Triton Notary
BEND, Ore. (KTVZ)– The Earth’s climate is changing. It always has, but this time, it’s warming. This warmer climate is already shaping the world in remarkable ways: earlier and hotter springs, more frequent wildfires, and an increase in extreme weather events. Among those most affected by these changes are some of nature’s smallest yet most essential agricultural workers — honey bees.
Honey bees spend their winters dormant, waiting for spring to begin their crucial work. As they gather nectar to make honey, they also provide an essential service — pollination — which supports crops and wildflowers across the globe.
It is a fragile balance each season, from the moment the bees emerge to the end of the growing cycle. Timing is everything. If flowers bloom too early in a warm spring, that delicate timing can fall out of sync, leaving colonies vulnerable. Beekeeper Allen Engle has seen the effects firsthand.
Engle told KTVZ News, “Things that I’ve noticed are the seasons seem to have shifted about two weeks. Seems like the first snow starts usually in the middle of December, and the spring comes a couple of weeks later — usually seems like the end of April, somewhere around there.”
As weather patterns grow more unpredictable, the relationship between bees and the plants they pollinate is being tested. A longer fall, for instance, can extend bee activity well past their normal period of rest. That may sound harmless, but it gives pests such as mites more time to weaken colonies.
And midwinter warm spells? Those bring their own dangers.
“Real quickly they will start eating up all of their food. If they go into the winter light in other words they don’t have enough food, they could easily eat up all of their food and then starve to death, even though they went into the winter healthy,” said Engle.
Even if the colony survives, these disruptions throw off natural rhythms.
Engle elaborated, “The ones I worry about are the native bees. Honey bees have us to take care of them. The native bees, though, they go out — they don’t store honey, only honey bees do that. But the native bees need to get food right away. They don’t have anything stored. They start flying out, there is no food, and they just starve to death.”
When flowers bloom before bees emerge, both honey bees and native bees find themselves without food. This reduces survival rates, weakens pollination, and threatens the balance of the ecosystem.
Another growing threat comes from wildfires. As they become more frequent and burn longer each year, smoke and heat interfere with bee health and behavior.
“I’m in a local bee club, and we have quite a few people who are pretty sure it is affecting what the bees are doing and just the health of the bees in general,” said Engle.
Nature runs on an intricate and reliable schedule. With each disruption in seasonal cycles, that harmony becomes harder to maintain — and the consequences ripple across the agricultural world.
One thing is for certain: these bees are very necessary to our environment, and we must do everything we can to keep them as safe as possible.
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