How to help honey bees survive in this heat

People and pets aren’t the only ones who need ways to stay cool during triple-digit heat; bees could use some help, too.

Honey bees in particular benefit from water trays – shallow dishes of water with pebbles or marbles or corks – when temperatures go above 100 degrees. (The pebbles give bees a place to land so they don’t drown.) Honey bees are using that water not just to drink but to cool off their hives.

According to research from Oregon State University, honeybees use water – and wings – to create their own version of A.C.

“Honey bees are somewhat adapted to extreme heat,” report OSU researchers. “As soon as temperatures in a honey bee colony edge up beyond 96.8 degrees F., worker bees line up at the entrance and start fanning their wings. In addition, a special group of water-foraging bees begins scouring the surrounding area for water, which they collect and bring back to the nest.

“The bees distribute droplets of water around the nest, which works in parallel with the fanning to create the equivalent of honey bee A.C., or air conditioning. As temperatures rise to extreme heat levels, more honey bees will start to forage for water.”

Bumblebees tend to suffer most from the heat; they have trouble flying when it’s over 100 degrees, say the researchers. Bumblebees have been seen foraging for water (and may visit available water trays), but it’s not certain if they use the honey bee A.C. method to cool their nests.

Other bees don’t make as much use of the water trays, says OSU, but have other ways of coping. Ground-dwelling bees – which include many native bees – avoid the heat by staying under the cool soil.

One thing is certain: Most bee activity drops dramatically in triple-digit temperatures. Instead, they’ll forage (and pollinate) in the very early morning hours after dawn or just before twilight. Expect spotty pollination of squash and melons until weather cools back to normal.

How much longer will this current heat wave persist? According to the National Weather Service, Sacramento can expect afternoon highs over 100 through at least Thursday, July 11. That would match Sacramento’s all-time record of most consecutive triple-digit days – 11 – set in July 2009.