Subject: SA's Bee Forage Problem - Deadline 21st Aug

South Africa's Bees Need More Food — Now Beekeepers Can Help Shape the Solution

We talk constantly about protecting honey bees.

But there is a much more basic question:

What are all these bees going to eat?

Bee forage has become one of the biggest constraints facing managed beekeeping, and this month beekeepers are being asked to help develop practical solutions.

The Western Cape Honey Bee Forage Committee will hold an information and workshop session at Stellenbosch University on 29 August.

And this isn't simply another discussion about planting flowers.

Beekeepers and forage stakeholders are being invited to submit practical proposals covering:

Deciduous-fruit cover crops
Wine-industry cover crops
Natural forage
Eucalyptus

Ideas should consider where forage can actually be created, who controls the land, what resources will be required, who needs to participate and what it will cost.

Proposal deadline: 21 August 2026.

The five strongest proposals are intended to be presented and workshopped.

Why this matters

Strong pollination colonies cannot simply be produced the day an orchard flowers.

A worker bee takes roughly 18–20 days to develop before emerging and approximately another 20 days before becoming an active field bee.

That means the pollination or strong colony required in spring depends heavily on the forage available weeks beforehand.

This is why bee forage isn't simply an environmental issue.

It is an agricultural production input. It's also not just a question for the Western Cape Beekeeping but has been a HOT topic for us for over two decades for all of South Africa's Honeybee Industry and Beekeepers!

If we want more strong pollination colonies, more honey production and a larger sustainable beekeeping industry, we need to consider where those colonies will feed for the rest of the year.

Proposal deadline: 21 August 2026

Email: forage@wcba.co.za

WORKSHOP MEETING REGISTER HERE:

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdzF7rHfqLEOfmO99xdCdpzLctMYjixh-IgEWnJvnbV70gZDQ/viewform

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Bee Plant Books For Honeybees in South Africa

The is a very well researched and published set of books that cover the nectar and pollen values that South African forage and tht honeybees benefit from.

Beekeeping in South Africa, 4th Edition Edited by Dr Martin Johannesmeier

Beeplants of South Africa by M.F. Johannsmeier, published as Strelitzia 37 by the South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI). It outlines nectar, pollen, and propolis sources across native and exotic flora.

Downloading a PDF version of the Bee Plants of South Africa is possible for free by clicking on the above link.

Buying a hard copy of Beekeeping in South Africa is necessary as it remains protected by copyright.

Bee Ware Editorial Commentary | Opinion:

There's a lot of climate change charged arguments for both sides, for and against.

Climate discussion often presents estimates as settled measurements. The frequently quoted pre-industrial CO₂ level of 278 ppm was not recorded in 1750; it was reconstructed decades later from Antarctic ice cores, with an estimated value of 278.3 ± 2.9 ppm.

Direct atmospheric measurements began only in 1957–58. Those records confirm that CO₂ is increasing, but they also show that vegetation, soils and oceans absorb a substantial share of human emissions, while increased CO₂ has contributed to measurable global greening.

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El Niño is likewise a natural, recurring climate cycle—not proof by itself of permanent climate change. For beekeepers, the useful question is not which political argument wins, but what is actually happening in the field: when rain arrives, whether follow-up rain occurs, temperatures during flowering and whether plants produce nectar.

We should monitor long-term trends seriously, but we should be equally cautious about blaming every drought, storm or poor honey season on climate change.

Good beekeeping begins with observation, measured evidence and preparation—not alarm.

Specific Interest to Note:

Instrument records show warming since 1931, exceeding 2°C per century in some western, northern and eastern regions of South Africa. That is a regional rate, not a uniform national figure. South African National Climate Change Information System.

What's your plan?

This is a personal opinion commentary following hours of review and reading findings from across the globe sourced from various sources as listed below.

Sources:
Scripps direct atmospheric record
NOAA’s Law Dome archive

IPCC explanation and underlying references
Berkeley Earth history and methodology
IPCC assessment of extreme events

South African National Climate Change Information System

NASA greening observations

Honeybees prefer slightly saline, sun-warmed water.

If you thought all it took to make a queen bee was Royal Jelly, you need to watch this fascinating interview with the researcher with over 7-years invested in this [Nature Journal] published study!

Not Just Royal Jelly: How Bees Really Make Queens | Dr Yahya Al Naggar | Published in Nature