Bees are flying high thanks to Shropshire's sizzling summer

The bad weather of the Beast from the East that hit the UK in the spring did not harm honeybees, which went on to make the most of the long, warm summer with a honey crop that was up by a third this year.

But beekeepers in our region are urging people to plant flowers to feed pollinators to help boost honey yields, as well as being good for other pollinating insects and the birds that feed on them.

The crop of the sweet stuff was up across England to an average 30.8lb per hive compared to 23.8lb in 2017, the British Beekeepers Association annual honey survey reveals.

Wales had exceptional improvements in the honey yield, nearly doubling from last year's average per hive to 31.4lb due to the good weather.

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Hilltop Honey at Newtown has between 40 and 50 hives at any one time and while production was good, they also sourced honey from across Wales to keep their stocks high, particularly for their Welsh Blossom Honey.

Scott Davies, Hilltop Honey's managing director, said: “The long, hot summer has most definitely impacted the UK’s honey production in a positive light. We haven’t seen a huge increase in honey production from our own hives but there was a definite increase. In rural Wales there isn’t necessarily a huge amount of flowers for the bees to visit and with more and more people keeping bees there is less flowers to go around for everyone’s bees.

“We lost a few hives coming into the spring from failing queens but loses are always expected.

“Unusual weather for a certain time of year always tampers with bee’s development. That can be for what we consider nice weather and bad weather. Bees need the seasons to be as they are meant to be. So, if it is unusually hot going into Autumn this can have just as much as an impact as the ‘Beast from the East.’”

Increase

Roger Miles, a beekeeper who has hives near Shrewsbury said that his crop had been noticeably up this year.

"The bees have been hard at work and I have had to take off more honey this year then ever before," he said.

"The warm, dry weather meant they were flying well and with the arable farming we have around here along with the hedgerows they fed well. I have been keeping bees for a number of years and this has to be one of my best yet. In fact it has been so good, I am having to build some more hives to keep my bees in.

"I did lose a couple of hives at the start of the season but I think this was down to the colony itself rather than the cooler weather we had."

The annual survey asked beekeepers what they thought the public could do to help honeybees and other pollinators.

The top answer was planting more nectar and pollen producing flowers, shrubs or trees.

Stopping using pesticides, reporting sightings of invasive Asian hornets that prey on honeybees, leaving an area of the garden to grow wild, learning to love dandelions and leaving ivy to grow were also on the list.

Margaret Wilson, chairwoman of the BBKA, said: "Honeybees and all our wild creatures need food to eat and that can only come from what we plant and grow, so gardening and agricultural practices are incredibly important."