Last week, after several days of steady rain, Jillian Medford was relieved to see the sun return.
Like many beekeepers, she knew her colonies had been unable to forage while the weather kept them confined to their hives. When the skies finally cleared, the change was immediate.
“The moment the sun returned, the foragers were out in full force, to make up for lost time,” said Medford, owner of The Keeper’s Collective. About 24 hours later, she went out to check on her hives and found three colonies had suffered what she described as massive die-offs…