BUSY BEES FAIL.

Taranaki Central Press, Volume IV, Issue 335, 16 January 1937, Page 4

BUSY BEES FAIL.

SLUMP IN HIVE-LAND

Lack Of Nectar Means Disaster To Apiarists.

The 1936-37 honey season is a complete and apiarists are faced with d toaster, To a Stratford bee-farmer, who mentioned the matter to a "Central Press” representative yesterday it meant going out of the business altogether. He was not alone affected so seriously, as he had no doubt many other apiarists were placed >n the pame unfortunate position.

The unfavourable weather experienced all over the Dominion had been disastrous this season. Referring particularly to the Waikato and Taranaki districts, he pointed out that wherehs it was customary to commence drawing off supplies of honey about the middle of November and at intervals till the end of the season, in his case, for instance, the bees had not yet stored any surplus. This was the case with a colony in the East district a fair distance from Mt. Egmont where the rainfall was much less than at Stratford. This colony had not failed to give a good return in past seasons. Last year had not been a good one, but he had never experienced anything like the present position.

The result was that there was no revenue from his colonies, and he was bound to admit that his occupation was gone, and he would have to look out for other means of hvelihood for himself and family.

In a good season, he continued, there would be- quantities of honey for sale from his bees, but to-day there was not enough for his own family table. To make matters worse, he had made a loss over the sale of a number of hives some months ago. This was due to the abnormal season, as the purchaser was not able to pay the balance of the purchase money on account of the bees not producing. Few Shining Hours. “So the busy bee isjiot improving the shining hour as stated in the story books?” remarked the reporter with a note of interrogation. “Oh, yes, he is,” replied the apiarist. ‘‘The trouble is he can’t gather honey all the day because the nectar isn’t, to be found. He' is a trier all right, but on a day like this, after the night’s wind and rain, he has got i nough to do to get food for the hive. Dry warm weather is the most favourable to the secretion of nectar by flowers, but there are not many of these under the circumstances, and the red clover is past its best stage. “■Under the best conditions, the number of blossoms visited in order to meet the requirements of a single hive is very great. It is stated authoritatively that 125 heads of common red clover, which is comparatively abundant in nectar, yield only 15 grains of sugar, and millions of flowertubes must be exhausted for each 21-bs of sugar collected. It is not the fault of the bee that I have no honey to sell this season,” he concluded with a wry smile.

The experience* of another man who had bought some bees as a sideline bore out the statement that there had been no honey to gather from his hives. However, he did not have much to say about it, contenting himself by merely shaking hTs head in doleful fashion.