Each month as I sit down to write this article, I contemplate on what the bees would like me to share with the world. I take this time to really tune in and listen to what I think the bees are teaching me. As I contemplate on the message they have for me in April, I notice not many bees are flying on this cool and rainy April morning. In fact, I realize that I have only had one call so far this year to rescue honey bees. It seems as though everything is late this year from the plants flowering to the bees swarming. I normally receive my first call to rescue a swarm around the 2nd or 3rd week in March.
In Mississippi, our winter and spring season is usually filled with many rainy days and cold nights. This year, we have had many, many rainy days, but not many days or nights below freezing. I am a bit worried by the shift in our weather patterns, as this causes the bees to need
much more honey to make it through the winter season. You might wonder why this is so, and we find here in the south east that the bees will fly all winter on warm sunny days. This becomes a problem when there are no plants flowering, and they have to turn to their honey stores for food. I normally harvest honey in April, but this year there was no excess honey to harvest. I left all of it for the bees.
I think this month’s message from the bees is about awareness. They sing to me of awareness of the changing seasons and finding ways to adapt to the changing climate around us. It is not a message of fear, but a message of “what changes can I make to support my local pollinators in times of a changing climate”? I know you have heard this from me many times before, but it is so important for our pollinators to provide habitat and sources of food. Let those “weeds” flower in your lawn before mowing, set aside some wild spaces on your land just for the pollinators, limit use of pesticides, and plant more flowers and trees. These things not only help our local pollinators, but they make all of our spaces more beautiful and bountiful.