Pertaining to bees. Honey bees indirectly tell the story of both weather and climate through both the type and amount of honey a region produces. Since World War II the big honey years have gotten farther apart. This year is a reflection of the honey crop loss due to lack of irrigation and lack of rain in general. Trees such as Eucalyptus and other large varieties tend to produce honey the following year after a strong rain season. In the more micro-view, orange trees produce unless it rains and then they stop producing. All in all, a company such as Sioux Honey Co-op members have a bad time during drought, a very bad time due to the continued present drought, but the more troubling part is the time between good honey years, over the past 60 or more years, becoming longer.
How many pounds average per colony is the measuring stick for a region. Therefore Sudden Decline Disease of bees is not germane to the question. However this disease and several other difficulties have hurt the number of colonies that a beekeeper can keep healthy and producing. Feeding bees, is normal operation in the winter and this year keeps colonies healthy when other sources fail.
