Starvation allert nbu

[For want of a better word]

Honey Bee Colony Starvation Alert
[email protected]
Wed 12/06/2019 15:36



Dear Mr Brilliant Beekeeper


Due to the recent wet and cold weather beekeepers may wish to monitor their colony food levels closely, particularly in any splits, nucleus colonies or colonies where the entire spring honey crop was removed. In some areas of the UK, our Inspectors are concerned at finding colonies that are starving. Feed can be prepared from refined white sugar and water mixed at a 2:1 ratio or one of the proprietary ready mixed syrups available from beekeeping equipment suppliers.

More information about mixing up sugar can be found in the Best Practice Guidelines no. 7 found on BeeBase.

With dryer and warmer weather however, the blackberry, lime and clover may soon be in flower and colonies should start to bring in an excess crop, so it is also important not to feed unnecessarily and risk adulterating honey with sugar syrup

2:1 2 kilo of sugar to one liter of fresh water..... We use 1:1... more like nectar!

 

[BMH]

I've been round all colonies today.

Lost 1 colony and a handful of nucs.

Over 90% needed feeding. Most were desperate and wouldn't have lasted until the weekend.

Each got 4-5 litres of syrup.

Let's hope the weather picks up soon.

Sent from my SM-G975F using Tapatalk

 

[Millet]

I got the same email but i have little chance of a colony starving..all eight are choker with stores..even the smaller virgin Queen colonies have more than enough reserves to last them a good while yet.

 

[BMH]

I got the same email but i have little chance of a colony starving..all eight are choker with stores..even the smaller virgin Queen colonies have more than enough reserves to last them a good while yet.

I thought that!

Sent from my SM-G975F using Tapatalk

 

[Millet]

I thought that!

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I know that..

 

[Newbeeneil]

I've been round all colonies today.

Lost 1 colony and a handful of nucs.

Over 90% needed feeding. Most were desperate and wouldn't have lasted until the weekend.

Each got 4-5 litres of syrup.

Let's hope the weather picks up soon.

Sent from my SM-G975F using Tapatalk

I too lost a nuc, I'd been aboard for 3 days and didn't appreciate how bad the weather was here. 5 frame nuc solid with brood but unfortunately no food. It's so sad to see a inch deep pile of bees on the floor of a nuc.
Feeling gutted

 

[Finman]

.
Logic in 2:1 feeding is, that bees need stores, not to encourage brooding.

2:1 does not need to dry up vain water like in 1:1.

.

 

[eltalia]

Soooo...wholly a management issue and clearly widespread where
generic mailouts are seen as necessary?

Bill

 

[Ian123]

Nothing wrong with generic mails if they are in some instances correct. Add to that a large percentage of U.K. beeks are relatively new with little experience and I would say they are doing what there paid to do. I noticed a load of nucs I had moved up into hives last week had got light, previously full combs empty and got some feed on fast.

 

[Finman]

.
Swarms have special situation. They leave the hive with 3 days food. They start to draw combs and they do not have old stores.

 

[The Poot in Somerset]

I'm now glad I didn't find the time to remove my full supers - all still on the hives. Have fed nucs but will keep a closer eye on them until the weather gets better.

 

[thibault]

Hives on double brood boxes, so plenty of honey in there, spring crop extracted a while ago. All nucs combined with main colonies, getting ready for the main flow.(if weather improve)

Sent from my SM-J710F using Tapatalk

 

[eltalia]

Nothing wrong with generic mails if they are in some instances correct. Add to that a large percentage of U.K. beeks are relatively new with little experience and I would say they are doing what there paid to do.

Do we (royal) then take from those factors taking off "Spring" stores in toto
is widely accepted as good practice and so passed on as such to new
players?
Or is it simply the case this mail is alerting _all_ of imminent severe dearth?

Bill

 

[SDM]

Do we (royal) then take from those factors taking off "Spring" stores in toto
is widely accepted as good practice and so passed on as such to new
players?
Or is it simply the case this mail is alerting _all_ of imminent severe dearth?

Bill

Its widely accepted that "if" taking off spring stores then care must be given to colony state in the coming weeks.
The current situation here is not one many will have encountered nor is it in any way typical. .
I certainly haven't seen it's like. At worst the "June gap" whether it came in May or June has been a 7-10 day lull in the nectar flow, not the now month long total absence of nectar, compounded by roughly 75% confinement through wind and rain with temps consistently 3 or 4 degrees below average .
A spring harvest is by no means a given in many parts of the UK , but 3 or 4 weeks ago a well above average harvest was available to many and it was ( it appeared) quite reasonable to assume it could be taken in its entirety given the proximity of the next flows.
I'm told inspectors are also seeing unprecedented levels of CBPV caused by the confinement of large colonies.
Not a great situation all round really.

 

[eltalia]

Its widely accepted that "if" taking off spring stores then care must be given to colony state in the coming weeks.
The current situation here is not one many will have encountered nor is it in any way typical. .
I certainly haven't seen it's like. At worst the "June gap" whether it came in May or June has been a 7-10 day lull in the nectar flow, not the now month long total absence of nectar, compounded by roughly 75% confinement through wind and rain with temps consistently 3 or 4 degrees below average .
A spring harvest is by no means a given in many parts of the UK , but 3 or 4 weeks ago a well above average harvest was available to many and it was ( it appeared) quite reasonable to assume it could be taken in its entirety given the proximity of the next flows.
I'm told inspectors are also seeing unprecedented levels of CBPV caused by the confinement of large colonies.
Not a great situation all round really.

Sooo... it is diligent warning of imminent dearth?
Thanks for the effort in laying out what is known, I presume for the benefit of those
not aware of 'usual' conditions.

Bill

 

[SDM]

Sooo... it is diligent warning of imminent dearth?
Thanks for the effort in laying out what is known, I presume for the benefit of those
not aware of 'usual' conditions.

Bill

Imminent dearth ?
No , it's notice of what inspectors are finding around the country as a result of an on going dearth.
We don't get the fairly reliable weather patterns experienced by those on large land masses.
Rarely are two years remotely similar, that said I don't recall a period like this in the last 12 years, 3 months rain in a week and 3 weeks of wind and rain before that.
Diligent it is for sure since the vast majority of the nation's beekeepers will have never encountered a need for feeding "in season".
You'd have to ask someone doing this longer than me when the last spell this poor was.

 

[For want of a better word]

In the Greatgreygreengreasytamarrivervalleyallsetaboutwithtwohiveowners.......

Brambles out in full bloom!!!

Native Cornish Black bees piling in the nectar and pollen.... even in this persistent drizzell!

Yeghes da

 

[birdsandbees]

Must admit I am concerned about the welfare of some recently collected swarms, some were hived just before the deluge and not fed as 1. the weather was okay 2. I generally don't feed swarms for at least a week after hiving them.

I had planned on whizzing out and banging on some feed but with other things going on I haven't been able.
I'm not concerned about splits and Hives, they have reserves and splits if anything had started becoming honey bound, I did split one last weekend but added a full frame of honey into a what wasn't a large split anyway.

time will tell I guess, it's frustrating when there's all that forage out there at the moment, blackberries really opening up around here now, shame they're dripping wet!

 

[madasafish]

Must admit I am concerned about the welfare of some recently collected swarms, some were hived just before the deluge and not fed as 1. the weather was okay 2. I generally don't feed swarms for at least a week after hiving them.
!

I fed all mine after 2 days.. They were starving..

(Fondant added when raining.. which is virtually every day for 2 weeks bar three days)

 

[SDM]

In the Greatgreygreengreasytamarrivervalleyallsetaboutwithtwohiveowners.......

Brambles out in full bloom!!!

Native Cornish Black bees piling in the nectar and pollen.... even in this persistent drizzell!

Yeghes da

You call 3 months rain in a week drizzle ?