It’s been none stop 🐝

It’s been a busy time here at South Lakes Honey Company — both for us and for our bees! As the seasons change and the cooler months approach, we’ve been working hard to make sure our colonies are healthy, well-fed, and ready for winter.

Splitting and Strengthening Colonies

After taking our summer honey, some of our stronger colonies were split into smaller groups known as nucs (short for nucleus colonies). These nucs are housed in smaller boxes and will eventually become new, full-sized colonies in additional apiary locations next year.

This process helps us expand our beekeeping operation sustainably while maintaining strong, healthy genetics within our hives.

Our nuc boxes

Introducing New Queens

In some cases, we’ve added new queens to colonies that had poor brood patterns or had become queenless. Introducing new queens helps ensure these colonies can rebuild and have the best chance of survival through the winter.

Feeding the Bees

To support our bees as natural forage becomes scarce, we’ve been feeding them a blend of sugar syrup, honey, and invert bee feed.

Invert bee feed is made from sucrose that’s been broken down into its simpler sugars — glucose and fructose. This makes it easier for bees to digest and store in the comb, reducing the risk of granulation and helping to prevent starvation during winter.

Adding a new queen to a hive

Introducing New Queens

In some cases, we’ve added new queens to colonies that had poor brood patterns or had become queenless. Introducing new queens helps ensure these colonies can rebuild and have the best chance of survival through the winter.

What’s Next?

While our bees are settling down for winter, we’re keeping busy behind the scenes too! Our online orders are being carefully packed and shipped, and we have some exciting new products and updates coming very soon — so stay tuned!