What's in bloom throughout the season?

[Mohan Raj]

I just posted part of a discussion from the [mtbakerbees] beekeepers forum based in Whatcom County, where they are talking about what is in bloom currently there, and how they can tell when there is a dearth.  I would love to hear some of the wisdom from our members on how you tell what is available for bees throughout the season, and the signs you look for to know that a dearth is in effect or soon to be.  The climate in Thurston County is somewhat different from Whatcom, so advice and wisdom that is specific to our region would be most welcome.

Mohan

[Kristina T]

Piggybacking off this post as I am inept at Google groups.

My bees have swarmed to my neighbor’s yard, and I am out of town.

I can give you their contact info if you are interested. 

I also reported to the new website.

Thanks,

Kristina 206-839-6823

On Thu, May 1, 2025 at 7:43 AM Mohan Raj <conver...@olympiabeekeepers.org> wrote:

I just posted part of a discussion from the [mtbakerbees] beekeepers forum based in Whatcom County, where they are talking about what is in bloom currently there, and how they can tell when there is a dearth.  I would love to hear some of the wisdom from our members on how you tell what is available for bees throughout the season, and the signs you look for to know that a dearth is in effect or soon to be.  The climate in Thurston County is somewhat different from Whatcom, so advice and wisdom that is specific to our region would be most welcome.

Mohan

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[Kristina T]

My bees like the neighbor’s forsythia bush to swarm to. Lol

On Thu, May 1, 2025 at 7:43 AM Mohan Raj <conver...@olympiabeekeepers.org> wrote:

I just posted part of a discussion from the [mtbakerbees] beekeepers forum based in Whatcom County, where they are talking about what is in bloom currently there, and how they can tell when there is a dearth.  I would love to hear some of the wisdom from our members on how you tell what is available for bees throughout the season, and the signs you look for to know that a dearth is in effect or soon to be.  The climate in Thurston County is somewhat different from Whatcom, so advice and wisdom that is specific to our region would be most welcome.

Mohan

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[Kristina T]

Special thanks to Kaylene, OBA member, for collecting them.

[Camy Naasz]

I love this question/topic, Mohan! Knowing when the dearth is can be so very useful to work in alignment with your bees (if they are local) or help them adapt to their new location (if they are not local). If we can figure out when the dearth will be, we can use it as an opportunity for a brood break about 3 weeks beforehand. Local queens likely already know this and may reduce egg laying at this time anyway to reduce the number of mouths to feed during the dearth. The brood break also helps with mite control.

So when is it?! This resource provides some idea of bloom times (on page 16) in the Pacific Lowland Mixed Forest region. Looks like it's probably August or September, and I'm sure it adjusts year-to-year. Sometimes we are still very dry around here into October (a couples years ago) and sometimes only into early September (last year). So we have to get good at reading the signs to guesstimate when we are about 3 weeks away from the start of the dearth.

What do we all think are the signs to look out for? Maybe we can make a list and try to let everyone else know when we start seeing them this summer. Work together to figure out the right timing. :)

Camy