Hi Friend,

If you’ve been watching your bees struggle in this crazy weather — you’re not alone.

Many South African beekeepers are facing the same challenges:

• Weeks of rain that keep bees from foraging.

• Rain washes away all of the nectar and pollen on the flowers.

• Heatwaves that dry up nectar and leave flowers wilted and failed.

• Colonies becoming weak and hungry, right when they should be producing honey.

But here’s the good news: you can still help your bees thrive — with the right strategies and tools.

👉 Here are 5 quick ways to protect your bees during challenging weather:

1. Supplement their food: Feeders with sugar syrup or pollen patties can save colonies when flowers fail and there's extended rainy periods.

2. Provide shade and airflow: Stop heat from overwhelming your hives.

3. Set up water stations as shared in our previous newsletters!

4. Check in regularly: Spot problems early to prevent colony losses

5. Relocate your colonies to areas with less rain and available food not impacted as much by adverse weather conditions. 

👍 Don't over supplement; when nectar does come in from the field it will be stored and       mixed with any sugar water provided as well creating a fake honey containing sugar syrup. 

👌When you're feeding sugar syrup, consider removing any super chamber while the bees recover and revive from a dearth period due to rainfall and or heatwave. Then, replace the super chamber once you have stopped feeding sugar water.