Dear Member,

As one dry warm day followed another in June after the long, severe winter which extended to the end of April, it seemed that at last good fortune was smiling on our bees, allowing them to fly and forage to their heart’s content week after week. The only drawback is that when the weather is so dry, plants don’t provide as much nectar and the bees are therefore having to still work hard to bring in their honey stores.

It has seemed to me that the bees have brought in a lot of pollen this year, even during the early part of the season, and this may be because pollen is plentiful even when nectar is in short supply.It is useful to try and judge what forage is available to your bees at different times of the year, and to establish when there is a period of dearth. Traditionally this was called the June gap, but this does not occur in all areas or necessarily in June in all areas. The bees can often become a bit ‘tetchy’ at this time, particularly if it co-incides with you removing honey stores.

I read recently that it is possible to observe a difference in bee’s flying behaviour when they are experiencing a dearth. Instead of busily flying in a ‘beeline’ from the entrance, they apparently mull around the hive and fly at a lower level. I am not sure why this would be the case, unless the bees are hoping to stumble on a resource close to home that does not use up more energy to collect than it brings in. It may be worth observing your bees to see if you can identify when they experience a dearth especially as colonies are now reaching their peak in terms of the number of bees in the hive. From August onward the number of bees should begin to go down and you should see the brood nest gradually reduce.

One of the main aims of our association is the spreading of positive information about bees and beekeeping. Having a display stand at local fairs and fetes gives us the opportunity to meet members of the public and give information about how best we, and they, can protect and support bees. The Dunchurch Fete is always popular and well attended and we had a very helpful band of beekeepers to help last month, erecting and taking down the new marquee, and enthusiastically talking to people who came to look at the bees in our observation hive or to taste and buy honey. Please think about coming to one of these events to share your knowledge and enthusiasm with the public. Rowan does a very efficient job of organising and running these events so if you think you can help out in the future, do have a word with him.

Tim Belk, one of our ‘newer’ beekeepers is keen to try out new ideas, especially if it means reducing the use of chemicals in the hive. He gave an interesting talk at our last meeting and after showing some Youtube videos of using heat to treat varroa, demonstrated his own version. At some point in the future he may be interested in asking for volunteers to use this varroa treatment. So watch this space….

For the next two months we will have social events instead of our usual monthly meeting at the Friends meeting house. Do come along, meet other beekeepers and enjoy talking about your bees or anything else that takes your fancy. These events are open to the whole family and partners.

Regards

Margaret Holdsworth