Summer 2023 was a rough one for bees. The season looked so promising in May with some beautiful warm days – but the following 2 months brought so much rain and miserable weather that the bees quickly became frustrated. When bees are held into their hives by rain and bad weather for long periods of time they get cranky and start to believe that the problem is the location. Beekeepers across Nova Scotia suffered an unusually high rate of ‘swarming’ where sometimes as much as 1/2 the colony departs the hive with the queen to find a new location and expand their genetic pool. Left behind are new queens that fight for dominance and then must be mated or the colony will fail. Mating requires very good weather conditions and freedom from predator attacks. This summer had neither.
As a result our honey production was way off what we would have expected. That said – we do have honey and it is available at our Brooklyn, Queens County location – 33 Brooklyn Shore Road. Just email me for directions and to confirm we are around to meet you! tiddleybee1@gmail.com
Tiddley Bee Honey Company 