REGARDING           Spring bee scarcity
 
I hope that this post is not too redundant, but I thought I'd comment on some
observations here in southeastern Michigan.
 
Yesterday was one of the first real warm spring days we've had (77F).   I
spent the whole afternoon cleaning out numerous dead hive bodies and resetting
them up for new packages.  Lots of honey in frames was spread out all around
me for the entire warm, sunny afternoon.  Only one single scout bee approached
my work area the whole time, and I never did see any of her hivemates!
Amazing, since there is (or was) another beekeeper's pretty large apiary about
a half mile away.
 
In our flower garden, the crocusses are at their showiest, and in years past
each one has had two or three bees in it at a time.  Not a single honey bee
was to be seen in the garden, although the wild bee species were voraciously
collecting the abundant pollen.
 
These are indeed strange times.
 
Ted Fischer