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Our bees are preparing for the colder months ahead

Our resident Bee Green blogger Barry has been busy with the bees….

bee green and environmental work at our artisan gluten free bakery

Summer 2019 might be holiday season for the human inhabitants of Naish Farm, but our bees are already preparing for the winter months ahead.

environmental work at Honeybuns gluten free bakery including bee keeping

August can be a challenge for honey bees. In August our native wasps and hornets are gaining numbers to attack honey bee hives. These predators are after the bee larvae to feed to their own young.

Bee keepers can help the colony defend itself by reducing the size of the hive entrance. 

bee keeping and environmental conservation of our gluten free commercial bakeryWasp distractions with a spoon full of jam can also be used. The Asian hornet is a new threat to our counties Bees. It is smaller than the European hornet so it can squeeze into a hive to feed on its inhabitants. The Asian Hornet hasn’t reached Dorset yet, but it may be a threat in the near future. Bee hives can also be raided by other bee colonies. Little airborne pirates on missions to steal another hives honey stores. August can be perilous for our five hives!

This month brings changes to the colony. The number of workers drops as the flowers available to forage slowly dwindles. Bee larvae need pollen to eat. As summer slides into Autumn, pollen is scarce for the workers to bring back to the hungry brood. The hives store of honey is getting furiously filled up for the winter months. It can be possible for bee keepers to harvest some honey in August, if the nectar foraging has been bountiful for the bees. We are all hopeful here at Honeybuns that Jacqui and Colin will be successful.

Find out more about our bees and Bee Green endeavours here at Honeybuns.