Mathieu DOMECQ
Editor-in-chief of the API of the Month and Blog
Beekeeping has had a good spring this year. Now it’s time for summer, with its heat and drought. In July, it will be time to finish off the final harvests before the major honey flows, such as sunflowers and lavender.
This month, we’ll be looking at the disparity in strength between colonies, seeking to understand why some hives display remarkable vigour whilst others stagnate, deprived of precious foragers during key nectar flows such as the chestnut bloom. We’ll also look at the best practices for protecting your hives from the scorching sun – an essential strategy to prevent the bees from exhausting themselves fanning the hive rather than storing honey.
Did you know? A hive is capable of drinking up to 27 liters of water
over a season!
Tasks of the month
July is the month of the beekeeper’s final major honey flows. The bustle of spring gives way to the sweltering heat of summer. From chestnut forests to sunflower fields and lavender plains, the season’s last major sources of nectar are being tapped.
The supers are filling with honey. This is the moment of truth for the beekeeper. Here are the main tasks to be carried out at the apiary this month:
Starting the summer harvests: The flowering seasons for brambles, lime trees and chestnut trees are drawing to a close in many regions. It is time to harvest these single-flower honeys before other, later flowering seasons (such as sunflowers) mix in with them. Ensure that the honey is more than 80 per cent capped to guarantee a low moisture content (ideally below 18 per cent).
Monitor for blocked brood chambers: If you are in an area with extensive sunflower or lavender cultivation, the supers must be ready. However, the nectar flow is sometimes so intense that the bees store the honey directly in the main hive body, blocking the queen’s brood chamber. Ensure the queen always has space to lay eggs for the future winter bees.
Protect against heatwaves: Heat is the main enemy. A hive can quickly overheat, causing the bees to fan rather than forage. Ensure that the hives are slightly shaded during the hottest part of the day and, above all, keep a water feeder with fresh, clean water in the immediate vicinity of the apiary.
The honey flowers of the month
chestnut (nectar), clover (nectar), sunflower (nectar and pollen), lavender (nectar)…
