{"id":591078,"date":"2026-08-12T16:06:11","date_gmt":"2026-08-12T16:06:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/591078\/"},"modified":"2026-08-12T16:06:11","modified_gmt":"2026-08-12T16:06:11","slug":"irish-bees-stressed-and-hungry-from-heat-as-lack-of-rainfall-hits-pollen-supplies-the-irish-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/591078\/","title":{"rendered":"Irish bees \u2018stressed\u2019 and \u2018hungry\u2019 from heat as lack of rainfall hits pollen supplies \u2013 The Irish Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

On a warm August day, Kieran Harnett\u2019s home honeybee apiary in south Dublin<\/a> is abuzz with activity. <\/p>\n

Harnett has been beekeeping for 20 years but explains he became serious about apiculture \u2013 as it\u2019s formally known \u2013 during Covid<\/a> lockdown when his work dwindled almost overnight.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe beekeeping saved me,\u201d he says of this period when he was kept busy tending to his hives. <\/p>\n

Harnett now manages hives all around Dublin. That task has been more strenuous this summer following one of the hottest, driest and sunniest<\/a> Julys on record.<\/p>\n

The drought situation<\/a> that July brought to most of the country means that Harnett\u2019s bees are not collecting as much pollen as usual.<\/p>\n

He says the bees typically gather less pollen in August, but this has been worsened by the lack of rainfall as plants have struggled to produce pollen and nectar. \u201cIf they\u2019ve no moisture in the ground, they (plants) shrivel up,\u201d Harnett explains.<\/p>\n

The Dublin native can gauge how much pollen his bees collect by watching the entrances to the hives, where honeybees can be spotted with their pollen baskets. <\/p>\n

\u201cIf you look at the entrance to the hives, there\u2019s hardly any coming in [with full baskets],\u201d he says. Pollen is vital for the bees as it provides them with the protein needed to reproduce. <\/p>\n

\"KieranKieran Harnett ensures there is a water source nearby for the bees to drink from, along with sticks or straw to give them something to land on and prevent them from drowning. Photograph: Bryan O\u2019Brien <\/p>\n

Despite the challenges faced, the warm weather is delivering an excellent honey crop. This harvest is the \u201cbest year ever in 20 years\u201d, according to Harnett. <\/p>\n

He typically harvests his spring and summer crops at the same time in August and says the hot spells mean both crops are excellent. <\/p>\n

\u201cNormally you\u2019d get a great spring crop and not a great summer crop or vice versa. But this year we got both because the weather kept getting better and better,\u201d he says. <\/p>\n

Harnett explains that the wet spring contributed to this harvest as it meant moisture stayed in the ground for a long time even when the weather was hot. <\/p>\n

To combat the dry conditions in July and since, he ensures there is a readily available water source nearby for the bees to drink from. <\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve a couple of garden ponds that I\u2019ve let go really overgrown so that the bees can land on the vegetation and drink,\u201d he says. <\/p>\n

As bees are prone to drowning, Harnett says people who want to help should provide a basin of water containing sticks or straw. This will allow the bees to land on something while they drink. <\/p>\n

\"BeekeeperBeekeeper Kieran Harnett says the lack of rainfall in July and August has created significant challenges for Ireland’s bee population. Photograph: Bryan O\u2019Brien <\/p>\n

Honeybees also need water for hive cooling as well as drinking. The beekeeper says the temperature in the hive needs to remain at about 34 degrees. The bees collect water and spread it on the combs. It then evaporates and cools the hive. <\/p>\n

\u201cIf it gets too hot, they start diverting foraging bees to water-collecting, so they stop collecting pollen and nectar because they have to collect water … Then, obviously, they stop producing honey and they start getting hungry and quite stressed.\u201d <\/p>\n

Deep-rooted plants that are drought tolerant also help honeybees stay hydrated in hot weather. Harnett encourages people to plant deep-rooted vegetation as \u201cin a drought, all the shallow-rooted plants stop producing nectar\u201d. <\/p>\n

In his own garden, he plants trees that have deep roots and produce nectar at this time of the year, even when it is hot and dry. <\/p>\n

Harnett works with the Dublin Beekeepers\u2019 Association (DBA), which runs a beginners\u2019 course in beekeeping every year. The DBA\u2019s annual honey show is scheduled for the first weekend of November in Taney Parish Centre in Dundrum, south Dublin.<\/p>\n

He encourages anyone interested in beekeeping to participate in a course from their local association.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"On a warm August day, Kieran Harnett\u2019s home honeybee apiary in south Dublin is abuzz with activity. Harnett…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":591079,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[72,2885,615,13355,61,60,3738],"class_list":["post-591078","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-business","tag-business","tag-climate-change","tag-dublin","tag-food-production","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-nature"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/591078","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=591078"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/591078\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/591079"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=591078"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=591078"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=591078"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}