Too early to say here. Won't take boxes off for about a other 10 days. But expecting at least double last year's. However last year we did not perform that well as Beekeepers and this year we put the lessons learnt to good use. So our honey crop is not always a reflection of the weather or heather! 🤣
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I estimate overall its close to 20 lbs per hive over the season (that has so far ended up in an edible form!) - I also got a pleasant surprise when bringing bees back from the heather, a good super yet to be pressed - the forage/flow/weather has been very good, even excellent, at my sites and the 20 lb/hive would be much higher if I had done a better job. I set up 8 colonies for production this year. In spring all had to be split for swarm control. In late summer 3 had to be split again and I missed a cell in one (predictable result), 3 swarmed at the heather, all this years Qs. A significant amount of the spring OSR crystallized in the frames and is now being feed back to the bees, a bit of the summer and heather honey is uncapped and is also going back to the bees. 3 of the colonies were set up for sections and that does lower the yield a bit, also Qs going upstairs was a bit of a spoiler. I made the colonies too strong for the summer/heather with my uniting, coupled with good weather then it might have helped if I gave more space. Overall - I am happy with that yield (and the quality of the honey, apart form the bog standard OSR), some good lessons learned but have ended up with more colonies than I really wanted. For those, especially the commercial beekeepers, who can get yields way above mine - respect.
Two weeks after catching them still waiting on 1 of the heather swarm Qs to start laying - if she is there and well mated I want her cause she is from a good line. The colony is behaving well and there is lovely cleaned out patch just waiting for brood.
Main lesson this year - new Qs can swarm if you put enough pressure on them.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CkbKExPgPi8&sns=em
Stay with this to 30 sec in. Reminded me of an afternoon in my apiary.
Another wonderful story..... not. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencete...esticides.html
PH
quote from dailymail:
Dave Goulson, Professor of Biology at the University of Sussex, said: ‘Beyond doubt ... anyone regularly eating honey is likely to be getting a small dose of mixed neurotoxin
Bloody hell - I eat at least over a 1 lbs per week for years in tea, cereal, toast and straight off the spoon, my nervous system must be shattered to pieces. Or maybe its that I am walking proof that we dont have a Neonicotinoid problem in Northern Ireland. There is very little rape sown here, dont know what other seeds might be coated with neo's - it would be interesting to know. We could be the only part of the UK that is free of this wonder drug
That statement is sweeping and misleading.. If you live in an area where there is no arable farming and associated mass spray to enter the local food chain - spraying/sewing neonics treated seed, then there is no source of neonicotinoids - then the only source surely must be water bourne . And if all your ground water comes from land with the same lack of sewing/spraying, it's going to be pure.
But then he knows that and is just saying it for effect.
(NO arable land here- too hilly and wet clay)
I agree, he's probably right in that detection equipment is so advanced that our many branched hairs electrostatically charged little charges pick up small amounts of absolutely everything in the environment and so no area is safe, especially given the mobile nature of pollen, weather balloons come down with pollen from all over the world attached. It's still a bit of an unhelpful sensationalist comment though.
More ... this was on the BBC site
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-41512791
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