Glenholm.

It was our annual heather picnic today, though the bees have, in general been conspicuous by their absence. 2003 was the last year that many members brought bees here as, those that did, took home some visitors in their colonies, what we then thought were Varroa jacobsonii, but were later discovered to be a new species and were given  the name Varroa destructor, which I consider to sound as though it comes from a super-hero comic book.
 
The weather was too hot with not a breath of wind so we all lounged around chatting, admiring the six month old offspring of one of our younger members, drinking tea, eating sandwiches and cake and marvelling that this is the first year that we have seen this wheat field harvested. As always happens when we are leaving, I grabbed a quick Blip of the fence that prevents small children falling into the stream but allows access to drinking water for sheep at other times of the year.
 
One member did bring a weak colony this year; at home it was being pestered by wasps which can devastate even a strong colony; little did he realise that this is a haven for the common – or garden – wasp. He did go and check his hive while the kettle was heating up and, as he took the lid off, the queen flew out, that’s not covered by the text books; while he was wondering what to do next – some five minutes later – she flew back in again; and she certainly shouldn’t have done that.