Beekeepers in Purbeck are praying for a glorious summer for the first time in three years – because bees are missing the sun even more than the residents.
Summer and autumn 2024 were the coolest and wettest across Purbeck in Dorset, in almost a decade, leading to a dreadful honey harvest with very few swarms, and now residents are being sought to help swell the numbers of local bee hives.
Dozens of residents attended a beginners’ guide to beekeeping at Worth Matravers village hall
Start up a hive or two in Purbeck gardens
With an increase in the number of hornets – voracious predators of bees – arriving in Dorset on boats and ferries, and statistics showing an increase in honey marketed in the UK which mostly contains sugar syrup, new beekeepers are being sought to help safeguard the future for local bees.
Local scientist and bee lover Patti Sandham presented a beginners’ guide to beekeeping at Worth Matravers village hall on Tuesday 11th February 2025, presented by Sustainable Worth with the aim of hoping to attract new recruits to the hobby.
Dozens of Purbeck residents joined the illustrated talk, and enjoyed the bee products on sale including honey cake, bees wax and, of course, some increasingly scarce jars of local honey.
Now Worth Matravers resident Patti hopes that some of them will be interested enough to start up a hive or two in gardens throughout Purbeck.
Patti is one of East Dorset’s swarm collectors – but there were no call outs at all in 2024 thanks to the weather
“In 2024 we took out no honey at all”
Patti Sandham said:
“The honey flow is the time of year when bees are putting loads of honey into the hive and you can take loads out, but in 2024 we took no honey at all out of our hives because it was raining so much and the bees ate it all.
“Bees don’t like it when the weather is cold, wet and windy so some years are really poor for honey production, and if the weather is awful the queen can’t lay eggs properly, which is why lots of hives die.
“But at the same time, very high temperatures in the Mediterranean mean that hornets are flying further north and more and more are coming over here on boats and ferries – they are carnivorous and decapitate bees.
“If you see an Asian hornet, you need to notify Defra immediately – they pose a very real threat to the well being of bees and the biodiversity of Purbeck, and we totally understand the threat.
“In 2023 there were 71 Asian hornet nests found in 55 locations in southern England, though thankfully none in Dorset, yet.”
EU tests with the latest DNA technology found that 90 percent of UK retailers were selling imported honey that mostly contained sugar syrup
Rocked by reports of fake honey
In addition to the many threats to hives of bees, the UK has also been rocked by DNA tests commissioned by the Honey Authenticity Network, which reported in November 2024 that more than 90 per cent of honey jars from major UK retailers contained sugar syrup in place of pure honey.
Up to a third of the world’s honey is now thought to be fake, with syrups made from rice, beetroot or other cheap crops diluting the real thing on the cheap – and while they are safe, they don’t contain the flavour, nutrients and unique enzymes of pure honey.
The Honey Authenticity Network (HNC) believes that low prices are a greater threat to bees than pesticides or disease, because when beekeeping isn’t any longer economical, beekeepers will abandon their hives, leaving bees without the care they need to thrive.
The HNC says that fewer bees will mean less pollination, which in turn will affect crop yields and claims that a lack of real honey in stores could lead to fewer flowers, fewer plants and eventually fewer options on supermarket shelves.
Patti Sandham, of Worth Matravers, is out to recruit more beekeepers in Purbeck
“Masses of honey fraud going on”
Patti Sandham said:
“There is masses of honey fraud going on, which new DNA tests have made possible to check – there is exported honey from China which has been found to contain as little as 10 percent pure honey and 90 percent sugar syrups.
“Really, if honey seems cheap on supermarket shelves it will be because there is something wrong with it. Buying it from local beekeepers is best because we will say where it has come from, and in general our bees won’t travel far from their hives.
“We would love more people to try looking after a hive or two, but even more we would love everyone to plant more bee friendly flowers in their gardens, like lavender, hollyhocks, foxgloves, buddleia, alliums, clover and sunflowers.
“Bees will fly for up to three miles at the most to collect nectar, so we dread it when we see oil seed rape fields round here, because the bees love it, but oil seed rape honey tastes horrible!”
Always wear a white bee suit if you don’t want to be mistaken for a bear
“Worry if you see a bee inside your face mask”
Patti added:
“I’m a scientist who always wanted to keep bees and when we came down here permanently I started, with help from my husband Richard, who hates bees. Hives are quite heavy to move around, so I need his help, and it means that if anyone is going to get stung it will be him.
“I’m actually allergic to bees, but because I’m quite calm it tends to be fine, and before I open the hive up I take really strong medication.
“If you want to be a beekeeper you will definitely need some protective clothing, bee suits are pretty good and the worst that can happen is getting a hole in the netting – bees do like to go for your face and if you see a bee inside your face mask, that is the time to worry.
“Gloves are important, either leather or thick rubber, and wellies – but never tuck the legs of the suit inside your wellies, because the bees will go down your legs then up your trousers.
“We opened a hive up once and all the bees went for Richard, up his arms and everywhere, we got him into the house and were counting all the stings on him, there were like hundreds.
“But you metaphorically have to get back onto your horse after a fall and carry on riding, so we went back to the hive, put it all together again and the next day the bees were fine.”
Richard Sandham with a honeycomb, keeping a healthy distance from actual bees
Patti’s words of bee wisdom
- “Don’t spend more than you have to at the beginning, all too often people realise they don’t like bees or bees don’t like them.”
- “The reason suits are white, and why you should never wear anything dark is that bees think genetically and believe that if you are dark you are a bear and therefore you are likely to attack them.”
- “The queen is determined by her DNA, so if you have really horrible bees it is because you have a grumpy queen, and you would be advised to dispatch her and get a new queen.”
- “Bees don’t like strangers, and also know if you are tense around them, so you have to relax and do lots of outward breathing.”
- “Bees don’t like lawn mowers or any vibrations, so think carefully about where you position your hives.”
- “Drones are all males and are around in the spring to fertilise the queen, but get thrown out of the hive in the autumn because they don’t have a function and eat all the food.”
- “As written in the Magna Carta, if you run after a swarm, beating a saucepan and a spoon and shouting ‘My bees, my bees’, no one else can have them – though I haven’t lowered myself to that yet.”
Bee friendly flowers will help local hives produce loads of honey
Further information
- Be educated on all things bee related at the East Dorset Beekeepers’ Association website
