So, yes I'm just a backyard keep, but for what it's worth - 100% loss.

We are looking at this from the other side of the world. Reading this gives me are sick feeling in the stomach. To Peter and otheres, how do you bounce back from such a set back when you do everything right and still hives die?

We are going into autumn (fall) after a very poor honey season. Too wet and windy on the west coast and too dry on the east coast.  Some sheltered areas have produced honey but still well down.  In the cities the bees have converted early honey into bees and hives are swarming again (not absconding). I caught one a couple of days ago; not that big, just covered two frames but some of the bees are small indicating poor nutrition.  We may be facing the same situation as you next spring. The world is connected.

Frank Lindsay
Wellington
New Zealand




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