Honey Blog #4
17 September 2025
Hello Honey Lovers!
Summer 2025 is DONE!
The final honey supers have been removed, the honey extracted, and the wax collected and stored. It has been a productive spring and summer for bees and your beekeeper alike!
The last, critical, work of the year is preparing for winter because once the cold sets in, the beekeeper’s job is to stare at the hives and pray to the bee gods that all is okay in there, all the way up to springtime. Anytime we open the hive, life-giving warmth escapes, so bee gods it is!
How do we prepare for winter? Glad you asked:
- We reduce the hives down to the broodbox to help them preserve heat. Thermal efficiency is important all year round for the colony but especially so at winter.
- We treat for varroa—the mite that can destroy an entire hive.
- We check the general health of the Queen and bees as well as their stores so we’ll know whether they’re likely to need topping up.
- We ensure good ventilation for each hive to prevent moisture build up which can be fatal to a colony, by opening up a vent hole, adding moisture absorbers, narrowing the entrance or even tilting the hive.
Whilst this is all going on, I have read that (not unsurprisingly!) bees have been declared the most important living species on earth! They are the critical pollinators, essential for the reproduction of over 75% of human food crops and most flowering plants.
A bee’s pollination work sustains ecosystems, supports biodiversity and is vital for food security – a collapse in bee populations would lead to food shortages and a severe disruption of the food chain.
A big issue facing bee population is that they are declining due to pesticides, habitat loss and climate change so to help matters everyone can play their small part by planting bee friendly flowers, not using harmful chemicals and supporting sustainable farming by buying local. Let’s all help protect the pollinators that protect us!
So for now, we finish up the winter prep, make sure the bees are in their best shape to survive through the next 6 months and do all the jobs that need doing before honey production rolls round and starts again.
Until then, we’re excited to get everything jarred up and out to customers and our stockists and continue supplying this beautiful Naked Nectar honey! Order soon!
Naked Nectar—Nothing but Honey!
Your beekeeper, Huw
