Dear Member
Hopefully many of you will be in the throes of extracting and processing honey from your hives. Remember we have a Honey Show coming up on the 7th October so think about putting aside some of your best honey to show off. This will be Fran Payne’s first Honey show so let’s all make sure we all try to enter something to make it a success.
Dear Member
Beekeepers, like farmers, are always concerned about the effects of the weather, and this year has brought some interesting challenges. First we had cold, but dry weather, then rain and more recently very high temperatures with no rain. This has meant that many plants did not give their nectar freely, but also that plants seem to have come into flower earlier than usual.
May 2017
Dear Member
We are well into the swarming season as can be seen from the swarm map. Please continue to let Rowan know if you have collected a swarm so that we can make this as accurate a record as possible.
I collected a swarm this year that reminded me that swarm collection is also about paying attention to bees ‘normal’ behaviour as well as how their behaviour differs in swarming mode.
May 2017
Dear Member
Hopefully your hives are all building up well and are ready to take advantage of the forage available over the next few months which will promise a good honey crop. The blossom this spring has been spectacular, but as for beekeeping, the downside of the dry, and sometimes cold, weather has been that flowers release less nectar in these conditions, although pollen fortunately remains plentiful.
April 2017
Dear Member
This is the month that keeps beekeepers on their toes. Colonies should be building up steadily - in fact some members are reporting that with the mild winter their colonies are already full of new bees as the queen has been laying throughout the winter. Perhaps our bees are taking on the characteristics of Italian bees - if only we get the same summer weather to support them!
