Summer Hive Update
We are so happy to be able to share this update with you all - Spring has been a really busy time for us and the bees as we have been really lucky to see the colonies grow really well and much quicker than last year. I’d also like to say a huge special thanks to everyone who has supported us by adopting a bee or sponsoring one of our hives this year. This really does make it possible for us to take such great care of our colonies and give them the care they need throughout the year…read on to see how they are doing!
A busy Spring
As the colony was expanding so quickly earlier this year, we gave them an extra box for their brood to make sure they had plenty of space, which they also filled in no time at all! This means they spent a little longer growing their colony this year, but doing this kept them happy & comfortable and lowered our chances of them swarming to find a home with more space. We were extremely excited that we did still manage to get a small harvest of beautiful light, sweet honey from them at the start of summer too, which was delicious!
Early Summer Foraging
Since they’ve finished growing their colony now, for the past few weeks the entrances to the hives have been extremely busy with bees coming and going with colourful pollen and nectar. During this time, while it’s peak foraging season for the bees, our main job is to check them regularly and make sure they still have enough space to store everything they are bringing in and to make and store the all-important honey that will feed them through the Winter.
We’ve also reduced the size of the entrance to the hives to help them defend themselves from greedy wasps who are trying to steal the honey! A couple of wasps can wipe out a small or weak colony, so summer can be a worrying time for beekeepers!
Surviving the heat
As it’s been so hot and dry recently we’ve started to see the plants, flowers and local water sources dry up which means less to forage for our little workers. We’ve been busy topping up water sources for them and watering the flowers around the hives to prolong their supply for as long as possible, but they will forage further afield too, and it is moving towards the end of the season. This means we will start to see less activity in the hives and honey production will start to slow down for the year.
What happens now?
It can’t stay this hot forever…I hope?! As the weather changes over the next few weeks we’ll post an update to let you know how the hives are preparing for the Winter season. We’ll also know by then how much honey we have available, as any extra honey they don’t need can be harvested and sold to those interested in our delicious, Summer honey.
If that’s you, or you’re curious to learn more about our project covering other topics like hydroponics, sustainability and sprouted seeds, sign up for our email updates at the bottom of this page (we' promise not to spam you!). The honey will be available as a very limited batch, so you can also join our honey waitlist to be the first to find out as soon as it’s in stock, so you can get yours before they are all gone!
