Wet, damp and empty...

Visited the hive on Boxing Day, as it happened to be a warm day and we were nearby, walking off the Christmas excesses.

The hive was suspiciously quiet, and I had a bad feeling about it as soon as I clapped eyes on it. The lack of activity at the front and damp-looking entrance bars made me fear the worst. I popped the lid off and prised off the crown board, and could see nothing and hear nothing. Oh dear.

After thriving (and swarming) in my back garden, the hive was moved in July, and is now sited under some trees at the back of Cannizaro Park (http://www.cannizaropark.org.uk/history.htm). There have been some wicked frosts recently, but my guess is that the damp location, with very little sunlight, might have been my undoing. The bees *had* taken all their winter syrup feed, and had clearly been active subsequently. Not any more, though. Maybe March will prove me wrong...