Summer
Summer is the most rewarding time of year for bees - and beekeepers! After all our careful Spring hive preparations, early summer is when we add honey boxes (known as supers) to our hives. The bees are now in full swing, busy collecting nectar and pollinating our pastures.
Here in New Zealand, White Clover begins flowering from early December through to early January, and the length of the flowering season depends on temperature and rainfall. These conditions directly influence the flavour and yield of our Clover Honey, making each harvest unique.
Hive Management During Summer
Throughout summer, we continue to monitor hive space as populations expand rapidly. Swarming remains a risk, and we may still split hives into late summer - and occasionally even autumn when the conditions are right.
We also keep a close eye on Varroa Mite levels, using organic Varroa treatments if required in Summer to ensure our bees remain healthy and productive well into early Autumn. Varroa mite levels getting too high during the honey flow can be detrimental to a colony and hard to come back from before the cooler months.
Every couple of weeks, and sometimes weekly during the main honey flow (typically late December to late January) we check that hives have enough room to store honey. When producing comb honey, we harvest it as soon as it’s capped to maintain its pure, delicate texture and flavour. Some of our strongest hives can fill up to five supers of honey in just a few weeks- amazing to watch!
Harvesting Honey
At the end of summer, we carry out a full hive inspection, just as we do in early Spring. If the colony is healthy and has surplus honey, we use escape boards - one-way exits placed below the honey supers. These allow bees to leave the supers gently, so we can harvest full boxes of honey with minimal disruption.
We always leave plenty of honey behind to ensure our bees have enough food for winter. After all, the honey they collect is for them first!
Late summer is also an excellent time to re-queen weaker hives. Any colonies that haven’t performed well are carefully reviewed to make sure their queen bee is healthy and productive – this is a vital step for successful overwintering and strong spring build-up the next season.