THIS summer?s wet weather has affected honey supplies, a meeting in South Zeal was told earlier this month. Okehampton branch of the Devon Beekeepers met at Clifford White?s apiary at South Zeal on Sunday September 16. The cancellation of Okehampton Show in August meant members had not met since July and were keen to discuss relative experiences with the season?s honey crop. A spokesman for the club said: ?Most reported an at best patchy honey harvest. The wet June and early July put a damper on the bees benefiting from flowering clover so yields have been low with several members? colonies requiring supplementary feeding to help stocks prepare for the winter.? The meeting was well attended by some 15 to 20 branch members. The weather was kind, allowing the hives to be opened without unduly distressing the bees. During the meeting there was an inspection of Clifford?s four hives. These had all been empty at the start of the season but had collected swarms in June. Colony inspections were performed by show secretary Malcolm Craig, and Will Pyne. All colonies were shown to contain young brood indicating the reassuring presence of a laying queen in each hive. One hive, which had not been fully filled with frames, contained significant areas of honeycomb which the bees had built in the vacant spaces in the hive. Malcolm removed this to allow replacement with frames of foundation. Demonstrations included discussion, questions and exchange of ideas. Each colony was fed with a gallon of sugar syrup and treated with Apiguard (anti Varroa treatment) before closing up the hive. Clifford showed photographs of swarms and swarm collection around the farm. This September meeting concludes the summer programme. The next meeting is on Tuesday October 9 at Shelley Methodist Hall, South Zeal, at 7.30pm. It will be an open session entitled ?Question time and a review of the past season?.
