If you haven't already noticed, we have some bees living on site!

Down near the orchard, behind the formal garden, there are 2 bee hives that Trudy Thorne and her daughter have been looking after over the last few months.

The summer speeds everything up for bees, it's when they're at their busiest and they are currently very happy at Hestercombe according to Trudy!

Trudy and her daughter have put a box on top of the hives, it's called a super, and this is where the bees will store their honey. This is the honey that will then be harvested at the end of the summer.

Beside the hives are 2 small boxes. Each of these has a small colony of bees, a nucleus, that Trudy has formed by doing an artificial swarm over the last few weeks. This helps to keep the main colony stron. The nucleus is not permenant and can be sold, put into a proper hive or returned to the main hive at the end of the summer.

We're hoping to hold some more bee events for visitors to learn about the bees and perhaps even taste some honey! So keep an eye on the events page for updates.

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