It has been a really tough year for the bees. We had an extremely dry summer limiting the pollen and nectar available and many of the hives struggled to build up. Then on top of a tough summer we have the coldest January since the 1940's here in Utah. I am afraid I have lost most of my hives this year. It makes me just sick thinking about it.
I was talking with a commercial beekeeper to day that I get all of my bees from and he said most people around us are losing more than 50% of there hives this winter. I had a lot of new hives started last year and I think that is why I am seeing an even a higher degree of loss. I am still keeping my fingers crossed that some of them are alive, but there sure isn't a lot of activity. One of the biggest problems we had was the fact that we would have a couple weeks straight of temperatures with highs only in the 20s. The bees are not able to move to other food stores at these temperatures.
I am sure hoping for a little miracle and as things warm up I start seeing my bees again.
Good luck everyone. I hope things are looking better for your hives.
Happy Beekeeping!
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