A surprising gift…

The end of our beekeeping season is right around the corner as we harvest honey in early August. Right now, the bees have amassed a surprising amount of honey this year. Why surprising?

The rain! Heavy rainfall washes away nectar and pollen, and it takes the flowers a bit of time to regenerate. When the bees are stuck inside due to rain, they get a little testy. These industrious  worker bees don’t like being idle.   

We’ve been fortunate in East Troy to have been receiving rain at the “right” intervals – rain every 3-4 days. It’s terrible for the hay farmers (sorry!), but great for the blooms. 

Because of all the rain, we’ve had a robust bloom of flowers. Our bees have taken advantage of all that nectar, turning it into delicious honey, and pollen, which they use as their protein food source. 

Each flower has a different make-up of nectar and pollen, and the bees democratically decide which blooms to visit. If more honey is needed, they prefer to visit the blooms with the highest sugar content and lowest water content. If more protein is needed to feed a growing nest of young bees, flowers with more pollen are preferred. 

Diversity is the name of the game as the bees know different flowers have different nutrients in their nectar and pollen. A single type of flower, while it may be high in one nutrient, is deficient in another. Just as oranges are good for you, but your health would suffer if your diet consisted of only oranges, the bees know they need nutrients from a wide range of flowers.

We know we cannot control Mother Nature and have learned to appreciate the ups and downs of the weather. Right now, we appreciate all the rain at the “right” intervals! 

As we head into what is looking like a hotter and drier second half of summer, we’re conscious to leave the bees plenty of their own honey knowing that the nectar in August is typically less plentiful. 

As always, let’s raise a glass and cheers to the bees this weekend!