Bees & Daylight Savings time

Sunday was the start of Daylight Savings Time. To a commercial beekeeper, who makes his living from his bees, this is not a good thing. Most of the time bee keepers check their hives in the evenings. That way all the bees are in the hive and you can get a better idea of how many are inside and how they are all doing. Are there lots of babies? Is the queen doing well? How is the honey production and especially to check for hive beetles and mites.  With the sun going down later this means the bees are out and about doing what they do. Which is a good thing, however, it makes things complicated when the bee keeper has 700 hives to check. He may not get home until after midnight, depending on how far away the hives are. Some beekeepers move their hives with what is blooming. It helps out the farmers that are growing the trees or crops and he gets the benefits of the honey.

                                                 My queen is there, can you find her?


For someone like me that has only 2 hives it is not a problem. I can check my hive and still get to bed at a decent hour. I can also garden longer in the evening so I don't mind the time change. Having more sunlight is a good thing for me and my bees.