Home is where, when you have to go there, they have to take you in.

There were two bees struggling on a line of spiderweb near the currant bush so I carefully and slowly collected one and put her on the 3/4 hive's roof, there I tried to hang on to the evil snare while freeing her, and not getting near her stinger. I got most of it off and turned to the other. Once I had them both on the hive roof and able to limp they went opposite directions, the first bee slowly crawling Northwest straight toward the Flow hive, the other creeping East. The first got to the edge and launched herself off but fell to the ground whereupon she kept walking towards the Flow hive. I picked her up on a shell and deposited her on the landing platform, where she walked straight on in and disappeared from view. 

I turned back to the second who had limped her way to the front of the roof and was creeping down the wall very slowly. I collected her with a shell and gave her a lift to the door she seemed to be heading for, she walked in and was greeted by the sentry. The 3/4 hive's sentries are very much in evidence, coming outside and touching every bee as they arrive like ushers at a wedding. The Flow hive's sentries as less evident, I wonder whether they have a reception desk inside like a rather nice hotel. 

I've always liked spiders, seen them as the kind of friend that is the predator of my predators (sandflies and mosquitos), but the predator of my pet is not my friend. I destroyed the web and threw the spider over the fence. 

I decided to collect the dead bees on the ground and do a little pathology with Aunty Google's help. The two hives are fairly close together so I could be wrong about whose corpses are whose, but I had a go at keeping them separate. I took the dead bees inside, and being a scientists' child, sorted and counted them. 

I read that dead bees with protruding tongues may have been killed by a pesticide. 

I've learnt that the Flow hive colony probably has some deformed wing virus, and that means keeping on killing the varroa mites is really important. I've been looking at all the corpses with a lens and haven't seen any varroa mites on any yet. 

I've also learnt that with about 100,000 pets, 99,998 of which have a 6 week lifespan at this time of year, there are probably 2000 flying their last flap each day. I only found 55 of them. 

While collecting dead bees I found two live ones struggling across the ground. I gave one a lift on a shell to the 3/4 hive entrance, before the usher even asked "Bride or groom?" she turned to face away from the entrance and started to walk toward my hand. I took her to the Flow hive entrance and she walked straight in. I gave the other a lift to the same spot on the 3/4 hive and she walked in as slowly and as warmly welcomed as a beloved and elderly aunt. I am very glad to find they feel so strongly that these hives are their homes.