Being spring, your bees are expecting blossoms, sunshine and lekker warm weather to build their brood out to take advantage of the seasonal flow of nectar and pollen from surrounding flowers. NOT SNOW!
Why does this matter? Read on below.
Take the snow fall on Table Mountain last week... last happening in 2020, it marks an unusual end to the winter in South Africa. Potentially, an unusual blow to spring flowers for bees too!
Winter Closes With A Final Plot Twist
Doing bees for 20 years provides some perspective for the long term.
Traditionally, August marks the point at which our honeybees begin the process of splitting and swarming in the wild... Especially if they have access to the Aloe Davyana flowering areas in the Highveld area for Scutellata where I have developed my experience.
For Cold and Wet Spring Seasons
Efficiently manage your time and resources when you start and develop your beekeeping hobby and business by building your plant knowledge.
Optimise For Cold Temperatures: Place your hives above low-lying valleys or troughs at your apiary sites. Choose sites that are less exposed / not exposed to high winds on top of hills and cold low-lying valleys that take a long time to warm up or keep warmer in cold fronts. Ideal placement is mid-elevation with direct or semi-direct sunshine during the daytime.
Grow Your Skills to Identify Flora: Whether you are in the Western Cape, KZN or Highveld/Transvaal areas the best plants for your bees differ but many can also be common.
A specialist list of regional plants exist within floral zones of South Africa where Capensis and Scutellata developed for millennia to take advantage of regarding indigenous flowering times that provide specialist food flows. Learn these wherever you live and keep your bees.
Weather and local climate plays a major role on whether your bees can get a boost from the local flowers providing food for them or whether they totally miss them completely even if the flowers do bloom.
If a cold front comes along that destroys the flowers directly and or prevents the honeybees from gathering the provisions of such pollen or nectar due to it being below 9 degrees Celsius when bees cannot fly - you MAY want to take action to support the bees at this time by
moving them,
feeding them temporarily and or
finding the next available flora on the calendar
Success Stories from Fellow Beekeepers
Learn from others who have walked the path you're dream about and may want to journey on. Hear how they overcame challenges and built thriving beekeeping businesses. Start With Our World Bee Day Interviews
Key Takeaways
1. With fluctuating and mixed weather patterns - such as late snow fall, scattered rainfall that washes nectar and pollen away consistently and unexpected cold fronts - on a regular basis during these expected high value flowering periods your bees can suffer and likely abscond!
Learn colony management techniques that result in honey production and survival.
Understand the power of good planning and hive placement to access food sources for your bees.
2. Site Management: Plan to move your bees.
If circumstances require it, be prepared to relocate your colonies for a short period or for a flowering period to a warmer and more suitable site location.
ALWAYS be prepared to support your colonies with extra super chambers, ventilated floor boards or cut outs and usable frames to ensure you and your bees have a great season and all concerned can bee their best!
