Who'd have thought it. With plenty of rain this spring we thought this would be a great honey-producing season. But something went wrong and many local beekeepers got little or no honey at all. That's us. Every time we checked to see if we had frames of 90% capped honey -- no dice! We blamed the poor bees, but since many beekeepers are in the same boat, it had to be something else.
We should have guessed that bees coming to the hummingbird feeder was a sign there wasn't enough nectar out there for gathering. Why would a sensible bee choose weak sugar water over the sweetness from clover or other wildflowers?
At any rate, our three hives thrived in terms of producing bees, but were non-starters in the honey production department. We had NO frames for the honey harvest and now are feeding the bees to make sure they have enough to eat in the coming fall and winter. That's important since they don't have the stores necessary to get them through.
Oh well, maybe next season will be better.
In the meantime, here's the
Beekeepers' Lament.
