Yet another hot, humid and hazy North Carolina summer is here. Today was the hottest day of the year so far. Unofficially, here at my house, the daytime temperature was 101 degrees. And tonight its not much better. As of this moment, the temperature is 86 degrees and the relative humidity if 65%. All you have to do is step outside and you're soaking wet. A lot of air conditioners, fans and front porches are getting workouts in this miserable weather.
Not to be outdone, bees in the Old North State also look for means to keep cool. That includes covering the outside of the hive to get some sort of air. It was such a hot day that the bees covered the front of the hives both day and night, the ones on the landing furiously fanning their wings to circulate air inside the hive. As you can see in the photos, the bees in the green and orange hives have larger populations, while their sisters in the blue and yellow hive are newly established hives with lower populations.
Mother Nature is giving us a reprieve though. The daytime temperature in the next few days will be in the upper 80s and lower 90s with a chance of showers. But remember, we're just in mid-July. August is usually worse temperature-wise.
Wonder if they make mini air-conditioners for bee hives?
