Nectar Dearth
Verhalten der Bienen
Two periods of the year are tight. Early spring from about mid-February, when the brood nest grows and pollen is scarce.
Two periods of the year are tight. Early spring from about mid-February, when the brood nest grows and pollen is scarce. And the weeks after the first harvest, when the nectar supply collapses before the summer flow arrives.
The colony responds to this by restricting brood: with food shortage, lack of space, and before winter, egg laying declines. Starving colonies are also more susceptible to disease, and the nectar dearth is the main trigger for robbing. Something special applies to pollen here: there is no full substitute for it.
So keep an eye on the food supply, never letting it fall below about five kilograms until into August. Leave enough honey in the colony at the spring harvest. Keep hives open as briefly as possible during periods of little nectar flow. How severe the dearth turns out to be depends strongly on the location and the year; where forest, lime, or sweet chestnut provide forage, it can be avoided entirely, and a strong summer flow can even make the swarm impulse flare up again.