Without a doubt, I think everyone would say it’s been an interesting year, and honey bees are no exception. We had a moderately warm winter, which caused honey bees to be more active and consume more stores. This left many running on empty in March. Our spring has been somewhat cool with plenty of rain. While rain is an essential component for nectar, it also prevents honey bees from foraging on rainy days. Too many rainy days can also cause health issues for honey bees as well. Best I can tell, my hives have been able to cope well, but the traditional spring build-up of honey bees has been slow, as has been the collection of nectar. I’m still hopeful for a June harvest, but time will tell.
April 2019
It’s been a hard winter here in Central Illinois! The bees have definitely felt the grip of the -40 degree wind chill this last season! A number of the hives just didn’t have enough bees to make it through. However, more are on the way thanks to prodigious queens and southern beekeepers!
May 2018
As of now, Walnut Creek Apiaries has no honey from the 2017 season and is eagerly awaiting the first harvest of the 2018 season. The colder than usual spring has certainly kept the bees from producing, but they appear to be making up for lost time. The apiary can barely be entered on a 80 degree day without expecting to be hit by a foraging bee leaving or returning the hive. Some frames are beginning to be finished by the bees and are starting to be capped. It would also appear that “white wax” has also started to flow in the hives as well.