How hot is it? This HOT!

In case you haven't heard, the south has been hit with a tropical heatwave. Oh yeah, my friends, it is really hot here. How hot you ask? Well, when I left for work on Wednesday afternoon, the temperature at the house was 103 degrees. At my office in downtown Reidsville, it was 100. And at our regional office in Danville, Virginia (which is about 24 miles north) it was 102 degrees. And to think that just last week, a cool front moved through and the daytime highs only reached the low 80s for a few days. It never fails that with the weather being this extreme, people don't ask you how you're doing, they ask you if its hot enough for you.

I had a great question put to me today by a co-worker. He wanted to know how the honey bees survive in this type of weather. My answer to him was, very well, thank you!

To help illustrate how the bees stay cool in hot weather, I made these pictures on Wednesday night. Beekeepers know this is a common sight in summer months -- many times its called bearding. This is a night-time occurance. Why at night? Because the forager or worker bees are gone in the daytime, out working and searching for pollen and nectar. But at night, when the whole colony is back home, it gets hot and crowded in the hive. So, many of the bees will go outside to relax -- much like people do by sitting on their front porches at night. The really cool thing is to stand right in front of the hive and listen to the steady buzzing of the bees as they fan their wings. It sounds like a fan on low speed. The only thing missing is a big, cold glass of lemonade.

The yellow hive is the oldest of the three, and the lime and orange hives are this year's splits -- so they don't have quite the population as the mother hive. But as you can see, they're doing just fine, and the girls are working to keep their sisters (and queen) cool during these miserable, muggy nights. Good job, ladies! 

Until next time, bee cool!

Feeding my bees at night! Oh yes, they were wide awake...

Sometimes it seems like there just isn't enough time in the day for me, especially after Labor Day comes. At the television station where I work, we cover lots of fall events, festivals and such. Then once Halloween passes, we go full speed ahead through the Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's holidays. I will get this coming Thursday off for Thanksgiving, but otherwise, its just a regular work week.

Reidsville, the city where I live, held its annual Christmas parade this past Saturday. I was one of the on-air talents and so I was busy all day getting ready..and had no time to check on my colony. For the past week, I wanted to get down there and check on how they're doing, but one thing or another came up and so I got sidetracked. I also wanted to refill the hive-top feeder which was probably empty.

Of course, the weather was beautiful, albeit cold during the parade, but afterwards.. the rains came. And it has been raining non-stop ever since. This has been the rainiest late summer and fall that I can remember in years, and I guess Mother Nature is making up now for lost time. 

While my girls have a really nice winter store of honey going on in the hive, I'm one of those "what if" people. You know, what if it gets really nasty weatherwise in the next few months? What if I'm not careful and they starve to death? What if this.. what if that? So even though they have lots of honey, I mean packed, my cautious judgement tells me to keep the feed bag on. I think that as long as the temperatures stay fairly warm I will continue to feed them to make sure they're okay. 

So while I was sitting at home tonight (10:30) I had a grand idea! Why not feed my girls tonight? After all, they're all resting and snug inside the hive. The temperature was 48 degrees and it was raining.. so why not run out, throw some syrup in the feeder and come back in the house? It would take all of five minutes and I wouldn't need a veil. So I made some syrup and while it cooled, I headed for the hive with a flashlight. And as I made my way, I thought to myself, surely the guard bees will stay in and not worry about what was making those slight noises outside. They're probably asleep. Right?

Wrong...

I got the hive top off and the inner cover off.. and that's when I could hear the slight buzzing start. As I started pouring the syrup in the feeder and occasionally flashing the light on the reduced entrance, I began to notice one bee come out, then two bees, and then more and more. Apparently feeling the vibrations, they decided to come out and see just what the heck was going on. By this time a fine mist was falling, so I hurried up to get the tops and the brick weights back on. Oh yeah, by the time I got everything back together, a healthy number of curious girls had started piling out of the hive entrance.. and I knew it was time to head for the house. While I knew they wouldn't fly very far from the hive if they flew at all.. I was practically standing just inches from it, so I figured they could possibly get up my pants or up my shirt sleeves, so I said to myself that it was time to go. And I did just that.

I have to admit that I do feel better that I got my girls fed. And I'm glad they'll have something to occupy their time during this nasty weather. But I learned a lesson. Even in colder weather, and even at night, your bees are going to check out those knocks and bumps. So if you're going to feed them or do some work around the hive, please, do it in the daytime. That or be prepared to take off if they decide to come out to take care of the situation!

To all my friends in the States and Canada, a Happy Thanksgiving to you all!

Another hot night and the girls have a front porch social!

Whew. It is sticky here tonight. The temperature is 72 degrees and the humidity is....70%! Even in the house, with the air conditioning running, you can still feel the moisture in the air. And the weird thing is, it is so dry, its been weeks since we've had a decent rain, and the air feels thick.

I decided to step outside and I noticed that the girls were feeling the weather too. Like I said, even with air conditioning, its still muggy, and I can only imagine how hot it is in that hive throughout the day and into the night.

As you can see, the party got started with a few of the girls, but word spread quickly and the next thing you know, a lot of the girls came out to get some of the cooler night air.

Several sources say that one reason bees do this is because of ventilation and another says that its because they just like doing it. When I did my inspection this past Saturday, I put four popcicle sticks under the hive-top feeder to make a slight vent to allow some air to circulate inside the hive. That's a trick from a commercial beekeeper. But honestly, I don't think it has to do with air flow, I think its because they just like to come outside at night and sit on the stoop.

Enjoy the photos of my girls on the porch. More on my two-week inspection coming up!

Bee safe!

Chillin' on the front porch on a hot summer night!

I have to admit that it has been hot and dry here for the last few weeks. The days are especially humid and it only takes seconds to break a sweat once you leave the comfort of your air conditioned house or car.

Thing is, the nights are much better. They're a lot less humid and much cooler with the temperatures in the upper 60s, the kind of weather made for sitting on the front porch and reflecting on life.

I can easily see my bee hive from the kitchen window, and the amber colored mercury vapor security light I have in my yard really lights the entire area at night. So tonight, about 11 o'clock, I go to get a drink of water at the sink and noticed something while peering out of the window. I could see some sort of dark blob on the front of the hive, to the right side of the entrance, but couldn't make out what it was. We've had several bears spotted in the Triad area recently, but I knew it wasn't that unless it was mighty small. And I went outside a few nights ago and could smell a skunk that must have been hit by a car or startled in some way...it was really smelling up the entire area. Based on what I've read, I know skunks are fond of honey and brood, so I sprank into action with my flashlight to see what was going on.

I have to admit that I was pleasantly surprised. When I got there with the flashlight, I would see that there was absolutely nothing going on...well...except my girls were relaxing in the cool night air. I've read in several books and online that on some hot nights, you'll see the honeybees "beard" or cover the entrance to get cool air, and that's what was apparently happening in this case. They were not excited or moving...they were just motionless and obviously enjoying the late July evening air. I guess after a hard day of foraging and tending to the house and looking after those bee babies, these ladies needed a night off. And that's just what they were doing...taking the night off. Who could blame them?

I have a two-week inspection set up for this weekend so maybe they'll be as docile then as they were tonight. I can hope anyway.