Honeybee Survival During Late Summer
5 min read

Honeybee Survival During Late Summer

When we picture bees, we usually imagine sunny spring afternoons filled with blooming wildflowers and buzzing gardens. But as late summer arrives, a very different story unfolds inside the hive. Especially during long periods of heat and this summer of 2026, is one in particular that needs our attention.

Behind the scenes, August and September bring the most gruelling test of survival a honeybee colony will face all year. What unfolds during these critical weeks ultimately determines whether a hive survives the winter ahead.

Here in the UK, beekeepers are witnessing some of the most challenging late-summer conditions in years. With many of our apiaries tucked away in remote countryside, reaching and supporting so many hives in such a tight window is a demanding endeavour in itself. Yet, as you’ll see, our dedication to bee welfare and long-term sustainability remains at the absolute heart of everything we do.


The Late-Summer Crunch: Heat, Hunger, and Survival

As summer flowers fade, colonies enter what beekeepers call a nectar dearth. Natural food sources dry up precisely when hive populations are at their absolute peak. To make matters tougher, soaring temperatures force bees to stop foraging for nectar entirely and switch to full-time cooling duty.

Bees collect water to evaporatively cool the hive and form "beards" outside the entrance to keep internal temperatures from spiking. This constant climate control drains massive amounts of energy. When resources run dry, hives face severe nutritional stress, sometimes even resorting to cannibalising larvae to protect the broader colony.

Worse yet, this resource crunch happens right when the queen needs to raise "winter bees". Unlike summer workers that live only a few weeks, winter bees must survive up to 8 months on stored reserves to carry the colony into spring.

What It Means to Us as Family Beekeepers at Maters & Co

For our family at Maters & Co, late summer beekeeping brings a profound sense of duty. We don't simply harvest honey; we are stewards of these remarkable creatures. Watching our colonies navigate heat and scarcity reminds us that raw honey (especially in the UK) is never guaranteed, it's a precious gift born from resilience.

To support our hives through this high-stress stretch, our daily work shifts into high gear:

  • Monitoring and Water Detail: We place shallow water stations around our apiaries to save our bees long, exhausting flights just to find moisture for hive cooling.
  • Hive Cooling Support: We install overhead shade boards over our hives during peak heat hours, drastically reducing internal temperatures so bees can focus on brood care rather than constant fanning.
  • Targeted Supplemental Feeding: When natural forage vanishes, we step in with light 1:1 sugar-water syrup to prevent starvation, ensuring the queen stays healthy enough to rear strong winter bees.
  • Defending the Strong and Weak: We fit hive entrances with robbing screens to protect vulnerable or smaller colonies from being raided by stronger hives during food shortages.

What Would Life Look Like Without the Honey Bee?

It's easy to take these tireless pollinators for granted, but a world without honey bees would look radically different.

Over 80% of wild flowering plants depend on insect pollination to reproduce. Without them, natural habitats would suffer sweeping biodiversity losses. In grocery stores, more than a third of our food supply would vanish or become luxury items. Staples like apples, berries, almonds, coffee, avocados, melons, and squashes rely heavily on bee pollination. Even livestock feed like alfalfa and clover would drop dramatically, sending shockwaves through dairy and meat production.

Could humans survive?

Technically, yes. Major calorie staples like wheat, rice, corn, and oats are wind-pollinated or self-pollinating, so humanity wouldn't starve overnight. However, our diets would be stripped of essential micronutrients, vitamins, and variety, triggering widespread health crises and soaring food costs worldwide.

Jar of honey with a bee design on a wooden surface with a blurred natural background

How You Can Support Bee Welfare as Honey Consumers & Enthusiasts

You don't need to be a beekeeper to make a tangible difference during late summer. Whether in your garden, balcony or at the dining table, here is how you can support bee survival during late August:

💦 Create a Backyard Bee Watering Hole: Leave out a shallow dish or birdbath filled with water, pebbles, and floating corks. The stones give thirsty bees a safe landing pad so they can take water back to cool their hives without drowning.

🌼 Plant Late-Blooming Flora: Add drought-tolerant late bloomers like goldenrod, asters, sedum, and lavender to your garden. These offer vital nectar corridors when wild flowers begin to fade.

🍯 Support Ethical, Local Beekeeping: Choose raw honey from small-scale family beekeepers who prioritise colony welfare over industrial yields. Ethical beekeepers ensure hives retain ample food reserves to thrive through the winter months.

🧪 Avoid Pesticides in Late Summer: Refrain from applying chemical sprays or weedkillers in your garden, especially during dry spells when bees are searching heavily for any accessible plant juices or water.

By lending a hand during the toughest stretch of the season, we ensure these vital pollinators thrive, not just for the honey, but for the health of our shared planet.

Support our British hives this late summer by shopping our raw honey.

Source: The British Ecological Society