Why have our sweet, gentle honey bees gone wild, so to speak?! Our gentle honey bee breeds became more defensive. Few factors attribute to this:

Weather

It’s hotter plus there is humidity, so you can imagine how someone might not be their best with these conditions. Bees will work more to keep themselves cooled. Inside their hive, they will fan their small wings to direct airflow out of the hive. The normal hive temperature inside is 95 degrees Fahrenheit. This temperature also allows them to produce honey.

Nectar dearth

This is a shortage of nectar-producing flowers. Summer is when nectar dearth happens, little rain, high temperatures, and drought. The honey bees’ stored food they worked hard to collect during the spring nectar flow comes into play. Since they are not able to find much food during nectar dearth, they’ll be on guard of their food storage. Yes, that means more stings! So be careful, as a beekeeper one should be fully protected and have the smoker ready. This is no time for-show-and-tell your beehive to your friends. Spring and fall are recommended for any apiary tours you might have in mind. Make sure that they have a water source nearby, this will help greatly. Or you’ll have honey bees cooling themselves in your pool, perhaps drinking your beer because it’s 5 o’clock somewhere.

Honey Robbers

Give to the poor, take from the rich. Or bigger is bully. Let’s face it we all know that humans do all the taking, it’s been like this for thousands of years, season after season and it’s not going to change, so honey bees have developed this instinct to protect themselves and their honey storage. Usually, after the spring nectar flow, honey harvest happens in summer. As a good steward for our honey bees, we want the best for them and to see their success. The other robbers may be the next door hive, other insects, rodents, and mammals. It’s nothing compared to how much we rob from these hard-working little beautiful insects.

Queenless

A colony that has gone queenless, will be a bit cranky, nervous, perhaps lethargic. Listen to the sound of the hive. It will be a higher pitch than your usual buzzing sound. Install a new queen if this is the case.

As the season changes, your honey bees will go back to their normal, sweet gentle behavior.