Observations and Optimism

So, 2024, what a year, eh?! How to describe it? I don’t think I’m alone in thinking of it as ‘wet’, and figures released by the UK Met Office, and Météo France, would agree. September was the wettest calendar month in Bedfordshire and Oxfordshire since 1836 (1), and in Paris it was the wettest year since 1886 (2). Beekeepers were presented with a set of problems – and blessings – caused by the excessive amount of rain in the first half of the year, and will take this experience into consideration for the future.

The intemperate weather caused issues with colony increase: swarming behaviour was curtailed, queen matings were compromised, and foraging was limited due to a dearth of nectar. All of these facts have meant that in some areas across the country there has been a poor honey harvest and colonies have not achieved the optimum sizes required for successful over-wintering. However, what has been tough on the bees has had a similar effect on their nemesis, the Asian hornet, and so (with a sigh of relief) beekeepers have not had to deal with the usual heavy predation from these invaders. Trapping mated Asian hornet queens in the autumn before they hibernated was therefore of utmost importance, and we now need to be ready to trap any survivors emerging from hibernation as soon as Spring arrives.