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Environmental issues and concerns that affect beekeeping.
 #11891  by Alfred
 02 Sep 2021, 13:23
Code: Select all
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/french-beekeepers-stung-by-honey-harvest-calamity-lvt7mpvd0
 #11892  by JoJo36
 02 Sep 2021, 20:41
We've had relatively bad weather here for the spring and summer but we adopt the 'stiff upper lip' unlike the French and just accept that we can't control the weather and we have to take the good with the bad!
Can you imagine small beekeepers asking our government for help because we didn't have the number of jars of honey we expected??!! Hmmmm...... maybe a petition could be started up!! :)
 #11893  by Alfred
 03 Sep 2021, 07:18
No doubt they will start blockading the gates at Calais burrng English imported jars.
 #11894  by NigelP
 03 Sep 2021, 12:13
I'll bet they don't offer to pay double their taxes in a bumper year.
Beekeeping is very weather dependant, something we have no control over and have to live with.
We have had 2 dreadful years on the heather due to recent bad summers, but this year ....bonanza! It will be hoarded to eke out next years predicted bad harvest :D
 #11895  by AdamD
 03 Sep 2021, 14:19
I thought that pollen requirement of a hive was around 20 kg, and not 60? I suspect that the journalist doesn't know much about bees (often the case of course) and seems a little confused between pollen and honey.
Yep - good years and bad and a bad year can easily result in 1/2 of the honey yield. It's just beekeeping for ya!
 #11896  by Patrick
 03 Sep 2021, 17:19
AdamD wrote: Yep - good years and bad and a bad year can easily result in 1/2 of the honey yield. It's just beekeeping for ya!
For a variety of reasons but most predominantly weather, my crop for the year is a long way short of half that of recent years. And the allotment was rubbish too. You just have to suck it up sometimes. What we take as a crop is stores over and above their maintenance needs - most years there is a surplus, some years there is not.
 #11930  by MickBBKA
 08 Sep 2021, 22:28
I was looking at disaster up until the end of May. Then we had for the first time in 16 years a nice June and July and some colonies produced around 200lb in no more than 8 weeks. Heather is average for me and weather has been dreadful on the moor over August, latest its ever flowered for me so its been colder and less flying hours. Learning to mitigate the weather has been my biggest challenge in beekeeping. Moving 15 miles inland has been a game changer and 4,000 acres of it next year will hopefully be a blessing. We play the hand we are dealt with. I find moaning a lot about it helps me through. :lol:
 #11937  by NigelP
 09 Sep 2021, 18:42
MickBBKA wrote:
08 Sep 2021, 22:28
Heather is average for me and weather has been dreadful on the moor over August, latest its ever flowered for me so its been colder and less flying hours.
Yes you do go on about the poor weather you get 30 miles away from me....:D
You needed to be on the moors by late July this year, flow had mainly finished by 3rd week of August despite lots of ling still in flower. I've learnt the hard way that it's better to get there early than late. Those quoting the glorious 12th as the date to take hives to the moors missed it this year.
Despite good weather and lots of pink flowers around us they brought nothing in during the last week of August so we decided it was over and brought them back. I think we got it right.... but it would have been interesting to have left a hive or two with empty supers to see what did happen in the good weather spell into September. I suspect nothing but pollen...but you never know for certain with heather. It switches on/off nectar production for no obvious reason.
End result for us was goodish, 12 hives brought back just under 600lbs of heather honey (including cut comb). I'll settle for that any year.
 #11948  by MickBBKA
 12 Sep 2021, 14:51
I go up once a week from mid July to check and there was no ling in flower until mid August this year. Its is usually flowering by 3rd wk in July but not this year. Checked the colonies on Wed this wk and they are still bringing nectar in and probably still 30% of the ling still to flower yet. I estimate I will get about 250lb from 4 colonies so not too shabby. It may reduce a bit by the time its concentrated and capped.
 #11949  by NigelP
 12 Sep 2021, 16:07
That's like in a different country Mick, not 20 miles away....We had ling in flower 3rd week of July and it was full of nectar. It was still out last week, well last dregs, but nectar flow dried up in 3rd week of August on the the two moors I'm on. Should have taken some hives over to your moor for the "late" show!