Its all a bit horrible

So far it has been a really bad year, like really, really bad.
More information about the Associations members' loses have been put together and things have been grim. It seems the colony losses have been about 40%, some people have been wiped out and I know a local beek who lost all his five hives.
The Association have started to produce nuc hives [mini bee hives] at a very reasonable price for people who have suffered.
Its not just that bees have died during the winter what is also happening is beeks are having queen failures where she has survived the winter yet died in the Spring. I have lost two like this.
The bad weather has set the colonies back and there is a shortage of honey. Normally I would have done an extraction by now but its not been worth it - the first time this has ever happened to me.
This has meant I didn't do Bromham market in June and won't do July, I've just said I can't go to Potton this month, didn't do the Beds Young Farmers Rally and won't do Open Farm Sunday.
A very experienced beek whom lives near me produces on a commercial basis and until very recently had no honey at all.
In a way I have contributed to the lack of 'retail' honey by putting second brood boxes on most of the colonies which has meant they have had to fill the empty box before they make honey for the markets.

Recently the weather has got better so hopefully the situation will improve although the Oil Seed Rape has finished.

Swarms

As I said in a recent blog I'm a Swarm Collector for the Association but with the weather being so bad, everything has been put back.
The first swarm came when I lost my phone so wasn't able to contact the person until a few days after she had phoned. As is often the case the swarm had left.
Then in the space of two days I was asked to two swarms that were at the extreme opposite ends of the spectrum - a blog about this will follow.

Top Bar Hive

As the reader of this blog will know I made a Top Bar Hive last year that has remained empty - a blog about it is here.
I was expecting the bees for it at the beginning of may but recently realised I had heard nothing.
When I contacted the firm they said they were 5/6 weeks behind because of the weather.
They are arriving in a couple of weeks and I will do a blog about this.