In my last article I wrote about bees and swarming. I am reminded of an old saying “a swarm of bees in May is worth a load of hay, a swarm of bees in June is worth a silver spoon and a swarm of bees in July is not worth a fly”. With the brilliant bee weather in May and into June one would have thought that a bumper crop was inevitable. However the break in the weather put a stop to any pot of gold or whatever the load of hay is worth. A swarm of bees is only as good as the forage available to it to produce a crop of honey.

While modern hive management techniques curtail or eliminate swarming, the change in weather altered the fortunes for bee colonies negatively impacting the crop of honey.

White clover and the briar (blackberry) flowered early and bees had some very nice warm days working them. With temperatures over 20°C conditions were excellent for nectar yields in clover. Honeybees lost no time in working these plants. It was a joy to see such volumes of white clover this year and the aroma from it in the meadows was exquisite.

For most rural beekeepers in Ireland, clover and the briar provide their main crop of honey

Clover provides bees with an amazing volume of nectar as does the briar. Back in the old days, beekeepers could make real money from honey produced from clover but that changed as the plant was excluded from grass. Its return in grass is very welcome.

For most rural beekeepers in Ireland, clover and the briar provide their main crop of honey. The window for collection of a crop is only a few weeks. No matter how strong bee colonies are, they cannot gather anything when the weather turns bad.

In bygone times, a beekeeper getting a swarm of bees in the month of May, with a plentiful supply of clover and briar, were sure of a good return from it. Swarms have an energy for gathering nectar which surpasses that of a non-swarmed hive.

It is hard to estimate what honey will be produced this year. It doesn’t look good as I write

By mid-July most of the briar flowers had opened during the broken spell but bees did make use of any dry period to work those which were available.

It is hard to estimate what honey will be produced this year. It doesn’t look good as I write. The position is similar across most of the country. Recently I spoke with three beekeeping colleagues Gerry Ryan in Tipperary, John Donoghue in Offaly and Dermot O’Flaherty in Mayo, and they were all of the same opinion.

Summer course cancelled

Like many organisations struggling with the COVID-19 restrictions, the annual summer course held in the Franciscan College Gormanston, Co Meath, is cancelled. We can only look forward to 2021 when beekeepers will once again be able to enjoy this world renowned week of lectures and workshops.

Again, filling the supers on the hives with honey is all subject to the weather obliging

Removing and extracting the honey crop traditionally starts when beekeepers return home after Gormanston. The last throw of the dice will be the Ling heather for those few beekeepers who take the trouble to bring hives to it. Again, filling the supers on the hives with honey is all subject to the weather obliging.

Some Irish honey may have made it to the local shop or markets so watch out for it. Look for the beekeepers name or their brand identifying it as local and Irish.

Read more

Beekeeping: Unbeatable heather honey

Beekeeping: coping with swarming honeybees