June 2023 Newsletter

Hello beekeepers! Mara daoibh a bheachairí!  

June has arrived with a buzz, and what a great start to the summer it has been! The recent heat wave has brought us fantastic weather, and our busy little bees are certainly making the most of it. We hope you're also taking advantage of the good weather and getting lots done in your apiaries. 

Firstly, we wanted to extend a huge thank you to all who have placed orders with us in the past few weeks. We truly appreciate your support and want to assure you that our hardworking team is doing everything possible to get your supplies out to you as quickly as we can!  

And that's all for now, a bheachairí! As always, if you have any questions, concerns, or simply want to share your beekeeping stories, we're just a phone call or email away. Thank you for being a part of our buzzing community. Wishing you a sweet and successful June! Beachaireacht shona!

• Continue as in May (see HERE) 
  
• If you’ve successfully controlled swarming, the need for regular inspections is coming to an end. 
• If you have a ‘June gap’ in your area, make sure that your bees have sufficient food reserves to keep them going. (See Apimix)
• Try to make sure that a newly mated queen resulting from swarm control measures is heading your main honey-producing colony. This will greatly reduce the chance of the colony swarming a second time. (See our Queen Mating Boxes) 

Courtesy of the Haynes Bee Manual

The month of June on the beekeeper’s calendar is a busy time for most colonies, so it’s important to continue your hive checks on a weekly basis. Identify the queen, check the overall health of the hive, and add honey supers as needed. Let those amazing little creatures do what they do best!  

If you intend to pull honey from the hives this season, June is a good time to check on the necessary tools for extracting and containers for storing your honey harvest. See our Extraction products to be used for honey extraction, our Buckets & Tanks for honey storage, and our selection of Jars & Lids for your honey selling needs. 

Also, add supers without the queen excluder. Come back 7-10 days later and add the queen excluder. Make sure your queen is not in the supers.  Adding 2 supers at a time will help to curb swarm tendency. 

June is also a good time to check for mites. Varroa mites will peak in July-August. So it’s a good time to evaluate your mite levels and decide on your method for controlling them if it is needed. (See VarroMed, a natural medical treatment that is safe to use during spring season.) 

Continue to examine (and if possible exchange) Brood Frames for any signs of disease or swarming. Bee Disease identification cards are helpful.   The brood should be able to occupy most of the Brood Chamber this month. Swarming will continue through June so you will have to continue to be vigilant. You may be able to take off some frames of capped Honey or even complete Supers, ensure you have empty Frames or Supers to replace those taken. 

TIP: Joining a local beekeeping association or club is the best way to learn about the particulars of beekeeping for your region. It’s one of the first things we suggest to anyone looking to become a beekeeper. 

• Federation of Irish Beekeepers Association - https://irishbeekeeping.ie/
• ​Irish Beekeepers Association CLG - https://www.irishbeekeepersassociation.com/
• Native Irish Honey Bee Society - https://nihbs.org/

A common question we get is how do you remove bees from the super when its time to replace it. The best and most efficient way to clear bees is to remove the super from the hive, insert a Clearer Board on top of the brood chamber, then place the super back onto the hive. Return a few hours later and the super should be cleared of bees, as whilst the bees can leave through the Clearer Board, they cannot get back in. See our collection of Clearer Boards and Escapes HERE.

Lastly, thank you for keeping bees! Let us know if you have any questions regarding your hive, we’re always happy to help.