Snowbees

[Water-Bug]

Well, it's going to be 37 degrees here tonight. On the way back from town today, we pulled in behind two flatbed trucks full of snowbees, headed south. The hives were stacked 5 long by 4 wide and 4 or 5 deep. Last winter was pretty brutal here. I wonder how far south snowbees go.

[Fizz]

A friend of a friend had a honey farm up here.
This was years ago so memory is a little fuzzy on this.
Every Spring they would drive somewhere south and pick up a trailer load of bees. The trailer had vents front and back. They would drive non stop to keep the air flowing so the bees would not over heat and die.
The stop at the border was usually a very quick one, nobody wanted to open the doors.

[mpierce]

blangen wrote:
Ok... I'll bite. So you're saying bee keepers take their bees north in the summer (presumably, to escape the heat) and south in the winter? Please pardon my ignorance... I've not heard of such a thing and a quick Google brought no results. Yes, I'm gullible, I know. Please be gentle. 🙂

Edit: Ok... I KNEW that "escape the heat" thing was a bunch of whooie as soon as I posted. I think I've been had. Oh, well. Maybe you're saying that bees are brought north to pollinate in the summer... not so much as escape the heat. Wouldn't moving the bees be more disorienting to the bees than just wintering in place? What did bees do before there were were flatbeds, one must ask? LOL

I live in ND. Bees come up in the summer, and go south for the winter. They follow the crops as the crops flower, so they can make honey. Seen this all my life. I am 60.

[Water-Bug]

Bee hives take a beating in sub-zero weather. Bee keepers are having trouble maintaining hives due to a bee hive sudden death syndrone that is not completely explained. In order to maintain healthy hives, bee keepers move them south to avoid sub-zero temperatures. Bees swarm around the queen, so as long as the queen and a supply of honey can be successful relocated, the hive will regenerate.

[Jack_Diane_Free]

Have seen this before a few years ago in I-75 heading to Florida.

[blangen]

Ok... I'll bite. So you're saying bee keepers take their bees north in the summer (presumably, to escape the heat) and south in the winter? Please pardon my ignorance... I've not heard of such a thing and a quick Google brought no results. Yes, I'm gullible, I know. Please be gentle. 🙂

Edit: Ok... I KNEW that "escape the heat" thing was a bunch of whooie as soon as I posted. I think I've been had. Oh, well. Maybe you're saying that bees are brought north to pollinate in the summer... not so much as escape the heat. Wouldn't moving the bees be more disorienting to the bees than just wintering in place? What did bees do before there were were flatbeds, one must ask? LOL