Our First Beekeeping Season

Our first season of beekeeping at the Evening Star Nature Reserve could not be called  successful.  Not only did we not harvest honey, but there was not enough left for the bees to winter over.   No doubt this state of affairs was due in part to the incompetence of the beekeeper, there were other contributing causes.   The November 2011 edition of “Bee Culture” called it, “one of the worst honey seasons many beekeepers can remember experiencing in a long time . . . .”   What went wrong?   Principally, we think, it was the weather.  The nectar flow season was characterized by periods of excessive heat (it reached 101 degrees at the Evening Star) interspersed with heavy rains .  Both of these conditions tend to reduce honey production. 

 High temperatures reduce foraging by the bees, because the foragers spend time and energy collecting water to reduce the temperature inside the hive. Temperatures over 36C (96.8F), that exist in the hive for any appreciable time are harmful to brood, even causing developmental abnormalities and death.  Honeybees have effective measures to cool the nest.  Before temperatures reach 36 degrees C, workers begin to ventilate the nest by lining up in chains and fanning with their wings, producing cooling air currents and suction which draws warm air out of the nest.  If that is not enough, they deposit droplets of water throughout the nest in small cell-like enclosures made of old wax and propolis and in indentations in brood cappings, then fanning  to increase the cooling effects of evaporation.  The efficacy of this was demonstrated in a study in California.   During the day even when temperatures reached 48 degrees C  ( 118.4 F), the bees were able to regulate the nest temperature.  At night when the water supply gave out, many of the wax combs actually melted. 

During rain the bees are eating honey, not making it.  Heavy rains not only prevent honeybees from foraging, but they can batter down the blossoms of plants leading to their collapse and loss of nectar and can wash away or dilute the nectar in unprotected flowers.  European honeybees seldom forage even during light rain. 

But we won’t excuse the beekeeper.  Good beekeeping requires the ability to see at a glance when things are beginning to go wrong and to know what corrective action to take.  It helps to take courses and read, but this does not make up for lack of experience.  We will tell you later on of other experiences we had this past season that hopefully will improve performance in the future.