In the afternoon, looking like we were invaded by aliens, we donned our bee suits and had a hands-on experience with bee hives on the Heath. As you can see from the photo the clouds were darkening.

 
We abandoned the outdoor work for the shelter of the Field Centre, and not before time as the heavens opened. The track was a beck, and the gutters struggled to hold the torrential rain, 18 mm fell by the time I left the reserve.

Brian Slater, our weekend volunteer, managed to take some lovely photos, before the thunder and lightning, of this newly emerged 4-Spotted Chaser….

…a Pine Weevil was also spotted. Although interesting to see it can be a serious pest to pine and spruce , damaging young shoots and the root system.

This Green Veined Butterfly caterpillar had recently hatched out on a Cuckoo Flower.

 Thank you to Brian for all his help today, and lets hope the weather is better for the beekeepers, and the bird ringing tomorrow.