I’m writing The Buzz on December 2, a day when snow id drifting down from a gray sky. The bees are eating from their stored honey stash and keeping warm. 

To give Buzz readers a glimpse of the habitat and climate for bees and the rest of us Nebraskans, I check out  photos by photographer, Don Brockmeier.  He often publishes his current photos on his Instagram account. Today I found a brilliant photo for December that I would like to share with you. With permission from the photographer, please see and marvel at a cock pheasant styling the glowing colors and intricate patterns in his display of feathers.

Just in time, the cold rains arrived at the Bee Yard, and the day before, we insulated the lids  and added a protective covering to the outside of the hive box, and fed them one more time.  The bees stay active throughout the cold season in Nebraska.  They will fly on any day when temps reach 50 Degrees to clean-out their digestive systems.  Colder days draw them into their cluster where they warm the hive by shivering.  The bees cluster around their queen. 

When the sun shines in October, and the temperatures rise into the 50 Degree range, bees are flying about the hive and when their  antennae sense a flower blooming within their traveling territory, they will be there gathering pollen and maybe a drop of nectar. Late blooming Annis Mint plants attract bees in the fall.

Enjoy the photo by Master Photographer, Don Brockmeier.  Bees are finding pollen and probably some nectar in the Annis Mint flowers blooming in late autumn.

Brockmeir’s patience and artistry and  technical skills with his camera capture the productivity and also technical skills of the honey bee.  Thank you for sharing this photo, Don.  See more of Don Brockmeier photos on Instagram at donbrockmeier4.

The truest statement I can ever make is – Nothing is certain about Nebraska weather – yet I will say that October may be my favorite month because the temperatures most often fit in the comfort range. I wear  a light jacket.  October brings a freeze or two or more yet the sun shines and we warm-up during the day. The leaves brighten in their autumn colors, and then drift down to paint the sidewalks in splotches of burnt orange and yellow and garnet.

A few Nebraska pollinator plants continue offering blooms into late September.  I’m seeing small flowers on the purple aster plant that appeals to native bees and the imported honey bees searching for season’s end nectar and honey. 

We harvested the bee’s honey in late August.  See us in harvesting mode. We tightened our bee suits to prepare for a battalion of  bees that focused their fight on us. Zippers, Velcro, duct tape, and we were ready.  We once again valued our smoker because the smoke seems to placate the bees or confuse the bees or contain the majority to their home/the hive as we lifted off their hard-earned store of honey. 

September is dedicated to feeding the bees a solution of honey and sugar so that they can replace the food that we stole from them.  We also medicate for varroa mites, the scourge of the beekeeping world.

The worker bees fly every day if the temperature is above 50 Degrees F. so they continue the search for nectar and pollen and water. 

What do our bees do in August?  They search the acres surrounding the hive for late blooming flowers, and I see the tiny bags on their back legs stuffed with golden pollen and also a red pollen. Their stock of honey is safely (so they think) in their hive. 

When we suit up and prepare to lift the honey from each of our hives, the bees react as one would expect – in a fury. I cannot describe the experience of being the focal point of Sixty thousand (60,00) furious bees. In seconds of time they recognize us as thieves invading their hive and stealing their hard-earned honey, and the guard bees react by emitting  pheromones that express to all the sisters to come forth and fight for their food.  They follow as directed, and a storm of angry bees descends on us beekeepers so we hurry and either blow the bees off the frames or brush them off the frames with a soft brush or a combination of both methods.  

Another method requires applying a stinky and strong chemical to a fume board.  When the fumes  permeate the hive the bees descend to their entrance and leave the hive. None of these methods deter the wrath of the bees. Efficiency and courage are required at this time.

What are our bees doing in August? Buzz Savories’ bees are methodically gathering nectar and storing this precious fluid in the beeswax cells they made for this purpose. 

This productive behavior is stimulated by the “honey flow” meaning forage plants are in bloom and our weather has been pleasant for bee activity.

Except for some rainy days, Buzz Savories bees are diligently collecting nectar and pollen.  Both are stored in the hive. The bees make and store honey in the supers (smaller boxes that the beekeeper places on top of the large boxes called deeps. The honey is stored for use in the cold months, and the pollen is stored in the deeps among the brood cells. Pollen serves as a source of protein for the bees.    

What flowers do bees prefer?  Every beekeeper I know says, “Clover.”  Bees will pass over alfalfa and other flowers to get to a field of clover.

Fields of clover are few and far between these years. The clover has been rooted out and replaced with alfalfa. Bees make do with alfalfa. They also find wild mint, blazing star, sage, coneflower, hyssop, vetch, sunflowers, soy beans, bee balm, milkweeds, and flowering fruit trees.

When these plants and more are accessible, the honey flow may last for many weeks, and the beekeeper feels happy to see a thin film of white wax topping the cells of nectar. This indicates the nectar has turned into honey and is the proper consistency for long term storage in the hive. Beekeepers leave 50 lbs. for the bees to live on through the winter. The excess is lifted off the hive in late August and extracted for the honey that the beekeeper packages and markets and eats.