Dunfermline and West Fife Beekeepers Association

24/08/2026

Are you seeing open honey cells on your frames?

During a drought or nectar dearth, honey bees generally stop building new wax comb and will often stop capping new honey altogether because incoming nectar flow drops or ceases completely.

Bees only produce beeswax when they actively consume honey and have a steady, abundant intake of fresh nectar. During a drought, or very long, dry period, flowers dry up and stop producing nectar, prompting the colony to shift into conservation mode and halt wax secretion.

If there is already cured honey in the hive from before the drought, bees might leave patches of it uncapped. This is simply because they lack the fresh wax and also energetic surplus to spread new cappings, though they prefer to keep existing winter stores sealed.

A refractometer is a handy bit of kit to help confirm if uncapped or mixed frames of honey are dry enough to extract and jar.
safely.

18/08/2026

Do you or does someone you know use a garden sprinkler to water your pollinator friendly garden? If so then please read the information below.

When watering flowers it is best to give the soil a really good water at the base of the plant instead of spraying anywhere near the flower head itself. Spraying water directly on the bloom will not just drench it, it can wash away the pollen and nectar, making life harder for bees and other pollinators. Please share the information below with anyone you know who plants for pollinators👇⤵️

Why Avoid Wetting Blooms

Protects Pollen: Water, as explained, can wash away the pollen grains and nectar.

Helps Bees: Dry pollen is much easier for bees to collect. If you had to do carry a large bag of towels around every day would you prefer them to be wet or dry?

Prevents Rot: Keeping excess moisture off flower heads lowers the risk of mould or fungal issues.

Watering flower heads directly can make them fade faster. Water sits on the petals and traps heat or sun. This causes the petals to rot, turn brown and age much faster. Please be aware of this. (We have noticed a lot of folk using a sprinkler system to water)....

Anyone planted sunflowers? Aren't they looking great this year? Please feel free to share a photo of some sunflowers or anything else that you have grown in your garden. 🌻🐝🌼

08/08/2026

Our volunteers have been very busy setting up the marquee and are now looking forward to welcoming everyone at the Kinross Show. Please come along for a great day out. Ever thought about becoming a beekeeper? Come and ask.

https://www.facebook.com/share/1ELFsuPUuD/

30/07/2026

To prepare our honey bees for going to the Scottish Highlands when Heather is in flower we need to select strong, healthy colonies with young queens. In order to be able to lift and move the hives we condense the bees into a single brood box or 'brood-and-a-half' (a box and a half-size box). We secure the hive with two heavy-duty straps and instead of a roof we use a mesh travel screens for transport. The mesh screen prevents the bees from overheating while being transported. We usually take our bees up to the Highlands late July or early August.

22/07/2026

Planting pollinator friendly flowers and offering water in a container filled to the top with pebbles offers nearby bees more chance of surviving. ,🌻🌸🌼🌺🐝🐞🦋🦟

Heatwaves are becoming more frequent in the UK – and even our common bumblebees are feeling the heat ☀️🐝

New BeeWalk data shows that extreme temperatures can cause bumblebee colonies to decline and populations to shrink the following spring.

Warm weather is great for bumblebees, but not too warm. Once temperatures reach about 32°C, bumblebees can’t fly without overheating. This means they can’t collect food for themselves or their nests.

With more intense heatwaves on the horizon, some of our most cherished species could be pushed to the brink.

Read the latest insights from BeeWalk and learn how you can help support bumblebees in changing climates: https://ow.ly/JJOw50ZqFF8

10/07/2026

Yesterday, the metal roofs on our hives at a small apiary site felt almost too hot to touch. The apiary contains four hives and sits in a dip, surrounded by gorse. With zero breeze, the heat was stifling. We had nothing to hand, so we used gorseand other bushes to cover the roofs and offer instant shade.

To keep hives cool in summer, focus on shade, ventilation and water. With ridiculously high temperatures, we can provide temporary afternoon shade by covering a metal hive roof with anything we can find, pieces of wood, straw and even lightweight cardboard works really well. You can create an airflow for hot air to escape by adding a few coins under the roof, to raise it slightly.

Buckets of fresh water being close to hand is so important for pollinators, especially in hotter months. Top it off with floating sticks, straw etc

03/06/2026

Beekeepers often talk about a "good queen bee" but what make a queen bee good?

A good queen maintains a vigorous and consistent egg-laying pattern, which ensures a constant turnover and rapid increase of the bee population, especially before the main honey flow season. During peak season, she can lay over 2,000 eggs per day. A solid, uniform brood pattern is a key indicator of her health and fertility.

A healthy, vigorous queen produces potent pheromones that maintain social order, inhibit workers from raising new queens, and keep the colony cohesive and calm. A queen with a good retinue of attendant workers is a visual sign of her strong pheromone output.

Young queens, typically in their first or second year, are generally the most productive and less likely to swarm than older queens.

Swarming can reduce honey production and result in the loss of bees. Queens from colonies with a low inclination to swarm are sought after.

A well-mated queen will store enough s***m to last her entire productive life. A poorly mated queen won't last long.

Generally, larger, heavier queens with a larger abdomen are better as they tend to have more ovarioles, lay more eggs, and have stronger flight muscles for successful mating flights. Queens that have mated with a high number of different drones introduce greater genetic diversity into the colony, which contributes to overall colony strength, disease resistance, and better overwintering success.

There are many other factors but in summing up, a good queen is one whose presence allows the colony to thrive and live in harmony.

18/05/2026

Oilseed r**e nectar has a very high glucose content, causing it to crystallise extremely fast. If left in the hive too long, it becomes impossible to extract.

Rule Exception: Unlike other honeys that require 80% of the frame to be capped with wax before harvesting, you should pull OSR supers as soon as the nectar flow stops, even if the frames aren't fully capped.

The "Shake Test": To check if it's ready, hold a frame horizontally and give it a sharp shake; if no un-ripened liquid honey flies out, it is dry enough to harvest safely.

Processing: Once removed, it should be spun in your extractor and jarred immediately, as it can set in the comb or buckets within a matter of days.

28/04/2026

A good apiary location should provide (amongst other things) essential elements like clean water, early morning sun to rouse the bees, and protection from strong winds. These factors help hives maintain a consistent internal temperature (around 33°C), making them less prone to diseases and pests which thrive in damp or overly shaded areas.

Sites with natural windbreaks (like hedges or buildings) along with southern sun exposure helps colonies stay warm and conserve energy during winter months. Proximity to high-quality forage nearby reduces the energy bees spend on flight.

14/04/2026

We always hear that we should go for 'locally adapted bees' but what's the difference between these bees and buying bees from somewhere else, online, even? Here are just a few reasons:

Locally adapted bees are honey bee subspecies or ecotypes that have evolved over hundreds or thousands of years to thrive in a specific, local environment. They are characterized by their ability to survive and produce, often without human intervention, by aligning their life cycles with local climate, forage, and pathogens.

These bees are adapted in the following key areas:

Climate and Weather Resilience: They are tuned to local weather patterns, such as the ability to forage in cooler, wetter conditions or quickly adjust to rapid weather changes.

Foraging Efficiency: Locally adapted bees are in sync with local flora, efficiently utilising local food sources.

Winter Management: They "know" when winter arrives, preparing by managing food stores, slowing queen egg-laying at the right time, and avoiding winter brood rearing.

Disease and Pathogen Resistance: These bees often display higher resistance to local pathogens and parasites, such as Varroa mites, by exhibiting hygienic behavior (cleaning infected brood) and grooming themselves.

Survival Strategy: They are often better adapted for self-sufficiency, with stronger survival rates compared to non-local, imported queen stock.

Locally adapted bees survive better, have lower mortality rates, and create stronger colonies.