The amount of honey you can get per hive per year will vary based on many factors; however, you should be considering around 30 – 80 pounds of honey per year.
Truth be told, if all the conditions are right, hives produce a lot more honey. There’s a peak in every bee season when bees bring into the hive the maximum amount of nectar possible. This is referred to as the honey flow, and it’s the highlight of a beekeeper’s year.
The essence of hives is so that bees can store honey and feed themselves, especially during the winter when it is not feasible for them to go out and forage for food.
Hives are made of hexagonal tubes — a design that has proven to be beneficial for honey production since they need a little quantity of wax and can preserve more honey. Worker bees consume honey, which is then converted into wax. Once it becomes wax, it comes out through the pores in the honeybees’ bodies as flakes.
Worker bees work on these flakes until they become soft enough to glue them piece by piece to establish individual cells, and slowly become the whole beehive. Note that the process is quite fascinating and incredible.
Bees are magnificently efficient insects — they tend to have defined roles in the hive, and when put together ensure the survival of the hive. Although this efficiency is paramount to producing high yields of honey, there are other factors that will dictate the amount of honey you can get per year.
Factors That Influence the Quantity of Honey Per Hive Per Year
-
Location
This is one very vital factor that will dictate the amount of honey you obtain from a beehive in a year. For instance, if you reside in the north, your beekeeping season will most definitely be shorter, and this means that your bees will have shorter foraging periods and this will most definitely impact your yield.
Meanwhile, in the south, you will enjoy longer blooming seasons and this often translates to better honey yields. Also, have it in mind that drier southern regions are quite susceptible to long nectar dearth (lack of nectar-producing flowers) that can impact honey production.
-
Weather and Forage
Another factor that will most definitely have a say on the yield you get from your beehive will be the weather of where your beehive is located.
Have it in mind that the weather tends to impact the bees’ ability to forage. For instance, if it starts to rain heavily, then the bees will have to stay in the hive and won’t be able to forage. As such, longer periods of wetness or unexpected snowfall will impact the amount of honey the bees can produce.
-
Colony Health
To ensure that you can get the maximum amount of honey from your beehive in a year, it is necessary you pay precise attention to guarantee the optimum health of your honey bees. Note that a big, flourishing colony of bees will do well at foraging nectar and, in return, converting that nectar to honey. Owing to that, it is necessary you pay precise attention to your hive and ensure the good health of your bees.
-
Hive Style
This is one thing newbie beekeepers barely know and they tend to learn the hard way. Have it in mind that the style of hive you purchase will have a massive impact on your eventual honey harvest. Langstroth hives are known to be perfect if you are looking to get a substantial amount of honey production.
This is because of their large cavity size and propensity to expand during the nectar flow. Top bar hives tend to possess a fixed cavity size, but will still ensure you obtain a modest harvest – ideal for beekeepers who are looking to harvest enough honey.
-
Bee Robbery
Although this is quite rare, they happen and it is important you take it into consideration. There are cases where wasps snatch honey from the hive. Aside from that, also note that a swarm of bees from another colony can invade and rob your hive.
This tends to happen when the invading colony is having issues with finding adequate food. As such, it won’t go down well with your own colony’s ability to feed and sustain itself.
There are numerous ways to handle bee hive robbery issues. You can choose to narrow the entrance of the hive to impede predator access and allow the guarding bees to do their job of protecting the hive much better. As part of your management plan, ensure to take note of activities at the entrance to the hive to note attempts or forceful entries.
In addition, always make sure that your hive is clean and that there are no tools or hive parts around that must have been contaminated with honey.
Conclusion
The amount of honey you can get per hive per year will vary depending on many factors; however, you should be considering around 30-80 pounds of honey per year. Although bees have evolved to be capable of efficiently managing and safeguarding their hives, however, you have to help them out.
Honey bees in recent times have had to deal with a wide range of threats such as pests, diseases, man-made pesticides, and other toxins. Howbeit, you can always leverage certain tips and precautions to guarantee the well-being of your colonies.