Ireland's beekeepers are having to feed their bees sugar this summer instead of taking away the honey which should be filling their hives.
The very wet weather of the past two months has meant that the honey bees have been unable to forage, leading to a dramatic fall in the production of honey. "I have been keeping bees for the past 20 years and I have never seen anything like it," said Mr Gerry Murphy, secretary of the North Kildare Beekeepers' Association.
Honey bees, unlike the wild bumble bee, are unable to operate in wet or misty weather and will not leave the hive, he said. "Because of that, I have been feeding three to four pounds of sugar to each hive each week instead of taking away 40lb of honey."
He explained that the bees were themselves consuming any honey they were able to produce and there was now a deficit of honey even for them.
"The situation is chronic and the reports that I have been getting from around the country are equally as bad."
Some of the hives had produced honey in April, but this was badly needed to keep the hives themselves running.
"Unless there is a dramatic improvement in the weather or the bees start wearing overcoats and adapt, there will be very little home-produced honey this year," Mr Murphy added.
According to Met Éireann, the month of June was certainly not conducive to the production of honey, with an average rainfall 1½ times more than normal.
The Met Service's weather station at Belmullet, Co Mayo, recorded its highest ever June rainfall since records began in 1956. Levels there came in at 217 per cent of normal. The only part of the State to record less rain than average was Rosslare, Co Wexford, where levels were just below normal.
June temperatures, too, were down by an average of almost 1°C. The only exception was at Malin Head, Co Donegal, which returned temperatures 0.4 per cent above normal.
The weather is expected to remain unsettled until the weekend. However, according to Met Éireann, it will become warmer.