BAD SEASON AFFECTS BEES

Chronicle (Levin), 26 November 1946, Page 3

BAD SEASON AFFECTS BEES

! The serious cffcet that tlie unfavourable spring woatlier had hau on apiaries in ihe 4V(iI]ington province has •been stressed by those conneeted with :the bee-keeping indwsti'y. This last spring, it was said, had been thefl worst for several vears. Jt had iniposed eonsiderable hardship on the bees, aird may have an effeet on Ihe houey vield next : i.-iorith. During the niild winter the bees in the liivos began to build u]> strongiv, lmt with the iidvent of spring i-anie a period of c-old, wet weather lasting through Hepteinber, Oetober, and most of November, which prevented tlieni from leaving their hives in seareh of food, and forced them elose to starvation. Kven in areas elose to native , btis'li, bee-colonies were found to be nearly starving. So serious had this become that the niajoritv of bee-keep-l ers had , beeii obliged to artilicially feed tlieir' t)b'es''t() ' lu'ep Yfi'ent ' alive?" 1 Another serious aspect of the bad weather conditions had been their j effeet upon brood-rearing. Not on ly had tlie bees Iteen unable to get food, ! but they had also been prevented from gatheriag pollen, and this had greatly influeneed this most vital aetivity in the hives. Another factor that had inMuenced brood-rearing was the fact! that the cuhl temperatures during tlii.s month had kopt many qaeen-bees from carrying out this important function. with tlie result that hundreds of

colonieS were now below strength. •Should the maia hohey-yield occur at the usuai time, in mid-ilecembei:, tliis decrease in the hive population would considerablv dimini.sli it. Tllere was ; alvvays the hope, howover, that the vield would be late. as it was last seasoii, in which case the prospects for an uverage honey-crop still lield good. This would depend, of course, on the weather remaining i'avourable as it was at prcsent.