- Be kind to your bees - as summer wanes, be sure to stay aware of your bees and their water sources and forage. Most of our areas are in "death" which means lack of nectar in forage. Many members are currently feeding 1:1 sugar syrup to ensure colonies have adequate winter stores. 

- Dearth season is also robbing season, when bees are looking for any available food source. Keep an eye out for scouts and robbing behaviour. (Bees checking out the hive for alternate entrances.) If you aren't treating for mites, consider an entrance reducer to help bees guard against invaders. 

Yellow Jackets - Yellow jacket colonies are at their biggest and hungriest in the next month or so. They like bees and bee larvae. Consider trapping, entrance reducers.

- Mites - knock them back NOW if you haven't already, (be sure you pick the right product for treatment window temperatures) and winter bees who need to be disease and mite free to last until spring are coming into the family now.

- Smoke -If we get heavy smoke drift, it may mean that bees can't find their way to forage. Again, think about feeding pollen patty and heavy syrup