Bee Chronicles

Aug 2022

This is 23 July (I hate being a month behind just because of publication dates)

I see sourwoods blooming in the forest at the 2500’ altitude

28 June nice steady rain fall, no bad wind. Have noticed sourwood blossom petals on the ground but not abnormal. Looks like those trees that were first bloomers are starting to shed petals but still have at least half of bloom to go. I am hoping for at least 2 more weeks

9 July RAIN! Started about 9PM last night. Strong wind, thunder, lightning, large raindrops. Settled down to steady rain, Drizzle until 9AM today. The Big Question is how did it affect the sourwood bloom. There are tulip poplar twigs with 3-4 leaves on them on the ground. They are like little sails catching the wind, whirling around and snapping off. Hard to use as an indicator to affect sourwood. BUT, sourwood is rows of bells with open end down. The wind and vibration from the rain drops, knocks the nectar out of the flowers. It will bee two days before we know if the nectar returns. Looking on the ground under the sourwood trees will give you an idea of how many blossoms were stripped off the little stringers. HOWEVER, again that may not be a good indicator because the blooms are 1/2 way spent (which is normal). The spent blossoms can be knocked off leaving the younger more durable blooms still okay, especially the buds on the lower end of the stringer which may not even be open yet.

The honeybees will continue to visit the sourwood trees for a few days hoping there is nectar. This is a memory reflex. So, following the bees’ flight path is not exactly accurate.

The best action today is pray! This was a “blow up storm”. How big was the area impacted by it? Lately there have been storms all around us but maybe not on the mountain you live on. The bees will search out to 2 miles looking for nectar and pollen. A few blossoms per tree may keep the bees working but it will be slow collection because of the length of time required for each round trip.

We are in the phase of filling the last supers of the season. Dehydrating them (the bees’ job), and getting the whole super capped. Capped supers can sit on the hive all winter long, so there is no need to hurry to remove them from the colony.

20 July: Praying is over and so is the sourwood. Just too many blustery “blow-up” storms that started with a gusty wind. Couple that with the long bloom period we enjoyed and the last blossoms were knock off the stems. When you check your trees now you will still see white. This is the bloom stem with the seed pods starting to develop on them.

What does it mean when you see honeybees on your humming bird feeder? They need food or water! A scout bee might show up in the morning but when many bees are trying to feed at the same time, there is some type of shortage. Start feeding. A field feeder will stop them from coming to the hummingbird feeder. But, you are feeding the neighbor’s bees also. Inside the hive is the best feeder location. It allows you to monitor exactly how much syrup each colony is taking in. It discourages hornets, wasps, and bumble bees from feeding at the colony front door.

Our next beekeeper activity is extracting the honey. Everyone has their own style for doing this. I like the one that requires the least amount of work. Just remember: You do not have to lift an entire full super. You can move it one frame at a time. If this takes you a few days it is better than throwing your back out or dropping an entire super of honey and bees.

After your honey is off treat for varroa mites if that is your style.

This is also the time to create a brood break by removing the queen and letting the hive grow a new queen. The new queen will be laying eggs in August with emergence in early September. She will brood until at least Thanksgiving. Make a 3-4 frame nuc with the old queen. The nuc will grow into at least 8 frames before winter.

Remember, when you remove your honey supers you automatically create a crowded environment inside the hive. Add supers, do splits, create wax building requirements for the bees.