Where's the honey gone!

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Where's the honey gone!
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gythagirl

Joined: 18 Feb 2010
Posts: 1467
Location: Somerset

Posted: Tue Aug 29, 17 10:04 am Post subject: Where's the honey gone!

The Beekeeper has been away for 3 weeks, checking the 4 hives before he went, finding all well and flourishing, good honey flow and anticipating, even allowing for leaving plenty of stores for the winter, at least 40lbs + to extract on his return; and I certainly saw plenty of activity whilst he was away.

However, he's back and went down to the hives yesterday and was most perplexed to discover the colonies in apparent good health, busy as usual...but virtually no honey

Much less than there'd been 3 weeks earlier, and prob not even enough to keep the bees going through the winter. I know our weather's been very er, changeable, during August but there's been no shortage of bees on the flowers, and I've barely seen a wasp all summer.

He's never had this happen before - any of you Beeks out there experienced this? Comments welcomed please!

Slim

Joined: 05 Mar 2006
Posts: 6612
Location: New England (In the US of A)

Posted: Tue Aug 29, 17 10:29 am Post subject:
late season swarm? I'm more of a beekeeper adjacent than a beekeeper....

jamanda
Downsizer Moderator

Joined: 22 Oct 2006
Posts: 35057
Location: Devon

Posted: Tue Aug 29, 17 6:14 pm Post subject:
I'd suggest the same - the naughty new queen has taken it all with her!

NorthernMonkeyGirl

Joined: 10 Apr 2011
Posts: 4627
Location: Peeping over your shoulder

Posted: Tue Aug 29, 17 6:18 pm Post subject:
We've had the old queen just swarm, and the hive is suspiciously empty. Coincidence...? (we have new queen and are supplementary-feeding)

Mistress Rose

Joined: 21 Jul 2011
Posts: 15951

Posted: Wed Aug 30, 17 7:47 am Post subject:
Either the weather hasn't been as good as you think, and they have had to eat quite a lot of it, or a swarm that went awol when nobody was looking.

gythagirl

Joined: 18 Feb 2010
Posts: 1467
Location: Somerset

Posted: Wed Aug 30, 17 8:14 am Post subject:

No, OH certain no swarmimg, masses of bees and brood in each, queens well-established. And I def haven't seen a line of bees flying off with under-slung honeypots. Just a lack of honey. We've had years when there's been no honey flow as the weather's been crap at the wrong time, but there's been excellent flow and bees everywhere in the garden covered with pollen...

We don't bee-keep for the honey - but we do rather hope they'll end up with enough to see themselves through the winter...

It was all (she whispers) going so well this season too...

Slim

Joined: 05 Mar 2006
Posts: 6612
Location: New England (In the US of A)

Posted: Wed Aug 30, 17 11:17 am Post subject:
Are there any peculiarities that cause bees to focus on pollen instead of nectar? Pollen is important for brood, right? The missing piece is why that would over-shadow nectar collection....

Mistress Rose

Joined: 21 Jul 2011
Posts: 15951

Posted: Thu Aug 31, 17 6:38 am Post subject:
If you had a dry spell as we did earlier in the summer, some plants wouldn't have been producing nectar, or not as much. Buddleia only produces enough depth for honey bees to get at when it has been quite wet for example, although bumble bees and other insects with longer proboscis can reach it.

Tavascarow

Joined: 06 Aug 2006
Posts: 8407
Location: South Cornwall

Posted: Thu Aug 31, 17 10:06 am Post subject:

Here the bees built well through the Spring & early summer but for the last fortnight it's been cooler & definitely wetter.
Stores at this time can get consumed rapidly when the hive is chok full of bees.
70,000 bees not only gather a lot of nectar but when shut at home can consume a large amount of stores.
If you're happy feeding I suggest harvesting earlier in the summer & feeding syrup during wet cold weather.
If you don't like supplementary feeding harvesting smaller amounts more frequently but always making sure there's plenty left for the bees is my advice.
Either that or there's been robbing by wasps or other bees from elsewhere.

sgt.colon

Joined: 27 Jul 2009
Posts: 7380
Location: Just south of north.

Posted: Thu Aug 31, 17 10:58 am Post subject:
Do the bee's consume the honey if they are about to swarm?

Slim

Joined: 05 Mar 2006
Posts: 6612
Location: New England (In the US of A)

Posted: Thu Aug 31, 17 11:18 am Post subject:

sgt.colon wrote:

Do the bee's consume the honey if they are about to swarm?

I believe that when they swarm they do so with near-bursting bellies full of honey. A real beekeeper can correct me if I'm wrong.

gythagirl

Joined: 18 Feb 2010
Posts: 1467
Location: Somerset

Posted: Thu Aug 31, 17 4:02 pm Post subject:
Thanks all. No swarming & no wasps - will put it down to the weather ( ) and will clearly need to feed them. Ah well - next year will be different - it always is!!!

Mistress Rose

Joined: 21 Jul 2011
Posts: 15951

Posted: Fri Sep 01, 17 6:50 am Post subject:
The other problem about a cool wet spell is that the bees can't get out and plan all sorts of naughty things, like swarming. In reality, because there are so many bees in the hive at one time there isn't enough 'queen substance' to go round to control them properly, so they think the queen is aging, and breed up queen cells, so watch out for them.

gythagirl

Joined: 18 Feb 2010
Posts: 1467
Location: Somerset

Posted: Fri Sep 01, 17 7:26 pm Post subject:

Well, what do you know??? Email from the National Bee Unit arrived this afternoon:

Quote:

Beekeepers in the South West of England may want to check their colonies food levels, as stated in our previous Autumn Husbandry alert. Many of the Bee Inspectors are finding colonies on the brink of starvation with alarmingly low food stores. Remember, a colony will now need 25 kilos of food to see them through the winter. As a reminder, a strong syrup (i.e. 630ml water to 1kg sugar) should be fed to the colony at this time of the year and not a weak syrup. If you have any questions about feeding then please do not hesitate to contact us.

So very definitely not just our bees

sgt.colon

Joined: 27 Jul 2009
Posts: 7380
Location: Just south of north.

Posted: Mon Sep 04, 17 8:37 am Post subject:
I take it that they don't know what's caused it then, with them not mentioning it in the email.

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