I know, I know, I don't even have a single hive, but I'm going berserk over the weather and can only imagine what some of you beekeeper folks are going through with the non-stop rains, flooding, hail and yes, the tornado touchdowns. Worst is the constant thunderstorms, torrents that keep plastering a region. I can imagine that this year Kansas will not be seeing the bumblebees because of all the flooding, and I can imagine all the honeybees sitting in their hives, starving because of all the non-stop rains. Honeybees never come out when its overcast either because of the threat of possible rain plus the darkened skies hamper their vision as well. I always notice that honeybees have to stop working about 2 hours before the sun sets?? in order to make it back to their hive. I am one upset bee fan.
Have any of you experienced weaker hives because of this onslaught in weather? Have any of you been affected from previous years of extreme rains?
Bees have been around for thousands of years. Don't worry about them. They are catching up on their knitting or house cleaning or something during the rain.
QuoteHoneybees never come out when its overcast either because of the threat of possible rain plus the darkened skies hamper their vision as well. I always notice that honeybees have to stop working about 2 hours before the sun sets?? in order to make it back to their hive.
if this were true, there would be no bees in Oregon. they head back either because they are done, or because the temps are changing. sometimes mine work right up to dark. sometimes they don't.
you can probably find better things to get depressed about.
Bees work right up until dark. And rain doesn't bother them as much as some think it does. In FL we have daily thunderstorms all summer long. I raise my own queens and they still get out and wiggle around between rain drops to get mated. If we didn't have t-storms and hurricanes FL would probably be a desert.
Your in K.C. Mo.;
Quit worrying about bees, go do some volunteer work for the people in Joplin, Mo. there are beekeepers there also, your neighbors.
Bee-Bop
Beekeeping is just another type of farming...hail can wreck a beehive and a year's crop of corn. Too much rain will keep the farmer from planting on time and keep the bees from working so much. A cool wet summer means lower yield both in wheat and in honey.
Beeks are not suffering any more or less than anybody else right now.
And yes, excessive rain does mean less honey and less bee activity. But I usually only worry about things that I can control.... :)
The honeybees cope just fine. A few will die, but with a lifespan of 6 weeks in the summer...that's not a big deal.
Do something, small or large, to help the people being affected by the flooding/tornados - it should help take your mind off your worries, too. The bees will make do as they did for millions of years before we came down from the trees.
Thanks guys!!!! I appreciate the honesty! I would help, my church is doing tons of volunteer work, but also a huge chunk of my money went to Japan. This year our Easter offering went 1/2 to the Appalachians and 1/2 to Nicaragua. I gave a little less then usual because I had to save up some money for Japan since there was no offering at all at my church. But then!!! I had no idea that the weather would wreak such devastation in the U.S. too. What a nightmare!!!! Sometimes us rose gardeners only think in microclimate scale! All I see is what goes on in the garden. I forgot that bees aren't at all like roses that really, really suffer and die with all the rains and flooding, and keep thinking that bees are far more fragile because of all the CCD. So I really was freaking out with the tornadoes and hail killing the bees.
Yeah, it was real heartbreaking when I watched the news on TV footage at my parents' house. I can catch glimpses of the news on the internet but it's nowhere the same effect. Saw the earthquake the very night it occurred in Japan. That was the worst of all. Saw entire cities be wiped away in the same amount of time as Joplin was leveled. With TV news you see how fast Nature hits, tornado and the ocean basically erases everything in its path! Only difference with tornado is that there is hope, always hope and miracles you can cling to. An ocean there is no mercy when it crashes over your heads.
Not to throw things off on a more depressing scale, but I do blame global warming for the hot meltdowns and the cold air currents from the melting snows wreaking terrible devastations to our environment. I am expecting more floods and tornadoes and yes, terrible loss of human lives. More tsunamis will hit because of the global warming and changes in water levels. Who to help will only increase as time goes by. But it's hard for me not to be as concerned about nature and innocent creatures as well whose lives are very seriously affected by global climate changes. St. Francis loved all living creatures and we should equally be as concerned about their welfare. Things are seriously, seriously wacked out.
if you can find some of that global warming, please send it my way!
I agree with you Serena, long periods of rain can exhaust a hive's supplies because the rain washes nectar from the flowers, and a beek might have to feed during these times. You might have lower honey production during the wet, but it can also bode well for later on, with some plants flowering more due to the extra rain. I've noticed here some trees prefer drought and others wet. Too much rain can also cause mould and troubles in hives if moisture gets in.
Lone
I wish we could get some of your rain. Our honey flow looks poor compared to last year when we had a wet spring and summer.
We can't win them all.
Good Luck,
Steve