by Peter Mathews
Once upon a time we looked upon July as the month of peak honey flow. This was in the days before we enjoyed field after field of oil seed rape. Today we still think of July as a month of plenty with an abundance of food for the bees. With the swarming colonies out of the way, having either swarmed or been controlled, many of us are sitting back and letting our bees get on with for a few weeks.........
Imagine my shock when checking a very strong colony from an artificial swarm. It was doing incredibly well, except there were absolutely no stores. In some 30 years of beekeeping this is the first time I have fed a colony in the middle of July. I suspect that I am not alone. If you haven't inspected your bees for a while, I suggest you get along at the next opportunity. I am afraid that some beekeepers will lose colonies in the coming weeks.
My best price for sugar is 79p/ kg from Pound Stretcher. I understand Booker are selling at 82p/kg.
On a more serious note, Fragile Planet have recently supplied bees with American Foul Brood. If you have any suspicions regarding your bees then contact Peter Folge immediately:- the_beekeeper@hotmail.com.
1 comment:
I thought we might be in a bad area. Its true for us up here in wzshington too. Honey stores are all but depleted in some cases. Strange indeed. Thank u for sharing.
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