Top Ten Tips For BUMPER Honey Crops
Maximise Your Honey Yield With These Expert Beekeeping Strategies
As a beekeeper, your primary goal is likely to produce the largest possible honey crop each season. While factors like weather and forage availability play a significant role, there are several proven techniques you can employ to consistently achieve bumper honey harvests. In this comprehensive guide, we'll explore the top 10 tips from a seasoned commercial beekeeper to help you take your honey production to new heights.
1. Conduct Weekly Hive Inspections
One of the most critical steps in securing a bountiful honey crop is vigilant hive monitoring. In the UK, you should be conducting thorough inspections of your colonies every 7 days from April through August. This weekly cadence allows you to quickly identify and address any issues that could jeopardise your honey production, such as:
Development of swarm cells
Signs of disease or pests
By staying on top of your hive health and catching potential problems early, you can take swift action to prevent swarming and maximise the number of foraging bees dedicated to honey collection. Skipping these regular inspections puts your honey crop at serious risk. I've seen talk of a set it up and leave it approach. This is only effective if you have hundreds or thousands of colonies and are willing to sacrifice lost honey/swarms in exchange for the time saved due to no inspections. I wouldn't recommend it!
2. Master Swarm Control Without Splitting
While making splits is a common swarm prevention tactic, I would advise against this approach if your goal is to maximise honey yields. Splitting colonies means the bees need so to focus on building up their brood nest, causing them to divert energy away from honey production. Instead, the key is to maintain your colonies as single units throughout the season using a technique called a "pre-emptive demaree split." This advanced swarm control method allows you to keep your colonies intact while still preventing swarming. Click HERE to learn more about this effective swarm management strategy.
3. Time Your Varroa Treatments Strategically
One of the biggest mistakes beekeepers make is delaying their varroa mite treatments until late summer in an effort to maximise the current year's honey crop. However, this approach can have severe consequences for the following season.
I recommend moving your varroa treatments forward to mid-August to align with an earlier than traditional harvest. This ensures your bees are healthy and robust when they begin rearing the critical overwintering cluster - the "winter bees" that will be responsible for the colony's survival and early spring build-up. Healthy autumn bees translate to thriving spring populations, setting you up for a bumper honey harvest.
"Healthy bees in the Autumn means healthy bees in the spring. If you delay that varroa treatment because you're trying to maximise last year's honey crop, you will pay for it next year."
4. Follow the Nectar Flow
For beekeepers with the ability to relocate their hives, strategically moving your colonies to track the seasonal nectar flows can unlock exponential increases in honey production. By positioning your bees near the most abundant and productive floral sources, you can capitalise on the maximum foraging potential.
In the UK, this may involve moving your colonies from oilseed rape, to field beans, to summer blooms, and finally to heather. While this level of mobility isn't feasible for all operations, it's an incredibly effective tactic for those who can manage it. Just be mindful of the potential downsides, such as increased disease transmission risk, when frequently moving hives. It can also really drain your bees energy, so do this responsibly and always remember this key message - 'Healthy Bees Make Heavy Hives' - Awesome book - https://amzn.to/3ZG8fX5
5. Split Your Season in Two
An alternative approach for static apiaries is to divide your honey production season into two distinct phases: the spring harvest and the summer flow. By focusing first on maximising your spring honey crop, you can then shift your efforts to boosting your bees through the "June gap" - the dearth period between the spring and summer nectar flows. This two-part strategy allows you to capitalise on both the spring and summer honey flows without the logistical challenges of relocating hives or the risk of starvation throughout the June Gap.
"If you're working on a static apiary basis for say people in the UK, focus on your spring Harvest, take the spring Harvest off, develop yourself a method to get your bees through the June Gap... and then you can focus later on on that summer flow."
6. Invest in High-Performing Bee Genetics
Perhaps the single most important factor in achieving bumper honey crops is the genetic makeup of your bees. Not all colonies are created equal when it comes to honey production. Some bee strains are simply more industrious, productive, and resilient than others. I would emphasise the importance of experimenting with different bee breeds to find the ones best suited to your local environment and management style. Look for colonies that excel at:
Varroa mite resistance
Disease/pest tolerance
Honey storage capacity
Foraging efficiency
By selectively breeding from your top-performing colonies, you can steadily improve the honey-producing capabilities of your apiary over time.
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