Overcoming Beekeeping Challenges in Adverse Weather

This has been an unusual season, but I seem to say that every year. I also seem to never learn that, here in the UK, our weather really is pretty bad most of the time. The wet spring has run into a cool early summer. I hear myself saying: “this surely can’t go on for much longer – the sunshine and warmth is bound to come soon.” It is possible that we could be in for a terrible season for honey bees; maybe the cool and rain will keep on going all year. Anyway, several of my colonies are on the edge of starvation in June, and a couple have already died.

Manley on English Weather

I am reminded of the words of R.O.B. Manley in his book, Honey Farming:

Our chief troubles in this land of ours, so far as beekeeping goes, are too much cold, dark weather, and too little sunshine in the summer. Sometimes, for whole weeks at a time our weather is cool, windy and overcast, with light at times so bad that we seem to be fumbling in a sort of twilight, but the work must be done, for our object is to keep our apiaries in good condition for the always-expected honey-flow that really does materialise some time or other in nine seasons out of ten. That is all we can do about our climate.

A Flow Usually Comes

Manley liked a long sentence! He is right, though – a flow of some description normally comes along. Two years ago, the temperatures to June were unremarkable, then we had that scorching July, peaking at 38 degrees C here in Cheshire (see charts below from weatherspark.com). That led to a good crop of clover honey for me. Anything is possible. My job is to keep my bees healthy and strong so that they can capitalise on the flow whenever it happens.

Spring Crop Then June Gap

It’s at times like this that I feel guilty for taking a spring honey crop off my bees in May. We had a brief window of warm weather which resulted in a decent honey crop. Our stock of honey from 2023 had nearly been depleted (people keep buying it), so I felt a little pressure to get the spring harvest into buckets. In some areas, it is an oilseed rape (OSR)/dandelion ‘combo’ which should ideally be used for making creamed honey. I could not have left the OSR on the hives, as it quickly granulates in the comb. The landowners want ‘their’ honey, not a blend; I’m interested in finding out what they make of it. In other places we got a smaller crop that was from tree blossoms in the main – much nicer to my palate.

There are plenty of forage plants currently flowering, but the bees are leaving them alone because the temperatures are too low for nectar to flow. That’s my interpretation, anyway. It will be depressing if the weather turns hot after the bramble and lime have finished, but there is willowherb and balsam to come. After a few weeks of letting bees lick wet supers that have been returned after extraction, I have now decided to feed my bees syrup and patties. Many colonies are very light, with bone-dry frames and little or no open brood. It’s a horror show, but not at all of my sites – some are doing great. They are the same bees, managed the same way, but in one place they are starving and in another they are booming.

Frame Feeders

Yesterday I ordered a load of frame-feeders, which arrived this morning (thanks Gwenynn Gruffydd) so I shall be giving syrup to a lot of my colonies. Actually, half of them arrived, but that will keep me busy for today. I have left it too late; I took a week’s holiday at the end of May and have been trying to catch up since. Furthermore, when supers are on the hives and brambles are in flower, it seems crazy to think about giving syrup to the bees. What about contamination of honey? Well, I shall feed little and often, and stop when a flow kicks in. That is better than being faced with dozens of dead colonies.

Another impact of the weather conditions on my beekeeping has been that raising queens has been delayed. Once I have fed my breeder-queen colonies, there will be decent frames from which to graft, but for now, the larvae are not exactly swimming in puddles of jelly. My first graft of the season resulted in five queen cells (25% success). I normally get at least 75%. I knew, even as I was grafting, that they were a bit too dry. Foolish walrus. One hopes that I will learn my lessons and not repeat mistakes.

Late Season Nucs

Perhaps, by the time my inseminated queen from Northumberland Honey arrives later this month, there will be time to do a couple of rounds of grafting so that I can do late re-queening and nucleus making. The wasps can be a problem with late-season mating nuclei, but, let’s face it, there’s always something. Who knows, could the poor spring and early summer have killed off queen wasps? That might be a silver lining; if there are fewer vespas about in late summer.

More Syrup

To those who may criticise me for being a poor custodian of my bees, I hear you. Most will be saved by feeding syrup. I have lost three colonies to starvation from 70, but that’s still three too many. They are healthy from a varroa perspective; some have stores and open brood, but many are struggling. They had stores in the brood boxes (Langstroth) when we took the spring crop, and wet supers were returned promptly. There is often a ‘June gap’ but, this time, it has been terrible. My bees tend to be prolific, which does mean they are more vulnerable to this type of thing, but in the good times they make a lot of honey. The ten day forecast looks grim, so I think I need to order more syrup.