Disappointing honey yield this year

[thomashton]

I just extracted this weekend. It was late of course, but it was when I had the time. Some of my dismal results were from crystalized honey in the comb being of no use, the queen using a more expanded brood chamber than in the past (easily 4 mediums and sometimes 5), and drought conditions over the summer.

Out of three hives (two overwintered from last year and a new package this year) I only got 33 pounds extracted and 30 pounds in comb (4 oz portions). Last year with only two hives I got about twice that and both started as packages last year. Funny how things change from year to year.

I spoke with a neighbor who is a commercial beekeeper and she said that this year in two of her sites where she would normall get more than 60 barrels, she got 11. I guess that made me feel better and lucky that I got anything at all.

How has everyone else done this year?

[Kathyp]

zip for me.  i am feeding just so they have what they need for winter.  4 hives.

[Understudy]

I did 5 gallons out of one hive alone. It has been a good but not a great year for me. I still have a hive I need to pull from. I blame most of my issues on traveling during the peak.


Sincerely,
Brendhan

[mat]

I am having great flow over the last week. TEN pounds of nectar a day. I just checked my hives. Looks I will get a deep of honey from three hives, and I may not need to feed them. Most probably it is from knotweed. Is anybody in Mass experiencing the same?

[fcderosa]

I harvested three times.  A good year here in Kentucky.  :-D  Last year we had a dearth, I ended up feeding them.

[thomashton]

I did 5 gallons out of one hive alone. It has been a good but not a great year for me. I still have a hive I need to pull from. I blame most of my issues on traveling during the peak.


Sincerely,
Brendhan

I understand what you're talking about. I did so much travelling this summer that no doubt some of my inattention to them caused my disappoint now. It's tough when you have such a demanding field season (I'm a wildlife biologist), during the summer when all your projects and animals need attention at home.

I'd also say that I HATE extracting so much that I leave it until the very end of the season as late as I possibly can to eak out any last bit of fall flow and only do it once per year. When you get 8 mediums up and it is even hard for me at 6'6" to pull the top one, you know I should take something from the lesson and change the ways I manage the beeyard.

[Kirk-o]

Yeah Bummer here in L A also but the guy on the Board here from Orem Utah got 120 lbs of his first year hive.Its all about rain man all about the rain
kirko

[fishawk]

I checked the three hives in the back yard today . There history no queen or any sign of eggs or capped brood and no honey . Then went over to help a friend with his bees his were in the same condition . Three weeks or so the queen was there .  Oh well . Start over again next year

[sonnybee]

Hi, I averaged 70 lbs per hive for the three hives that I harvested from. I have two hives at another location that just made enough for winter. This was my first harvest.

[TwT]

hot and dry this year, didn't get hardly anything, couldn't fill all my orders, and its still dry here, want rain bad, goldenrod just starting to bloom but leaves on them are wilted so don't expect a fall flow so I got 250 pounds of sugar to start feeding, probably have to get more....... 30 hives eat a lot.

[Cindi]

Holy crapadoodle.  Sounds like things are not good.  Nor are they good here.  We have lots of rain,  probably too much for here right now, bad weather, meaning, no sunshine, no good heat.  The flowers are abounding everywhere, but maybe not too much nectar, really don't know this, how does one measure the nectar flow.

I am feeding my 9 colonies, and have been some off and on for some time.  They are consuming approximately 4 litres per day per colony, along with what nectar they are gaining from the copious flowers that still abound.  I am listening to their needs.  If they are consuming so much 2:1 s.s.,then I will given them what they want, until the 6th of October, then.  Too bad, the inner feeders come out.  They have to deal with what they have been given, and if they derive more from nature, good for them.  October 6 is the date that my first instructor who taught me Level 1 and 2 of Beekeeping taught was the last time that we should feed the bees sugar solution.  This will allow them to process any liquid coming into their hives before the winter cluster cannot work.  I listen to that message.

My colonies visually are still going crazy, in my eyes, it kind of gives mes the willies, that is all that I can describe this feeling as.  So much brood emerging, I am seeing the orientation flights of older bees getting ready to hit the field!!!!! Have a great day, wonderful life.  Cindi

[Michael Bush]

>How has everyone else done this year?

For the second year in a row there has been no fall flow and I'm feeding to keep them from starving.  There is goldenrod and other things blooming, but no nectar.  Last year I blamed it on the drought.  This year there is no drought now, although there was during the summer.  I wonder if a drought during the summer has an affect on the amount of nectar produced by fall flowers?  Anyway they have burned up their stores.  Everyone I've talked to here is in the same boat.  And we still haven't even had a frost.  I never see a fall dearth unless there is a drought or an early freeze.  This year we have neither and we have no nectar.

[Robo]

There is goldenrod and other things blooming, but no nectar.

I am experiencing the same thing.  We had an almost perfect summer with weekly rains and everything was booming.  Even had a bumper crop of bumblebees this year as there was always things in bloom and never long periods of rain.  Golden rod and loosestrife in full bloom, but no nectar.  I occasionally get a wif on it around the hives,  but usually you can smell it 50 feet away.  When I went to harvest honey a few weeks ago,   they had already started uncapping it and eating it.   I estimate about 1/2 my crop was gone from what I had witness earlier in the year.   I'm trying to feed, but the robbing is unbelievable this year.

[Cindi]

Michael and Rob.  That sounds pretty bad.  Never can predict that old Mother Nature, she can do such mean things.  That hits the beekeepers hard eh?  Sugar is expensive too, world wide.  It is a shame.  Maybe next year will be a year of bounty, we can all hope for that.  Still, have a wonderful day, love our life we live.  Cindi

[thomashton]

Yeah Bummer here in L A also but the guy on the Board here from Orem Utah got 120 lbs of his first year hive.Its all about rain man all about the rain
kirko

That's a kick in the teeth. I grew up in Orem, Utah and it is just 2 hours south of where I am. We had a good spring but pretty much from mid June through last week was really hot and dry. At least I got what I got, but they won't be seeing me at the Gardener's Market this fall.

[UtahBees]

Yeah Bummer here in L A also but the guy on the Board here from Orem Utah got 120 lbs of his first year hive.Its all about rain man all about the rain
kirko

That's a kick in the teeth. I grew up in Orem, Utah and it is just 2 hours south of where I am. We had a good spring but pretty much from mid June through last week was really hot and dry. At least I got what I got, but they won't be seeing me at the Gardener's Market this fall.

I would have expected the Logan area to have been great this year. It's so beautiful up there. Here in Orem, things seemed to work out for some reason. The location that we have our bees has lots of water, as the owner used to have a horse (water bucket available) and has chicken, a turkey, and ducks. I pulled 4 medium supers in total from 3 hives. 2 of those from my first-year hive, and one each from the other two (my brother-in-law's hives). I'm hoping that between now and end of Oct, we'll see 80 degree weather again so the girls will have another chance to pull more nectar into the empty-but-built-out super I put back on after extracting the honey last week. We'll see though.

I have an Uncle that owns/partially runs the Nielson Farm up in Brigham City. I was thinking of asking him if I could put a few hives up there next year. They have the best peaches! :-P (me licking my lips) My sister lives in Smithfield.

Regards,

UtahBees

[Dane Bramage]

This was my first year so, no previous with which to compare - but - my best hive yielded ~ 5 supers.  It's the "one perfect hive" as well... perfect comb for extraction = perfect depth for decapping, any uncapped cells were 100% empty.  This was one of four that got a relatively early start (all Kona Queen's).  The other 3 of these yielded ~ 3-4 supers each.  I had one package of Italians started next, yielded 2-3 (I'm still doing my last bits of harvesting this week) and then 5 packages from "Old Sol", 2 of which yielded nothing and the others were 1-2 supers.  They had a late start so, I'm reserving judgment on their performance.

A previous poster made the point about rain being key.  I think that is likely quite true most everywhere.  In my locale, adjacent wetlands, rain isn't much of a factor apparently.  Plenty of blackberry, etc., nectar when those roots reach down to the water source I imagine.  I'm hopeful next year ALL my hives are at 100% strength early for that blackberry flow too... it's the best honey I've every had.

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Cheers,
Dane

[Michael Bush]

My best guess is the erratic weather.  Too warm, too cold, too warm, too cold, too wet, too dry, too hot, too wet...

[UtahBees]

The photos look great Dane. Congratulations on a great flow this year.

We should have a honey-swapping board, where we can try out each other's honey. Dane's bottles look just great, don't they!?

UtahBees

[Dane Bramage]

The photos look great Dane. Congratulations on a great flow this year.

We should have a honey-swapping board, where we can try out each other's honey. Dane's bottles look just great, don't they!?

UtahBees

Thanks UB!  :-D  Honey-swap would be excellent!