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What’s flowering now – Cornwall, April 2022

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Some photos of the flowers I’ve seen out and about in Cornwall and in my garden over the last couple of weeks. I like to see what’s in flower and available for the bees.

Below is my miniature apple tree. I mainly see hoverflies and bumbles visiting this. Honey bees tend to favor large collections of one type of flower, so this wee tree is probably not worth it for them.

Apple flowers

One of the first bees of the year I saw in my garden was the enchantingly named female Hairy-footed flower bee. I always see them on the deep blue

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Within the bee backyard from March to April

by kiprana

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The grape hyacinth flows like a river of blue alongside backyard borders, hedgerows and woodland areas. A small, hardy plant that does not appear to thoughts the chilly. It has patiently waited for the bees whereas the crocuses withered in late frosts.

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These plump, purple-blue flowers are receiving many bee guests as spring awakens.

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Like our toadflax, grape hyacinth spreads rapidly to fill beds and borders. For those who do not thoughts flowers that select the place they wish to go (I do not thoughts, that is my concept of lazy gardening), then grape hyacinth seems to be fairly when …

Back to beekeeping | Adventuresinbeeland’s Blog

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It’s been a long time. A lot has happened. I’ve moved house. I’ve sold my bees, caught a swarm, given that away, nearly given up on bees completely, and then started going to meetings at my local association apiary, about twenty minutes drive away in mid-Cornwall.

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Back in my suit!

I miss my bees and it’s been fantastic watching the bees being inspected. Two weeks ago I spotted a new queen and

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How to catch a swarm – advice from an expert beekeeper, Roger Patterson

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A few weeks ago I listened into a zoom talk all about swarms by Roger Patterson. I last heard Roger speak in person almost a decade ago, back in 2012, when his talk was “Improve your bees and beekeeping – simply”. I think he’s one of the most well known beekeepers here, as he does so many talks and is very active in the beekeeping community. He has also written a book, called ‘Beekeeping – A Practical Guide’ (2012).

Roger began by saying that swarms have changed:

Pre 1990s, they used to be reliable:

– Large prime swarms had fertile

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Noem taps impeachment prosecutor to replace attorney general

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PIERRE, SD (AP) — South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem has appointed the lead prosecutor in the Senate impeachment trial of former Attorney General Jason Ravnsborg to fill the remainder of Ravnsborg’s term.

Noem’s interim appointment of Pennington County State’s Attorney Mark Vargo was effective Tuesday.

She pushed for Ravnsborg, a first-term fellow Republican, to step down days after he was struck and killed a pedestrian with his car in 2020, and later pushed for his impeachment. Ravnsborg was ultimately successful last week of two impeachment counts and was removed from the office.

“Mark Vargo returns integrity, experience and stability to

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