A month in the Apiary - June

by Nick Pendleton, Woodside Farm

At last, the sun is out, the bees are flying, and we are getting busy checking the hives, splitting the beehives to induce a swarm before it happens and collecting a few swarms. If you see one, please call and I will pop round and remove it for you.

May was a tricky month! We saw the worst weather May could possibly have brought us - wet, cold and windy. More early March than May and not spring-like at all. It was the worst May we have seen in many, many years. All the colonies are much further behind than they would normally be at this time of year, despite the flowers and hedgerows being in bloom. All the hives have been short on stores and I had to provide additional feed to prevent them from starving.

Smaller hives, (called Nucs, short for Nucleus hives) are starting to develop and will hopefully be viable as hives to get through the winter. Sadly, because of the weather I have not been able to make as many as I wanted. My priority is the welfare of the bees. After I create a Nuc, off I will go through the hives soon after to try and prevent the colony from creating Queen cells and swarming proper. A swarm with a Virgin Queen is called a cast. With the poor weather I have struggled to do this as effectively as I normally would, but fingers crossed June is an easier month.

Better weather has meant more foraging, and the bees have been busy collecting nectar for the colony. I know this because as I take the frames from the hive for inspection, the nectar drips from the comb. I do my best to avoid dripping too much as I know how precious it is to the bees now. The other thing that they have been busy collecting is pollen. This is extremely important for the rearing of bee brood because it is basically pure protein and therefore essential to their growth. Pollen is coming in all colours which indicates that the bees are beginning to forage on a few different plants.

If any of this piques your interest, please look up the High Weald Beekeepers Association. There are taster sessions, courses for beginners and groups within the association (such as queen rearing) that you can join and learn from other beekeepers.