Where are all the pollinators? Bees scarcely seen in parts of Minnesota this summer
MINNEAPOLIS -- Some viewers have contacted us wondering why they aren't seeing as many bees this summer and the weather may be playing a role in that.
"If I hear a beekeeper complaining about something I say, I can make that," said Steve Woolstencroft of Miss Bee Haven Farm.
Needing something to do in retirement, Woolstencroft took up beekeeping in Hugo. And for the past, few years his honey business has been buzzing.
"All they want to do is build, build, build," said Woolstencroft.
Colonies make their homes in colored boxes. There's even a flight path the pollinators follow as they search for nectar. But like other agricultural endeavors, Mother Nature has a say in just how much honey is produced.
"This is farming. This is considered a farm animal and the weather affects them," said Woolstencroft. "It's feast or famine. It's crazy. I can't say what's good and what's bad."
Woolstencroft said last year's drought and this year's dry weather hasn't really impacted his colonies, but that's not the case with other bee species.
Katrina Klett is with the Bee Lab at the University of Minnesota. While pesticides and habitat loss have taken a toll on native bee species, Klett said dry weather can also have an impact.
"In different climatic conditions. In different weather patterns, some flowers will be more strained by dry conditions. So in years of drought your nectar-producing plants will be more limited," said Klett.
That doesn't mean the population is down; it just means your plants may not be producing what the bees are looking for, forcing them to look elsewhere. But there are things you can do to bring them back.
"You are starting to see more initiatives here like bee lawns and you are starting to see different prairie mixes incorporated in people's yards. Things like this are great ways for your average citizen to bring more bees into your yard," said Klett.
Although it's not as bad as it was a year ago, for the year we are about 3 inches below average for precipitation, which will affect a number of native bee species.