Lloyd wrote: We had the 2nd wettest July on record.

That wasn't how I remembered things, so I went to local weather charts to check.  Actually, June was very wet, carrying into July 1 when it rained 3 inches.  Excepting July 1, July was drier than average and definitely hotter than average.  Up to July 1 the bees were doing quite well, but things came to a screeching halt after that as things stayed very hot and very dry into goldenrod, when the rain returned with a vengeance.  October totaled almost 9 inches of rain!

 

So it was a very unusual season in these parts.  The bees (or at least my bees) took back stores during the summer they had capped in June.  This was a season that even the loosestrife failed, and legend has it that loosestrife NEVER fails.  It did this year.  I suspect things got so bad during the mid to late summer that queens shut down and never recovered once the rains returned.  My recollection is that there were 3 solid weeks of rain from September into October.  Most whom I've talked to are very worried they will suffer heavy winter losses.  Count me as one of them.  Yes Bob, I am admitting dismal winter losses and it's not even Thanksgiving.  I'd be combining the weak with the strong, but almost everything is weak.

 

I did use formic pads when I pulled supers in September, and things looked promising then.  But I am not pleased with how my bees look at this point in time.  Small clusters and hives were light.  I fed copious amounts of HFCS in October, but I fear too little, too late.

 

I am hearing similar stories from many in this area (way upstate NY and Western Massachusetts).

 

Aaron Morris - thinking silent spring.

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