The End of Summer

This last Summer has been terrible for our bees. Our whole country has experienced severe weather conditions with heavy rain, flooding, high winds and low sunlight hours compared to an average kiwi Summer.

We rely pretty heavily on getting a few weeks of fine conditions for a good production, and we just haven’t been that lucky. So, how does the weather directly affect the bees?

 Firstly, bees aren’t friends with rain drops.

A light drizzle or mist is OK short term, for a quick flight back to the hive or short forage, but larger drops accumulate on a bees’ fluffy body. The water weighs them down, and they either fatigue quickly under the weight or simply drop from the sky and quickly chill. Heavy rain will knock them straight down with no chance of getting home.

Secondly, the manuka flower is only in bloom for a few weeks at time, and we’ve only had a few sunny days this season for our bees to get it. The rain will also wash the flowers of nectar and pollen. The trees will take a few days to replace what has been washed out, so while the sun may be shining, the nectar won’t be immediately available to our foraging honey bees.

 On a more positive note, wind isn’t too bad. A German study has shown honeybees will maintain velocity in moderate winds and alter their flight patterns instead of slowing down. If they’re well equipped in their hive, however, they will choose to stay inside until the wind dies away. You can read more about the study here – New Journal Of Physics – Bees in Wind

 Overall, honey this season has been tough. We’re lucky we have a dedicated team who work rain or shine, and who care about the well-being of our hives. We’ve had some real challenges in the wet, and you can check out some of the weather battles on our Instagram – @mandhnewzealand or on Tiktok – MandHNewZealand 

Learn more about the M&H story.