We have an amazing honey bee colony living in the cavity of the Gadwall Hide wall. There could be 30,000 bees in the colony! A number of bees are patrolling the hide wall – these are the guard bees which check out the returning workers to make sure they are from this colony and to make sure nothing that might be a threat to the colony enters. Inside will be a queen and a honeycomb. As the temperature cools the bees will become dormant and they will spend the winter tucked away in the hide wall.
You can see the bees if you come to the reserve but please don’t get any closer than the post that we have put up. We do not want the bees disturbed or anyone stung.
You can also go into the hide and press your ear against the wall you can hear the bees humming. Please don’t tap on the wall or make too much noise as the bees don’t like that.
Joan
Joan Childs, Site Manager