This Month in the Apiary: Beekeeping in July 2025
We’re deep into summer, and the bees are flat-out. July has been hot, dry, and often windy - not always ideal for nectar flow, but the colonies are powering through. There’s a real sense of momentum in the apiary right now, and every hive is doing something different.
Forage and Flow
The bees are working hard on the last of the bramble in the hedgerows, the knapweed, clover, and yarrow in the wildflower meadows, and — for a short but valuable window — the mature lime trees nearby. These aren’t citrus trees, but large-leaved natives that offer a burst of nectar when they bloom. This mix is what’s going into our Blossom Honey, which we’ll harvest in August.
Some hives are absolutely booming. One has built up a tower of supers and is filling it fast - great for honey production, but there’s a catch: the colony is feisty. The queen is a strong layer, but her genetics are a bit too defensive for our liking. We’ll requeen after harvest to calm things down while keeping the productivity.
Space, Swarm Signs, and Airflow
We’re past peak swarm season, but that doesn’t mean we can switch off. We’re still checking for queen cells, honey bound brood nests, and signs that the bees are starting to feel cramped. We’ve been adding supers, making splits, and making sure they’ve got space to keep building.
Wax production slows down in dry weather, so we’re being careful with how we manage drawn comb, and we’re keeping the hive entrances clear with regular strimming to help airflow. On hot days, it’s not unusual to see bees bearding outside the hive in clusters - their way of helping regulate temperature inside.
Queens, Splits, and Nuc Prep
This is the time of year when we get a clear picture of how each queen is doing. Some are still laying beautiful, consistent brood. Others are fading - patchy patterns, fewer eggs, or confused behaviour. We’ve been making splits from our best colonies and introducing new queens where needed.
This season, we’re also trying something slightly different: leaving the queens in their cages a bit longer before release. It gives the colony more time to get used to her presence, and we’re hoping it’ll improve acceptance rates. So far, it looks promising - we’ll report back.
We’re also setting up overwintering nucleus colonies (nucs) for spring 2026. The focus is on calm, steady colonies with strong brood patterns. Our new Langstroth nuc boxes arrived just in time - they’ll give our smaller colonies a solid home to build up in over the coming months.
How Gardeners Can Help This Month
If you’ve got a garden, there are a few easy wins that can make a real difference right now:
• Leave brambles alone if they’re flowering - bees love them, and they’re a key nectar source in high summer
• Hold off mowing clover or wildflower patches until they’ve finished blooming. They will return in late summer for a second bloom, if the weather plays along!
• Skip the weedkiller - herbicides can be harmful to pollinators, especially when sprayed on flowering plants
• Keep birdbaths or shallow water dishes topped up, with pebbles in them so bees can land safely
• Plant for late summer - lavender, echinacea, sedum, and buddleia all help fill the forage gap in August
It doesn’t have to be wild and overgrown to be useful - just a few simple changes can turn a garden into a brilliant stop-off point for pollinators.
What’s Next?
Next month we’ll harvest our Blossom Honey, check mite levels, and continue reviewing which queens to breed from and which colonies need support heading into late summer. There’s still a lot to do, but the groundwork we lay now will carry us into autumn in good shape.
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