“Swarming Season” By Annie Watson

There is nothing so thrilling as lying in the grass on a hot May or June day while thousands of bees fly in a circular pattern overhead, the air filled with the sound of their wings. Drawn by the queen’s pheromone, the swarm comes to temporary rest in a large clump on the branch of a tree or other structure. Here they hang in an amazingly quiet cluster until scout bees have found a suitable permanent home. As the sun beats down and the soft grass tickles your arms, you experience Life and Nature in all their glory.

There’s nothing to fear here. Contrary to popular misconception, a honey bee swarm is not particularly dangerous. Swarming is the natural way for a honey bee colony to reproduce, and the bees are at their most gentle when swarming.  If you see a honey bee swarm, DO NOT spray it with water or pesticide! Call a beekeeper (find your local beekeeping organization on the Web) to come and remove it. In the meantime, enjoy watching the swarm from a distance.

For more information about honey bee swarms, go to these sites:
http://entomology.unl.edu/beekpg/beeswarm.shtml
http://whereyouareplanted.com/what-to-do-if-you-see-a-swarm-of-bees-this-spring/

“Blossoms to Berries” By Annie Watson

June is the month when the wild berry plants blossom here in the north country. As I write, blackcaps (aka black raspberries or rubus occidentals) are blooming. This unassuming little flower is a big favorite of honey bees. The first blackberry (rubus alligheniensis) flowers are about to open. When the patch by our beehives is in full bloom, it looks like a beautiful May snowstorm all around the beehives.

Now is the time, when the white flowers make them easy to spot, to locate your wild blackberry patches at the edges of fields and in the meadow. Note where they are so you can come back and pick the fruit in July. Look for the first ripe berries about a month after flowering — and thank the bees and other pollinators, because without them, there would be no summer fruit, purple, sweet, and juicy on a hot summer day.

“Air Freight!” By Annie Watson

For the past two days the bees have been coming in absolutely loaded down with bright yellow willow pollen and grey red maple pollen. I wonder how they can even get airborne, the pollen baskets on their back legs are so encumbered with huge blobs of the stuff. It’s funny to watch them as they arrive on the landing board and waddle into the entrance with their booty.

The worker in this photo graced my shirt with her presence for a few moments before she took off for the hive entrance to deliver her load.

Pollen is as important as nectar for the honeybee family, because the protein and other nutrients it contains feed developing larvae. The honeybee colony must produce as many new bees as possible in order to have workers to gather nectar to make enough honey for next winter. Without pollen — no honey. This is the time of year when, in a strong colony, the population is exploding.