Warm weather keeping Kamloops beekeepers busy

While record breaking warm weather is welcomed by most, it comes with a little extra work for local beekeepers.

The beekeeping season had an early start this year due to the mild winter and warm spring weather.

Kamloops Beekeepers President Ed Zurawell said the early start to the season has been challenging.

“March is when you’ll do the first visit depending on the temperature. If the temperature is conducive, you will do a little more, and if the weather is not cooperating you will do a little bit less,” Zurawell explained.

Because of the hotter-than-normal weather, Zurawell said he’s had to do far more to ensure the bees have enough food reserves to prevent them from leaving the hive.

“It’s been horrible because the bees are eating lots of food and because it is so warm, their clusters are big and they’re getting out and foraging, but there’s nothing to forage yet,” he said. “It is bad at this time of year because we don’t have a nectar flow for them to work on. All that does is increase the amount of swarms we’re going to have this season.”

Zurawell estimates the season is three to four weeks ahead of schedule. This could pose problems later on in the season as the colony begins to grow and bees begins to leave the hive.

“The population we’re seeing now we hope to see in mid-June. Swarms are going to be very prevalent from all bee keepers because we had such a mild winter,” he said. “It’s natural to have bees swarm, but when you have bees swarming at the first part of April, that’s a long swarming season which means a lot of people are going to lose a lot of bees.”

The Kamloops BeeKeeper Club will be hosting several field days throughout the season to share and learn new beekeeping techniques.

About 120 people met over the weekend for the first field day of the season to talk about the challenges they will face this year. Their next field day is scheduled for June 25.

The Kamloops Beekeeper Club will also be at the Kamloops Farmers Market for Day of the Honeybee on May 28.