Diary of a beekeeper - bees and the cold weather

Alison Benjamin

01 May 2013

Great news that the European Commission has voted for a two-year ban on three pesticides that have been linked to bee deaths. But down at the hives we're currently more concerned with our bees and the cold weather.

Late springs are not unusual, but 2013 has been exceptional because of the unremitting cold.

We have been feeding our bees fondant in the hope that this nectar substitute would see them through the prolonged chilly spell until warmer weather arrived. 

Bees can deal with the cold by staying in the hive and eating honey, or fondant the beekeepers give them, but the problem is they can't go out to collect pollen to feed their bee larvae.

So, if there's no baby food coming in, the queen doesn't produce any babies as they will go hungry. Subsequently all of our bee colonies are worryingly small this spring.

Now it's May, with the cherry blossom out, and forget-me-nots and dandelions running riot, the bees should be having a feast, if only that Arctic wind would drop and it was warm enough for them to fly more.

Some of my fellow beekeepers are reporting losses of up to 30 per cent because of the very late, cold spring. The only silver lining is that smaller bee colonies with less bee larvae means less varroa - the parasite which feeds on the larvae, weakens it and spreads lethal viruses around the hive.

What beekeepers are all hoping for is warmer weather so the bees can get out and pollinate the flowers, and in the process collect the pollen they need to feed the babies.

In the meantime, we are planting bee-friendly flowers in the garden - not just for honeybees, but for the bumblebees and solitary bees that will also have been finding this cold spring very tough indeed.

Alison Benjamin is the co-author of Bees in the City: the urban beekeepers' handbook and co-founder of Urban Bees.

Find out how you can help bees with our Bee Saver Kit.