Summertime & honeybees!

Inside a beehive during hot summer days, bees are fanning their wings at a low hum to keep the hive thermoregulated at a cool temperature no matter how high the outside temperatures climb. Forager bees will bring in water to the hive not only to drink but also to deposit into corners of the comb and hive, fanning their wings feverishly near the water to create a cooling AC effect in the colony. How cool is that?

Meanwhile, beekeepers are watching the blooms in their area and adding empty honey boxes if the hive is too full of nectar, and they are beginning to harvest certain early season honey crops like our precious Mānuka honey.

As the days get hotter and dryer our buzzing friends need your help to stay cool and healthy all summer long. Here are some ways you can help bees in your neighborhood this summer.

Create a bee watering hole!

Bees need water just like us. They forage for water in addition to nectar and pollen. You can help bees access clean water by adding rocks to a shallow, wide dish, fill with fresh water and place in the shade near your garden or on your balcony. The rocks give the bees a place to land and drink without drowning in the water. Check regularly to keep topped up and watch them enjoy drinking up the offering on a hot summer’s day.

Please note that pure water is best. We do not recommend adding sugar to the water that you put out for bees as it can ferment and may become toxic to them. Please do not put honey in the water either as this can risk spreading AFB, a contagious bacterial disease that can be spread via honey to other bees.

Leave the weeds!

Helping bees in your area can be as simple as leaving the weeds to flower and allowing a part of your yard or garden to be wild! Bees are opportunists and will harvest nectar and pollen from nearly all flowering plants, not only the prized ones but also the weeds and even invasive species. Bees adore clovers and dandelions that pop up in unmowed areas.

All blooms add access to food as bees traverse the landscape. Did you know they can fly up to 7km from their home hive to forage for nectar and pollen? All while masterfully navigating their surroundings and remembering the direction home as a tiny insect!

Keep planting for the bees in your garden.

Sow sunflowers (treatment free seeds, please!), cosmos, marigolds, zinnia, calendula, borage, cornflower, & salvia for more summer forage for the bees and other pollinators to enjoy! Choose colorful, open-faced summer flowers as they make great landing pads for bees to drink nectar from.

Observe the bees doing their good work!

Take a moment to slow down and take a walk around your neighborhood focused on tuning into your senses. Do you smell nectar in the air? Look for blooms of color and listen for the bee's buzz. Take a second to watch these gentle masters at work harvesting nectar on a flower.

The bees you see foraging are the oldest female workers in the hive, nearing the end of their brief but productive 5-7 week lifetime. Honeybees must collectively visit about 4 million flowers to create just 1 kilo of honey and they directly pollinate over 1/3 of our global food supply. Take a moment to feel awe and respect for this tiny but mighty creature we share a planet with!

If you are in Aotearoa, New Zealand, take a look at a blooming Pōhutukawa tree (NZ Christmas Tree) and see if you can spot our tiny native bees, Ngaro huruhuru, zooming around the blooms! They are very small, nearly black, and amazingly fast flyers endemic to New Zealand! Pōhutukawa trees are such rich food resources for a huge range of pollinators over the summer months. Let’s all plant native flowering trees to leave a lasting legacy for our pollinators.