News & Islam Bee blog A ‘clearer’ path for the bees The observation beehives have grown yet again. The chunky new supers are not very attractive, but apparently there’s something of a national shortage at the moment, due to very high demand – reflecting what a good year it has been so far for beekeeping. Above each new super and below the old super is a ‘clearer board’ (see photos below); this lets bees travel easily downwards, but it’s much harder for them to find their way back up. By effectively moving all the bees to the new super below, the top super, which is heavy with honey, can more easily bee taken for extraction. Scroll down below the pictures of the observation hives for a short video clip of a resident mouse, who appears to be feasting on dead bees, whilst carefully jumping out of the way of any bee that may sting!