> is an alleged change in bloom dates actually having any impact on honey bee health (and honey yield)? Can honey bee populations get out of sync with the bloom dates?

Thank you for those old files. We can learn from the old stuff, 
especially if our memory slips and we don't have good personal records.

I agree that we have seen many changes in Alberta. Long before my time, 
the first bees in Alberta produced about 40 pounds per year (1880-1925) 
from native wildflowers, which in Alberta are not well-suited to 
European honey bees. Sweetclover arrived around 1925 along riparian 
trends and the AB per hive average jumped to 250 pounds within three 
years (1928). Today's canola may be offering less nectar, but it's 
interesting that the main flow is largely unchanged from its mid-summer 
timing. Of course, that lengthens the pre-flow dearth, requiring more 
feeding.

I think beekeepers can adapt to the earlier spring sources by changing 
feeding routines. However, I am concerned about native bee species, 
which are disappearing in some locations. Here, we get excited when we 
spot a member of a rare bumblebee species around Calgary. If we don't 
see one for a few years, we become concerned about species extirpation. 
Native species, unassisted by humans, often don't evolve fast enough to 
adapt to climate change.

*Here's a related question:  Do you think that beekeepers who feed 
pollen heavily in the spring help reduce the amount of natural pollen 
that our non-native honey bees consume, leaving more for native species 
and ultimately helping them? We are considering researching this and 
would love thoughts and comments.


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