My Bees

More beehive checking this morning (only one to go). This time it's the bees in my backyard.

There's a little bit of capped honey on this frame, and the bees are working to fill the rest of the cells. But they've still got plenty of room, so no action is needed for a while. That's good, because after this it was time to retreat inside and stay there for the rest of the day.

When the temperature climbs above the bees' preferred operating temperature of about 35ºC, they cool the hive by gathering water and evaporating it. I don't know where my bees are getting their water from at the moment, as they have stopped using my bird bath. I hope they aren't causing problems for any of my neighbours, but I can't force them to use the water I've provided!