We use a range of modern poly hives to keep our production colonies in. These offer much better insulation properties than traditional wooden hives, and we find the bees over winter in them much more successfully.  

We use locally adapted colonies, and are constantly working on improving our bees through selective breeding of colonies, trying to balance traits such as honey production, temperament, hygiene/resistance and frugalness over winter. We do not use any Queens imported from abroad.

The emergence of Varroa mites and the seemingly inevitable spread of Tropilaelaps beetles, both of which have severe effects on honey bee colonies, have been a great source of concern to beekeepers.  Both of these pest species have been introduced via the importing of honey bee strains from out with the UK.  We do undertake, therefore, periods of treatments to help our colonies during winter, when there are no honey frames on the hives, ensuring that we introduce no chemicals into your honey.