September arrived almost before we knew it, and the rain has started again.
We’ve finished harvesting the honey that we’ll share with you. During the dry, scorching heat of August, wildflowers — an important source of nectar for the bees — became scarce. For beekeepers, this is always a season that makes us a little anxious.
But it seems that this challenging time is finally beginning to come to an end.
The goldenrod blooming next month will be the bees’ final major nectar source of the season. We won’t be harvesting it, though.
Instead, we’ll leave it for the bees, so they can build up the food reserves they need to get through the winter.
When we open the hives, our girls are no longer immediately coming after us in protest. They seem calm, and are quietly getting themselves ready for the months ahead.
We’re keeping an eye on the health of the queens while working to control Varroa destructor, the parasitic mite that can weaken colonies and transmit pathogens.
And this year, we’ve noticed something else: the giant hornets have been arriving later than usual. Normally, they begin coming in force around the middle of August. But so far this year, we’re still seeing only a few each day.
Could the changing climate — or this year’s unusual weather — be affecting them in some way, too?
Hornets are formidable predators of honeybees, but they also have an important role to play in the natural ecosystem.
The heat, the rain, the flowers, and the movements of the hornets…
Every year, the seasons seem to follow the same rhythm, yet somehow, something is always a little different.
As unusual weather becomes more common, we find ourselves quietly watching these changes in nature — together with our bees.