2026 – Mid-May Field Update

Texas weather is finicky.    Some years we have a good nectar flow… and some years – we don’t.   By early-May we have a good idea of how the year is going to look.

Laura and I have noticed MANY locations this year that the hives are dry as a bone inside – with absolutely no nectar being stored.   While you may see flowers in nearby fields – that does NOT necessarily mean they have a viable food source.   While all flowers will provide pollen (protein source to feed young larvae) – not all flowers will have nectar – which is the bees’ carbohydrate source – that is used for energy to fly, as well as to create royal jelly to feed to the queen, and to the newly hatched eggs/larvae. And excess nectar is dehydrated to be  honey – and stored for times when there’s no natural forage.

What does this mean?    It can be the product of several things…

• Simply not enough nectar-producing flowers in their forage range
• Bad timing for rain (it can take 3-4 days for nectar-producing plants to recover from a rain and thicken up their nectar secretions)
• Heat – once we hit about 95 Deg F (35 C) – the nectar dries up in the plants
• Viable flower fields get mowed too early.

Yes – we have encountered several fields that were BEAUTIFUL – with bees all over the flowers – that then get mowed while the good forage-blooms are still active.   The food for the pollinators just got cut down.    In one location – the field was mowed WHILE we were there working with the bees.    It was heartbreaking to see this – and then having to answer the question later in the year of “When will we get some honey?”    Well – in years like this – we’re starting to feed the bees syrup to make up for their lack of natural forage.   When we’re feeding bees – there’s no honey to be taken.

What can you do?   Support pollinators by planting pollinator-feeding plants.   Trees often will have more nectar produced per tree, than an acre of wildflowers.    PLANT TREES – IN ADDITION TO WILDFLOWER SEEDS!

Some trees that ALL the pollinators love are:  Chinese Tallow (this is Texas’ #1 honey-producing plant – on the Texas coast and in deep East Texas) , Soapberry, Vitex, Mexican Buckeye,  Privet, Holly Bushes/trees, Ligustrum.   Areas where we ARE seeing nectar stores in the hives – tend to have bee-balm in bloom nearby (also known as horsemint or Monarda)

In the meantime – Laura and I are starting to mix a sugar/water blend to feed the bees, since nature isn’t providing what we need this spring.