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Sat, 21 Jul 2012 19:29:19 -0500 |
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Hello Mary Jane & All,
>woods, rocks, hills and eaten-down pastures and drying ponds is all that is
>around us. Suggestions?
My advice has been sought by beekeepers with at times commercial operations
on the line. I have upset a few with my advice. Being north of you and very
familiar with your area I will give you advice.
Hope helps.
Due to the high heat queens have shut down laying. Populations are dropping
fast. bees are not taking down as much honey as you would think.
Water to cool hives is a big concern. Give your bees a good water source.
Pull all your supers if you want honey and start feeding.
In the drought of 1989 I fed bees all year. We have already passed the 1989
record and working on the 1956 drought record in my area. Dust bowl days
drought record ( 1934-36)will be broken for my area *if* the drought goes
another 10 days over a 100F.
Not very far south of you beekeepers fed most of last year and already
feeding this year. My advice to a fellow commercial beekeeper from Oklahoma
was to depopulate down to his best hives. (he was not migratory).
Even with feed it will be hard to get the bees to raise three brood cycles
to winter on. Long range predictions (even the recent chart posted) is for a
cold winter.
My experience is bees winter poorly after a drought summer.
The jet stream is predicted to bring Canadian air in the first week of
August but the temps could hang on until winter. Last September and October
were close to the driest on record for our area.
Corn crops about done for my area with soybeans barely surviving. Bees are
working soybeans with the blue flowers near one of my yards.
You will need to feed most likely Mary Jane as about all left in your area
is dormant fescue and Oak trees.
Last March it looked like 2012 was going to be the mother of all honey
crops. My fellow beekeepers laughed when I said drought was very likely. I
based my position on sub soil moisture mainly.
I did not buy brood in Texas (only queens) and only split enough to keep
bees out of trees.
I have a buyer for every alive hive next spring. Still depopulating seems a
reasonable idea.
Hope for the best and plan for the worst.
Sincerely,
Bob Harrison
trying to retire from beekeeping
Missouri
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