Rain ensures a firmer honey.

In contrast to harvests in previous years, this year there is more solid honey in the combs than liquid honey. You can hardly get this out of the honeycomb. “The honey solidifies in the honeycomb, crystallizes, and cannot be extracted. You have to eat the honey from the honeycomb or with it. This is excellent honey, but as I said, you can’t throw it away in many places at the moment,” explains beekeeper Peter Buchner.

Honeydew producers were able to reproduce easily.

The reason for this phenomenon are the honeydew producers in the flowers. They secrete a triglyceride sugar that bees particularly like. “We had a very wet spring this year, so there were always wet phases and the honeydew producers then had very good conditions for reproduction. They were there in large numbers in June now. The bees are gathering and gathering,” says Buchner, explaining the phenomenon.

But it is not only the climatic conditions that change the type of honey. “Extreme weather events are not desirable at all, that is clear. Heavy rain that washes the honeydew off the trees is not good. Or long periods of rain during which the bees cannot fly at all are very counterproductive because then there is no food flow from outside in the form of nectar and pollen. Consequently, development among people is somewhat stunted,” says Buchner.

Beekeepers must adapt to climatic conditions.

The mild winter also causes plants to bloom earlier. This means that the bees start their work earlier. “February this year was six degrees warmer than the average February. February used to be the coldest month of the year. This year it was mild and nature has already started to bud and flourish. This is how the bee begins its development,” explains the beekeeper. Beekeepers have to adapt more and more to the climatic conditions.