No rain, no gain
The lawn
Another dry summer, another failed comb honey crop. The two things are probably related. To build honeycomb bees need an abundance of nectar, and to make an abundance of nectar the flowering plants need sunlight, warmth and rain.
It's the 21st of July, and we've had no rain since May*. Nor is any rain forecast.
I put section racks on two hives at the start of July, hoping to catch a crop of comb honey including limeflower. But the section racks still look much the same as they did 3 weeks ago, indeed the same as they did last summer, i.e., empty.
Perhaps there's time yet. Perhaps a series of late summer showers will drench the gardens and bring forth a rush of flowers?
Last year's empty section rack, before going back on a hive this year.
*Note, this isn't a complaint about the heat wave we've had this summer. It's been terrific.
Update 27 July 2018
The rain came! In a cataclysmic thunderstorm. For the majority of my bees, including the experienced older workers, this would have been the first time in their lives that they encountered rain.