Local beekeepers are looking for ways to keep their hives cool during the heat wave
Sharon Schmidt stacks bags of ice on her hives last Saturday. Local beekeepers are coming up with creative ways to keep their hives cool during this week’s heat wave. [Buffy Pollock / Mail Tribune]
Sharon Schmidt, president of the Phoenix chapter of Bee City USA, checks on her bees during a morning tour at Shooting Star Nursery in Central Point. [Buffy Pollock / Mail Tribune]
Local beekeepers are just as busy as their tiny counterparts this week as they work to protect their hive boxes against the region’s sweltering heat.
Sharon Schmidt, president of the Phoenix chapter of Bee City USA, donned her beekeeper outfit Saturday morning, braving the already breathtaking heat with long sleeves, hoping to provide a small amount of cooling to the their hives at Shooting Star Nursery in Central Point.
Trying to get through the hottest part of the day, Schmidt gave a tour to some local residents, educating them about beekeeping and talking about the challenges pollinators face due to climate change and the use of pesticides
All dressed up, the small group checked out half a dozen hives and had a brief question and answer session before Schmidt went out on a mission. He made it to the nearest grocery store and returned with a supply of ice—bags and blocks. One by one, he piled the chunks of freezing, dripping, cold water on top of the beehives in the trees behind the Taylor Road nursery.
“If it helps even a little, it’s worth it,” Schmidt said, sweat running down his temples.
“The most important thing we can do for them is to make sure they have access to water while it’s unbearably hot. They apply drops of water to combs with their tongues and then evaporate it to cool the hive.”
Schmidt, who also runs the pollinator survival nonprofit Cascade Girl, said hot weather isn’t usually too much of a concern for bees until temperatures climb into the 90s and beyond.
“We’re headed for a triple-digit week. The next four or five days are going to be horrible for them, so if I can help them with evaporative cooling and thermal cooling because that’s going to achieve both, it’s worth it,” he said. he said, taking two more bags of ice from her. pickup truck
Schmidt and others in the valley had their own tricks up their sleeves to help ease the stress of the hives. The most important tips: water supply and shade.
Mike Curtis, owner of Oregon Bee Store and a beekeeper for more than three decades, said ice packs weren’t as viable an option for larger commercial operations, but keeping water supplies close and creating shade additional was crucial.
“If you have one or two, or just a few hives, you can probably do the ice. Usually what commercial beekeepers do is try to make sure you have some kind of shade, or put something on. If you haven’t already you’ve started hives, the best advice is to set up in a yard that’s in the shade during the middle, hottest time of the day,” Curtis said.
Curtis reiterated that access to water can make all the difference for hives trying to survive dangerously hot days.
“If they only have to fly 50 feet, it’s just a quick jump for them, whereas if they have to fly half a mile or they’re looking for water during these temperatures, it’s much harder on their bodies in the heat of the day, Curtis said.
“Once they get above 96 or 97 degrees, all they’re trying to do, at that point, is keep the hive cool, so it doesn’t melt. It’s survival mode. If they can’t keep the hive cool, the combs they will melt and disintegrate and fall down the entrance.”
Curtis encouraged multiple water sources nearby.
“Having a water source right there, in the bees’ yard, prevents them from having to go too far. You can put water at the entrance of the hives, and they will be able to stay cooler because they won’t have to fly to find water.”
A word of warning to hobbyist or novice beekeepers: if you’re hot, they’re hot.
“Usually around 140 degrees it would melt completely, so when we get to 100 degrees, things get really soft and the weight of the honey starts to pull everything down,” Curtis added.
“I don’t work the bees when it gets up to 92 degrees. I don’t want to disrupt their flow pattern to keep the hive cool. They’re busy keeping the hive cool. They get the water and then they flap their wings, 250 times a second, and they ventilate it like a swamp fridge.
Help the bees
With spring flowers almost in bloom, bees will have a harder time finding food in late summer and fall. Local nurseries and beekeepers encourage people to replace grass with bee-friendly vegetation, such as clover or thyme, and plant nectar-providing plants that thrive between July and October.
Eric Hagerman of Shooting Star Nursery says you need to make sure you buy plants that are free of neonicotinoids or other pesticides, which are toxic to bees.
Heat-loving and drought-tolerant plants recommended by Hagerman include salvias (autumn sage), zauschneria (California fuchsia), Perovskia (Russian/blue sage) and Solidago (goldenrod).
For a list of pollinator-friendly plants, see the Shooting Star Nursery website at roguevalleynursery.com/plantlists/other-plant-lists/pollinator-friendly-plants
Contact Mail Tribune reporter Buffy Pollock at 541-776-8784 or bpollock@rosebudmedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @orwritergal.
