# Worst I have ever seen.



## alleyyooper (Apr 22, 2005)

We have had an inch and 4 tenths of and inch of rain in 47 days now. Bass wood trees didn't bloom, some Milk weed mostly bloomed early then dried up real quick. Some never bloomed at all about 80% here. The wild dog wood did about the same.
Finally being some cooler we went on an inspection tour. First place the Christmas tree farm. First thing we noticed as we drove up was the star thisle is starting to bloom a month early. Next we noticed that the golden rod is also starting to bloom at least a month and a half early. Activity at the hives was spotty. Really bad feeling about what I was seeing at the entrances.
Hive number nine had six frames of capped honey in the second of three honey supers The bottom super was mostly full but not capped. This is in some rather ratty hives I had planed on changing out this fall lots of entrances and a year old queen. The deeps with out really pulling the frames looked fine fron looking between the frames.

Hive number 8 had little traffic, honey supers were empty, most of the frames in the top deep were empty also. Some brood capped and uncapped but no eggs. digging deeper we seen the queen. Need to feed them left supers off.

Hives 7 was totally gone no dead bees in the hive either, frames were totally cleand out probably robbed.

Hive 6 was so bad but still alive with a queen we put them in a 4 frame nuc. I've got full deeps at home I had removed this spring from colonies that made it thru winter in one deep I'll give them latter.

Hive 5, 4 & 2 had looked like they had just came thru winter with all the bees in the top box and nearly all the honey gone. I reveresed the boxes like I would in the spring, Again it looked like the queens had shut down so we had to find the queen as there was very few eggs in any of the hives.

Hive 1 was a dead out, not a clue what happened there, again not one dead bee in it nor on the bottom board.

Packed up and went to the front 6. 
Same results there except one was a dead out the other 5 had very little honey in the deeps. I reveresed two of them.
Noticed we had very few drones in or around any of the hives even the ones I had 3 drone combs frames in for mating my new queens. I bet out of 15 hives there wasn't a hand full of bees.

This yard needs to have the bees fed ASAP.


Horse farm was a bit better I assume due to the alafa. Removed the the empty honey supers here too. Third yard was in about the same straights as the horse farm. Probably due to the owner watering her flower gardens and fewer hives there.

Going out again today. I think I need to buy a pallet of sugar this year.

 Al


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## AverageJo (Sep 24, 2010)

We haven't gotten a lot of rain either, but we have a farm with woods and fields, so they seem to be doing OK. I was rather surprised that some are doing as well as they were as they started out so weak. I'll be looking at the ones out back today. Might actually pull some honey frames out of one that was doing great last time I looked at them.


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## scrapiron (Jul 23, 2011)

Wow, thats aweful. You have a lot of work ahead, and sugar prices will be no help. It is a great year here in this area. All the stores are sold out of super frames and foundation. Brushy Mountain is on backorder.I needed more supers 2 weeks ago. I am going to make a 3 hour drive this afternoon to pick some up finally. 

How is the weather forcast looking up there? Do you have any rain in sight?


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## Elizabeth (Jun 4, 2002)

Sorry to hear you're having it so rough this year. 

We have had little rain here in MN, but I guess just enough to keep things going. I have hives that were started from packages on May 2 that are making surplus on basswood right now, so it is a really good year for us so far.


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## mare (Aug 31, 2006)

sorry to hear this Al.
actually this is the first year i have ever seen blossoms on my basswoods, usually the tent caterpillars have the tree stripped by now. it is getting dry here too.


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## alleyyooper (Apr 22, 2005)

Was talking to John at the hay farm this morning. His second cutting that he should be cutting now isn't even high enough to reach the cutter heads hardly. Isn't worth the cost of fuel (just got a 1000 gallons Yesterday at 3.10/9 a gallon.) to run the haybine thru the fields. Our bees there looked as bad as yesterdays. Nothing in the honey supers no drones to speak of, *LOTS OF PROPLIS YESTERDAY AND TODAY.* Our stone yard looked bad too.

Sugar and high fruitrous corn syrup prices are going to be awful, but if I buy a pallet early Maybe I'll beatthe price jump.


30% chance Of rain sunday but we have had plenty of those forecast. Midland north of us and Detroit south of ushavebeen getting plenty. Flooding in Detroit last Friday they had so much and more of the same Monday morning.


 Al


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## AverageJo (Sep 24, 2010)

Wow... you're sure getting hit hot and dry. Hopefully you're getting cooled off a bit this next week. I'm sure not looking forward to sugar prices rising, but then perhaps I can raise my honey prices this fall as well. 

I went and checked my hives. Put 2 more honey supers on some of them as they were at the top. One died out and was being robbed, so I just left it for the bees to clean out the rest of the way. Another hive will probably not make it. That will bring me down to 8 hives. Now if we can keep them going until winter...

As for hay... yea, we haven't cut our second crop either. Just too dang dry out there and it's just not growing any. On the brigher side of the coin, our yard isn't either, so there's no need to mow!!


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## indypartridge (Oct 26, 2004)

Our last rain was May 1st. My yard needs raked as the trees are just giving up for the summer and dropping leaves. 

And there won't be a second cutting from the hay field this year. The only good thing is that there is a significant amount of dutch clover in the hay field, and it seems to do fairly well during drought. But now it's drying out too.


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## alleyyooper (Apr 22, 2005)

If you check that dutch clover you may be surprized at the lack of nectar it it. 
Here it looks good but if you pull the florets and bite on the small end there isn't any thing there.

It is 20F cooler here this week than last week. Biggest reason we are pulling the supers is to avoid heat stroke.

 Al


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## Belfrybat (Feb 21, 2003)

To me this definitely does not sound like good news, so why all the green laughing / happy faces? I'd be posting sad/ crying faces with the kind of report you just made. Guess we all react differently, don't we? Hope you get cooler weather and some rain soon.


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## scrapiron (Jul 23, 2011)

Belfrybat said:


> so why all the green laughing / happy faces?


They are a part of his profile settings, and appear on all his posts. If I cried at every one of my misgivings..... Id have a permanent snot nose! :nono: I dont think so. I know I was bad as a teenager, and that Karma would get me one day. BUT ITS BEEN 20 YEARS NOW. Day after day! Me and Karma are next door neighbors and I laugh every time she stops in to visit. :rock:


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## alleyyooper (Apr 22, 2005)

Scrap iron has it.
When life hands you a lemon instead of running to a dark room to cry Make lemonade. 
Next year will be better and some one else will get the short end of the stick.
Sort of like Texas had a bad drought last year, I heard yesterday they got 10 inches of rain.

 Al


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## Belfrybat (Feb 21, 2003)

alleyyooper said:


> .
> Sort of like Texas had a bad drought last year, I heard yesterday they got 10 inches of rain.
> 
> Al


Hah! Maybe one or two counties, but no where near here -- We received 0.2 inch -- not enough to settle the dust.


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## alleyyooper (Apr 22, 2005)

Finished the last out yard yesterday. No honey in the honey supers but lots in the top deep. White clover is still in bloom and the bees were all over it. That clover has real deep roots so maybe it is deep enought to get moisture. Didn't see many drones here either, lots of proplis same as every where else.
Golden rod hasn't bloomed there yet but will soon.

I made up a nuc there and brought it home where we have the mose colonies to see if I can get a well mated queen \.


 Al


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