Good and Bad

Some Oil Seed Rape is going over which means honey in supers needs to be removed (as this honey granulates hard and does so very quick), but there are only small amounts- the farmers in their wisdom from the long winter have also planted some Summer Flowering Rape that is now appearing - more toil and trouble for beekeepers. The bees will work the Rape in preference to many other sources so other flowers will not get pollinated so well, in addition to the low numbers of bees anyway.

Dare To think..No, This is a Crisis!

Checking my colonies this morning I was beginning to breathe a huge sigh of relief as all appear to be building well - after all it is only June!! Then along came the rain "just like last year" I thought and the concerns came flooding back (no pun).
Bee Farmers report a crisis and I have to agree BUT WHO IS LISTENING? Not our government it seems!
People need to be made aware, need to listen, and then action needs to be undertaken ( the right action).

Hope (And Pray)!

Again today it has turned colder and gone very wet. What we need is a long, warm, dry spell; and not just days or even weeks but months is what the bees need. If this summer turns out like last summer then I ask "What hope for our bees ?" It is time for a greater power to work in favour.

Is it Me??

Is it me, am I doing something wrong, or are other bee keepers not as "forth coming"?
I have checked my colonies to see how they have come out of winter; I have 15 laying queens and 5 colonies so small they don't look capable of surviving. I am very upset (I could say gutted). Statistically that is over 50% losses. Bee Farmers portray a similar story, but local bee keepers say they have lost around 30%.
AND- Is it me, or is the public getting the wrong story portrayed to them.I know I have already said this:There are big concerns over Varroa and Pesticides yes, but the real concern at the moment has to be the climate (in particular) over the last twelve months. The non existent summer where the bees had to be fed to keep them alive! Followed by the long, cold winter has decimated my colonies - queens did not mate properly last year and with no nectar (and little pollen) bees were poorly nourished for the winter we have just had. To me this is a real concern. My colonies are about 6 weeks behind in their build up which adds to the problems unless we have a long hot summer. But no one seems to be highlighting any of this!!!
Or is it just me???

Listen to Bee Farmers

The latest televised coverage on the plight of our bees still seems to miss the main point! Though I did see the Bee Farmers hit the nail right on the head: varroa and Neonicotinoids hold little relevance at this moment - the poor summer last year meant many new queens did not get properly mated, and colonies were poorly nourished for the long, hard, cold winter which followed and from which we are only now (May) just emerging. Many colonies have perished as a result or have been left small and probably weak. Depending on how this "Summer" unfolds our bees, or what are left of them, are again already under new stresses to survive.

Spring yet?...No not quite?

I would say that my bees and the flowers and trees are around 6 weeks behind compared to recent seasons. I have suffered losses this winter like never before, on the back of last "summer" as it was named ! What I don't understand is that there appears little or no concern for this (although there probably will be when its' too late); I haven't heard the government or the media mention about the continued struggle for bees- there are vague references about decline in pollinating insects, but it is a lot more serious than that and this year could turn out a lot lot worse - I HOPE NOT!

At last..?

The milder temperature and a break in the rain led me to quickly check my sites.There was huge relief to see hive entrances very active and pollen loads arriving back. One of the most reassuring signs in beekeeping has to be workers arriving back at hive entrances and "waddling" in, back legs laden with pollen!
Lets' hope this is the start of things to come.