Got a lesson in cold and wet

[Nugget Shooter]

Learned over the last cold and steady rain days what can happen to bees used to high 70s and working a flow.... Poor critters are still going out and working in the darn cold (50s) wet rain and finding quite a few dead and dying soaking wet on the landing board and in front of the hives. Sad to watch them come in and crash upside down in the water on the landing boards and struggle or hit the side of the hive and drop to the ground. I added some paper towel bibs of a sort to wick water of the ramp and give better footing and it is helping quite a bit, but lost some bees over the last couple days to cold and wet.

Is what it is I guess 

[neillsayers]

Wow Bill,

Guess they got a learning curve to go through. I would have guessed they would just stay home.

[Mikey N.C.]

Ya, do have the back of boxes. Shimmed up for water shed ?

[Nugget Shooter]

Yes sir nellsayers that was my thought, but both feral and Italians doing same though less bodies on the feral landings... Sun coming out a little finally and almost 3pm here and rain on and off and the critters are still working..... Like you folks always say "always learning" The mortality rate is not enough to throw me into panic mode even though a newbie, but sad....

[Nugget Shooter]

Yes Mikey and screened bottoms (with closed slider) so no standing puddles in hives. Just an amazingly wet year with fluctuating temps during wet is my suspect.... Tomorrow will be back to 65 and partly cloudy 

[LazyBkpr]

Well....  why aint you making little porch roofs for them yet?

  heheh... I had bees flying a LOT this winter. 45 degrees if the sun was shining my bees were flying. Today was 70, tomorrow upper 60's, tuesday forecast says 71... in February???   They are REALLY tearing through their stores... 

   I guess your poor bees could relate to bringing Perry down to your place in the first part of August..  He would die...

[Nugget Shooter]

  Do you have a good set of porch plans?

[Zweefer]

Don't encourage him.  He'll make em.  For the record, I want them to have columns for the supports!

[riverbee]

..............   very,very true!............

[Nugget Shooter]

Much different today since in the 70s and sunny, the dead have been hauled out and business as usual....

[Nugget Shooter]

I guess the good part of all this was that I was able to examine 30 or 40 freshly deceased bees for other issues and all were in good shape physically and none had mites.