JOHN has been treating his bee hives today to control the spread of the varroa mite among the colony.

A strip containing, I believe formic acid, is placed between two frames in the hive and left there for a week.

An infestation of this mite will severely weaken a hive and the bees may not then survive the winter. And we don’t want that do we?

He has recently moved his hives back from the wood where they have spent this glorious summer, to our own house paddock.

The wood was close to fields growing oilseed rape and field beans, but the hives had attracted hornets.

There is nothing attractive about a hornet. Unless you are another hornet presumably. They attack each bed as they return to the hive and carry them off back to their nest to feed to their larvae.

If only they would just gorge on rotting fruit or wasps or other insects I could forgive them , but not our bees.

I am still catching the occasional hornet in the wasp traps I have set up near my grape vine. But have not yet found where their nest is.

We cleared the one under the roof tiles, but there must be another nest close by.

So far, though, the hives we have brought home should not hopefully not been attacked by wasps or hornets, their next big enemy is the varroa mite, hence the formic acid strips to finish those little blighters off.

To treat the hives John has had to don all his beekeeping gear. Despite the fact that he is killing the varroa mites.

Varroa mites are vampires in miniature. They suck the blood from the bees and their larvae, although strangely their preference is for the drone brood. So maybe they are feminists at heart. If they have a heart that is.

Moss, our spaniel puppy, had never seen John in his moonwalking/beekeeping outfit. She was terrified when he walked out of the back door and into the yard.

Flattening herself to the ground, squealing piteously and weeing

copiously too, this was one pitiful dog.

Even trying to tell her it was fine and it really was her dad (you get very silly and soft with dogs) did nothing to reassure her.

John had to take off the hood and net before she truly believed it was him and not an alien being. Hope the varroa mites are as easily deterred.