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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