Summer Nectar Dearth: Should You Feed Your Bees?
The Flow Doesn't Last as Long as You Think
Most UK beekeepers plan around the main summer flow — but by late July, that flow has usually stopped. Oilseed rape and early clover are long finished, and unless your apiary sits near heather, bramble, or a late-flowering crop, your bees are now working with a lot less coming in than they were a month ago. This gap between the end of the summer flow and the start of autumn forage is the nectar dearth, and it catches out beekeepers who assume the season is still in full swing.
How to Spot a Dearth in Progress
A colony in dearth behaves differently. Foragers spend more time investigating anything sweet nearby — spilled syrup, other hives, bins near the apiary. Guard bees get more aggressive at the entrance because there's more pressure from robbing attempts, both from wasps and from other honeybee colonies. If you open a hive and find stores being consumed rather than added to, and foraging activity has visibly dropped despite good weather, you're in a dearth.
Should You Feed?
Not automatically. A strong colony with good stores built up from the spring and early summer flow can often ride out a two-to-three week dearth without help. Feeding a colony that doesn't need it wastes your time and can trigger robbing by other bees and wasps drawn to the syrup smell.
Check stores directly before deciding. Lift a frame from the outer edge of the brood box — if it's light and you're not seeing capped honey building up, that colony needs support. Nucs, late splits, and any colony you already know is behind on strength should be fed as a default during a dearth, not as a last resort.
Feeding Without Inviting Trouble
Feed in the evening. Less forager activity means less chance of the syrup scent drawing in wasps or robber bees while you're filling the feeder.
Reduce the entrance while feeding. A smaller entrance gives guard bees less ground to defend against opportunists drawn in by the syrup — a Hive-Five Multi-Guard makes this a seconds-long adjustment rather than a separate tool swap.
Don't spill. Wipe down the hive exterior and surrounding area after feeding. Spilled syrup is the single biggest trigger for robbing during a dearth.
Match the feed to the need. A light syrup (1:1 sugar to water) encourages comb building and stores replenishment without overloading a colony that just needs a top-up.
The Bottom Line
A dearth isn't an emergency on its own — it's a normal part of the UK beekeeping calendar. What matters is checking stores directly rather than assuming, and feeding the colonies that actually need it rather than the whole apiary on a schedule. Get this right in August and your colonies go into September in a much stronger position.