Bees Are Starving....June Gap Warning!!

[@samwebb2516]

No June gap in Kent. Bramble is well out here.

[@gwenyngruffydd]

You guys get all the best weather!! 😄

[@Cezzadob1]

My wildflower meadow and garden has plenty. I plant flowers/plants so that there's a successional access to nectar/pollen. Also, the wildflower meadow is absolutely full of wildflowers. Also, I always leave veg to go to seed, which they absolutely adore. I'm just up the road from you, you'd be more than welcome to come take a look anytime :) best wishes, Ceri.

[@Cezzadob1]

That field there could be an amazing source of pollen/nectar, if you were to restore it to wildflower meadow :-)

[@gwenyngruffydd]

Thank you Ceri, glad to hear your doing your bit 😊👍🏻👍🏻

[@mickhoyle4064]

Here in sunny Surrey we had a slow start so I left most of the supers on for a perceived June gap, then, boom we had a period of warm rain! We now have clover and bramble a plenty so I'm looking forward to getting a good crop, fingers crossed.

[@gwenyngruffydd]

😄🤞🏻🤞🏻

[@markmurphy8303]

Hi Gruff mate, yes I’m seeing the clover sprouting here in Liverpool, I have had to feed some of my colonies so hopefully the dearth is over with the clover coming out in there thousands. Thx for sharing your vlog with us mate.

[@gwenyngruffydd]

Thanks mark

[@gwenyngruffydd]

Find a local beekeeper or honey farm 😊👍🏻

[@tobysmith5776]

Glad your feeling better bro,,im on the norfolk coast and there has been somthing for the bees to collect,,a fair amount or echium,poppy's and the bramble has started to flower 🌼 fingers crossed it keeps them occupied until the next flow i have moved my apiary onto 60 acres of pollinator mix pasture land I hope they do well on it

[@gwenyngruffydd]

They will do well on that I think!! 😄👍🏻👍🏻

[@simonward7653]

Great stuff as always! I'm going to try the new pollen patties on my bees soon.

[@gwenyngruffydd]

In fairness the bees seem to love it!

[@albigensian4655]

i'm about 20 miles se of you but i don't think there's much of a gap in my area, saw this vid last week and here at that time i could see orchids opening up the brambles were also just starting to open up, purple clover lots of it and white clover and all just as the last of the mayflower was dropping off, probably due to the early warm start we had this year. still i gave the girls from the overwintered nuc a boost of 1.1 with a dose of hive alive supliment since i also put in some girls into their new home from another nuc which just arrived yesterday, sadly in the overwintered nuc the queen looked like she had a limp when i put her in and i never saw her after that, i kept looking each week but no queen, then no eggs and a supercedure cell which i think hatched about just over a week ago, today i spotted the new queen, the queen is dead, long live the queen!, hoping for some good weather so she can get out and mate and get going but i doubt we'll see any honey this year, so i'm concentrating on just continuing to build both of them up and getting them both through winter.

[@gwenyngruffydd]

Fingers crossed for good weather!! 🤞🏻🤞🏻

[@markaluge]

My hives are a few meters away from acres of spring beans which have just come into flower, I’m hoping they will see us through the June gap.

[@gwenyngruffydd]

🤞🏻

[@joemurphy9974]

Didn’t think bees would swarm if resources are low and there’s not much of a flow on, is that not the case? Great video!

[@gwenyngruffydd]

Hi Joe, that’s very true especially if their starving, but if their sitting in a hive with a bit of spring honey they certainly will.

[@paulajones6366]

We have buttercups and bramble out soon so fingers crossed. Mine are light on stores it’s got to be said but they are bringing in pollen.

[@gwenyngruffydd]

🤞🏻 won’t be long!!

[@ThoseCrazyrivers]

No gap here in Surrey....Bramble is out, bees are busy, rain has stopped, temp rising and sunshine breaking through, weather forecast OK for a week or two (fingers crossed)....I hope this pushes your way soon

[@gwenyngruffydd]

That’s great to hear! You guys sure get the better weather over there!! Fingers crossed we get a bit of it too! 😅🤞🏻

[@chrisfigiel1150]

Brill vlog Gruff,we thought they were quiet due to the weather,but a June gap makes sense as not much nectar about,as we have 1 full super full of honey,so you recommend a feed,which feed is best for now please .👍🐝

[@gwenyngruffydd]

If you have a full super of honey on the hives there is no need to feed 😊

[@mojobees8825]

White clover purple clover all over..

[@gwenyngruffydd]

Just white with us

[@ollysue69]

Strange as we have red clover white clover bramble all flowering in Avon which is early this year nature is a funny thing another great video bud

[@gwenyngruffydd]

Thanks Olly, maybe the gap has finished with you!? Or never started!!

[@reade79]

Glad you said this

[@gwenyngruffydd]

😊

[@tonyfox5422]

I think the gap has been through Oxfordshire, this year because fertiliser is expensive farmers have planted maybe 280 acres of field beans. Within 1 field of one apiary so I have been moving hives. Keeping weak/developing/problem hives in one apiary. I just went to remove a swarm in a food distribution company, I offered to do some photos as sustainability seems to be on the cards, then out came 80kgs of sugar...broken bags. Sometimes the June gap is bad, angry bees, pulling out brood, in colonies with no supers on quite a bit of supercedures in play, then not etc etc. And then along comes the beans and free sugar.... when you walk in a field of beans the scent is amazing. Well that’s my June gap 2022.

[@won2winit]

you will have to train some bees to invade them again when you run out of sugar

[@gwenyngruffydd]

Thanks for sharing that Tony! Very jealous!! Field beans a swarm and free sugar!! I think that’s every beekeepers dream!!!

[@robtalliss]

Seen bumble bees working the first bramble flowers but not honey bees.

[@gwenyngruffydd]

Won’t be long! Bumble bees normally work the flowers before the honey bees. They seem a lot less fussy!

[@Clawuk1]

It really depends where you are, where I live on the Norfolk / Suffolk borders we haven't had a June gap for a few years! We have bramble and clover in full flower..... it started just after the oil seed rape finished.

[@gwenyngruffydd]

Hi Claire, you sure do get the best of the weather over there!! Not the case in West Wales! Hopefully some of that weather will come this way! 😅🤞🏻

[@jillmackay7770]

I’m in north east Scotland and they are on the hawthorn and clover just coming out 🤞

[@desertfox8583]

He forgot to mention that colonies would even kill other colonies while trying to rob them. So, any nucs that are not strong should be merged.

[@gwenyngruffydd]

That’s very true! That is a serious risk when the gap is on.

[@spike2111982]

when re the main flow and harvest times un the uk please

[@gwenyngruffydd]

Main flow starts in July and can last till mid / end of August harvest time is straight after

[@bevpoulter8163]

Hi. Is the pollen fondant necessary or can I put plain fondant in?

[@gwenyngruffydd]

Plain fondant is fine, but only feed if they have next to no stores.

[@brucelindley3628]

We have a lot of elderflower out at the minute, what is the nectar flow like on that?

[@gwenyngruffydd]

I think they can but condition needs to be perfect

[@davidheaslip3714]

You need a good hay meadow or two packed with wildflowers

[@gwenyngruffydd]

That’s true!

[@denpictor8992]

Bo, please tell us what make is your bee suit

[@won2winit]

was on his last video and part of his beekeeping stock £75 for the suit and there is a jacket only option

[@gwenyngruffydd]

Hi, it’s the Thomas Apix Air suit it’s available on our website; gwenyngruffydd.co.uk/collections/bee-suits

[@robtalliss]

Fondant or syrup if needed??

[@gwenyngruffydd]

Syrup to nucs and hives without supers , fondant to big hives if supers are on. It’s always hard to judge feeding big hives in the summer the last thing you want is for them to store sugar. 1kg at a time is how I do it to reduce the risk.

[@robtalliss]

@@gwenyngruffydd Thanks! That was my concern as I’ve got a couple looking a bit empty but I couldn’t see how all the bees would fit back in brood boxes.