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NEW ZEALAND BEEKEEPER, MARCH 2017
SOUTH CANTERBURY
MID-CANTERBURY PLAINS
January has been a month of very strong winds (gale force at times) and days have frustratingly alternated between very hot then temperature plummeting by half. Consequently, the honey flow initially was very stop and start. The flow has most definitely been in pockets and those in the right pocket, with strong colonies on a good nectar source, have done well. This windy season has not been good for matings. Swarms have been minimal, varroa levels low, and very little (if any) giant willow aphid sighted. Beekeepers in the area have been communicating well regarding AFB incidents and anything else of note. As I write on Waitangi Day, the occasional bee is starting to hang about if the shed door is open. Hopefully February will bring settled weather for matings.
Looking back over the season, early spring began with a dry September, looking like a continuation of the drought conditions experienced last summer. Well, did that ever change. October was the beginning of very unsettled weather, albeit with welcome rain. What followed was a great boost to grass growth: even growth in the trees was noticeable. This weather, unfortunately, brought very difficult early queen-mating conditions, with up to three attempts in some cases. Queen quality was down with many drone layers resulting, but the situation improved later in spring. In early December, apart from crops sowed for seed production, there was not much evidence of pasture clover. As silage was made and grass paddocks were cut for hay, a good flowering of clover was expected but didn’t really eventuate. My garden hive that usually does well on the edge of town hardly got a box. The peak of the honey flow happened in mid-January, mostly from seed production crops. Radish had yielded well, and hives did reasonably well from this source. South Canterbury experienced a day of heavy drizzle with a good shower of rain overnight on 7 February. This moisture should keep pasture clover flowering and hopefully allow the honey flow to continue. We have had some heat now with days around 30°C. Bees are now robbing.
NEXT CANTERBURY HUB MEETING ApiNZ’s Canterbury Hub is running a seminar day on Sunday 7 May, Club House, Geraldine Golf Course. Keep an eye out for more detail in the April 2017 edition of The New Zealand BeeKeeper.
- Maggie James, Hub Secretary
- Noel Trezise, Geraldine
A bee collecting nectar from Dutch clover (Trifolium repens). Photo: Frank Lindsay.
WEST COAST
All round it has been a challenging season for the bees, as the opportunities for them to forage have been restricted to limited fine spells. However, we continue to remain optimistic that sunshine and warmth must be coming soon. If it gets here quickly, we could be lucky enough to get a squirt of pasture honey to pack around the brood nest for winter stores. Unfortunately, conditions have not favoured any potential for a rata crop to speak of on the coast. Queen performance is winding down now that the native flowers have predominantly shut up shop for another year. As they begin to condense their brood nest we are reminded to keep an eye out for signs of varroa, particularly at sites in the more populated areas. Pollen reserves have also taken a dive because of the fickle weather. If conditions don’t improve soon, the option of feeding supplements may have to be considered to ensure our bees are nutritionally satisfied, and capable of enduring the tough times ahead ... that goes for the beekeepers too!
- Carla Glass
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