No Rainfall=No Nectar?

[SherryL]

Today is only the 3rd day of rain we've had all summer.  No, I'm not exaggerating.  We had about 3" in 45 mins. two nights ago, the previous day of rain was in June.  We're suppose to get a good soaking tonight (it just started).

I had 2 supers taken off before the 4th of July, now nothing.  Checked them again today and the girls are actually eating away at some of the foundation - very, very little foundation drawn and no nectar being strored.

I'm wondering if the drought will create a lack of nectar in the plants as well.  There's plenty of blooms - the golden rod is actually starting to open (seems really early), lots of pollen coming in, just no more honey.

sherry

[bassman1977]

We had a lot of dry weather here.  My grandfather (a farmer) and a local keeper said that it is in fact drying up the nectar and everything else for that matter.  Hurricanes have been bringing in some nice rain lately though so hopefully the bees will be able to make up for lost time.

[leominsterbeeman]

Sherry -

Correct -- lack of rain is bad for nectar production.  The plants will not expend the energy and produce excess nectar,  they will hold onto it.

Ideal condition is when we get some soaking rains late in the evening, overnight and soak the ground so that when the sun comes  up the next day,  the plants want to move the moisture in the ground throughout it's root and body.     So cool at night with a heavy thunderstorm and then 75- 90 and sunny the next few day.

Of, course, too much rain will wash the nectar away....  it's a crazy balance that nature  only has the answer too.    

ost of the country has been baking the last few weeks, except us here in New England,  but we are starting to get temps too high with little rain too.    Forecast is looking better for latter this week.

[Finsky]

So it happens. Dry landscape is the worst in beekeeping.

Rain may stop tomorrow, but if it has been dry weather for long time, it need a couple of weeks rain that plants begin to grow. If summer is far enough, blooms will not come any more.

We had really hot here in Finland a couple of weeks. Rape /canola was  out in couple of days. I take my hives and brought them to wetter soil areas and honey flow started from fireweed.  To south slanting fields suffered worst. In many places rape unsucceeded to bloom.

Rape suffers if tempereture is over 25C. We had 30C for two weeks.

In hot places, where fireweed blooms, temperature may rise to 40C. It is too much for fireweed. But there are shadow places in forests and they give extra plenty of nectar.

We have now one week letf honey season and then it is over.  In western Finland it has been the best year for long times. In east and north it has been very cold at the beginning of season. But so it goes.   But I have normal yield allready in hives.

Heather has just started to bloom and it likes rain. Just now we have rain showers every day and warm weather. I wait that I get that "the best honey" from heather.