October 2011 - Amazing Bees - Beekeepers from Melbourne Australia

Feature of the month

Sharing some of our joys, highlights and worries of beekeeping ...

October 2011 - Rain and moderate temperatures make Bees healthy and happy.

Despite the wintery temperatures, interrupted by bursts of a few warm days, our flora is producing pollen and nectar and the bees are out to get it when it's not too cold. The cool weather does not stop the bees! However, cool temperatures and rain are preventing beekeepers to open the hives for maintenance and beekeeper activities are concentrated on the few warm days we have had in October.

As we have had sufficient rain over the last two years or so our environmental conditions have much improved, plants have recovered from years of drought and are growing and flowering like they haven't for years - all this has a positive impact on our bees: not only do they produce steady amounts of honey, but the improved nutritional value of the vast variety of different pollen has also made them much healthier than they were last season. Symptoms of Nosema as we could see them last season seem to have all vanished - overall the bees seem to be a lot happier than last year.