Honey harvest falls short

Thanks to the cool, wet summer, honeybees have not been able to get out of their hives much to forage. 
Even so, many Wiltshire beekeepers are preparing to sell what they have at the Wiltshire Bee & Honey Day, which will be held on 7 October. 

If it was hard for honeybees to forage between rain showers, how might wild pollinators be faring? The news is not all bad: experts say the public are becoming ever more aware of the need to plant flowers for them. 

This is the focus of one of the talks at the Wiltshire Bee & Honey Day. Paul Jupp of wildlife gardening specialists Meadow In My Garden will be talking about what to sow to support our precious wild bees. 

Other talks on the day include Thinking of becoming a beekeeper? How to get started.

This year's event is sponsored by Eden Renewables, who build solar farms, and consulting engineers Buro Happold, who are working with many cities now enacting policies, programmes and regulations to drive decarbonisation. 

Wiltshire beekeepers will once again be showing off their honey and hive products at the county honey show, with classes for candles and mead as well as different types of honey. Other activities include candle rolling and exploring inside a virtual hive.

Wadworth Brewery has created a honey beer especially for the day – the brewery says the flavour starts with honey sweet notes, balanced by a gentle malt backbone which is followed by a lovely floral hop aroma. 

There will also be also mead tasting as well as honey, candles and other bee-related gifts for sale. 

The event will be held between 10am and 4pm at the Corn Exchange, Devizes SN10 1HS. Entry will be free with no booking required, and further information can be found at www.wiltshirebeekeepers.co.uk

 

Subscribe to The Link