A bee watering container made from a soaker hose. Photo: U. California, Davis, Bee Haven.

A beeyard lost to wildfire. Photo: Beeprofessor.com

The AgCenter over recent weeks has been reporting on drought stress affecting various commodities including cattle, crawfish, soybeans, and sugarcane. BHB looks at how the drought of 2023 is affecting beekeeping.

Tim, a beekeeper in Longville, shared his observations about his beeyard, “I have lost one hive completely and considerable damage to my second remaining hive from robber bees. Drought conditions in Beauregard Parish undoubtedly has contributed to a tremendous loss of resources for bee colonies, and this I believe has weakened my hives, making them more susceptible to decimation from robber bees.”

Gary shared his drought experience, “I have lost one colony so far. They were [a trapped] swarm…from late last year. They were building well until the drought set in. I have only harvested one 8 frame box from my strongest hive and chose to leave the rest with them. I left all honey on the three-remaining hives in case it was needed to feed.”

Peggy’s beeyard in Dry Prong is suffering from dry conditions, “Kevin and I have lost 5 hives this summer. The majority of what we have left have little/no honey.”

Tom also has some tough news, “I have lost 2 out of 11 hives. No dead bees [were] noted. [They] Just absconded. My honey harvest was down also. [It is a] Bad year.”

Sarah related a positive note about her bees, “We have not had a loss. We have been regularly feeding them. And put water out for them. It has been so hot. We have seen them collecting some pollen early mornings.”

AHA found a website called The Bee Gardener: Bees and Drought with the University of California at Davis in which Dr. Christine Casey with the E.L. Nino Bee Lab wrote about how beekeepers can deal with the droughts in California. The most critical advice from Dr. Casey was to “provide an efficient water source. The [UC Davis Bee] Haven's self-watering container made from a soaker hose runs on a timer. This provides water for our bees while re-using the water for irrigating the plant in the container. ”Dr. Casey mentions the resilience of honeybees, “A study of bees in the southwestern US desert found that they were able to reliably use environmental cues to enter diapause [a survival mechanism] when their plant resources were affected by drought.”

One other item of useful information from Dr. Casey is “The good news is that multi-year droughts can reduce the [varroa] mite's reproductive rate.”

One of the consequences of extreme drought are wildfires. What can a beekeeper do to avoid losing a beeyard to a wildfire. AHA found Bee Professor online, and Prudence Wood, a bee blogger, with over 15 years of beekeeping experience created this website: beeprofessor: How To Safely Keep Bees During Fire. She offers these landscaping tips for an apiary, which would be helpful for any rural home, too:

• “Create defensible space: Establish an area around the hives where flammable vegetation is cleared to slow the spread of fire. In the case of a beehive, try to clear 30 feet in all directions.
• Use fire-resistant plants: [Avoid evergreen plants which have volatile oils and resins, and plant landscape with trees and shrubs that lose their foliage in the fall.]
• Make a firebreak: Firebreaks are gaps in vegetation and combustible material that slow wildfire. These breaks could be a water feature, but clearing a wide dirt path will also help.
• Maintain nearby land: Regularly prune trees and shrubs and rake up dead plant material to reduce fuel for a fire. Keep tree branches trimmed so they do not hang over the hive. [Power leafblowers are excellent for clearing creating firebreaks]
• Emergency plan: Have an emergency plan for your bees, including an evacuation strategy. Sometimes, the best way to protect your bees is to move them to a safer location.
• Final note: These tips can reduce risk, but nothing will eliminate it. It is essential to stay updated about fire danger in your area and follow evacuation orders issued by your local authorities.”

If beekeepers live in a rural area, they can use the tips above for protecting their homes from wildfires. The National Fire Prevention Association (NFPA) has information for wildfire resistance at this website, NFPA - Preparing Homes for Wildfire.

If you want to contact Beehive Buzz, please send your questions and pictures to Keith Hawkins, Area Horticulture Agent (AHA), 337-463-7006 or khawkins@agcenter.lsu.edu. Also, you can be on the “beemail” email list by emailing your request to the address above.

“This work has been supported, in part, by the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture, Renewable Resources Extension Act Award, Accession Number 1011417.”