Bee Science with Dewey Caron: Honey Bees and Smoke

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Hi, I'm Dr.

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Dewey Caron.

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I come to you from Portland, Oregon, where we are in the midst of another wildfire smoke advisory.

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I present another audio postcard in my once-monthly Beekeeping Today

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mini-series podcast, Bee Science, with Dr.

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Dewey Caron.

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This is the ninth installment in this series.

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In each episode, I seek to blend

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research, field experience, and seasonal content,

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focused on the why behind honey bee biology

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behavior.

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I

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welcome, as usual, your suggestions for timely topics.

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Another wildfire smoke alert.

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Two-thirds of Oregon and Washington in drought conditions,

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try to limit breathing

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that yellow air.

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That's my jumping off point for this podcast.

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I'll discuss smoking our bees, our need to promote safety from starting any wildfires while inspecting our honey bees.

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And I will also

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cover what little we know about the effect of wildfire smoke on our bees.

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Smoke from wildfires seems to be on everyone's radar

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this time of year.

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Protecting yourself and your apiary

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during wildfire season

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means

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prioritizing air quality, fire prevention, and defensive behavior.

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We are advised to avoid inspecting hives when heavy smoke is present,

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both for our lungs and for the good of the bees.

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Prolonged exposure to poor smoky air stresses bees

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and disorients

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their navigation,

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sometimes making them highly defensive.

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It is not good for us to exert ourselves lifting heavy boxes and inspecting colonies during higher air pollution events.

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When you were learning to keep bees, did you also learn how best to start a smoker and the best means of smoking?

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Probably not.

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The bee smoker is a tool.

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Like all our tools, we can use it correctly, or we can abuse use of such aids.

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How should it best be used?

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In a word, sparingly.

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When smoking our bees, we need to get over the natural tendency to smoke, smoke, smoke.

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Something we might do when

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starting with bees, or in the summer, early fall, when colonies are big, and simply opening a colony

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releases the behavior

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of

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those soldier

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bees.

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Those

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are the ones that sting.

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Smoker use is best when we have a properly functioning smoker.

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We want smoke.

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White, not blue, smoke.

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And just smoke

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from that funnel.

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Not fire, and certainly not hot embers.

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If you were ever a Boy Scout or a Campfire girl, you learned to build a fire from below, starting with something easily combustible.

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Initially build a fire that is fully involved in the smoker cylinder, and then snuff it out,

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snuff out that fire with a material that provides a good volume of clean, cool

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smoke.

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That's easier said than done.

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Have you ever participated in a smoker

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lighting contest

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at a field day?

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Or when you were learning bees, did your mentor make you

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start the smoker

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every time you and he—

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she—

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had

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a learning session?

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Practice makes perfect.

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What did you hear or learn about the best fuel for the smoker?

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Different individuals, new to beekeeping or hardened veterans, have a favorite fuel that works for them.

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Work, in this sense, is of a natural

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untreated material that produces a cool, thick, white smoke

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and smolders slowly without an open flame.

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i.

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e.

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good volume, long-lasting, and not bothersome to you.

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So

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what works?

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Cotton materials, old

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clean socks, preferably, t-shirts.

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Burlap, best when not treated for rodents.

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Dried grass clippings,

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straw

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or hay, of course, provided you're not allergic to them.

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And then the

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old standby, pine needles, pine cones, old dried

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punky

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wood, wood shavings, cardboard, from things such as egg containers or the core

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paper towel or toilet paper rolls.

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You need to avoid

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cardboard that has glue.

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Smoking pellets, which you can purchase from bee supply

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companies

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or from the

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barbecue supply outlets

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are

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somebody's favorites.

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We ought to avoid chemicals, plastic, glues, or synthetic treatments.

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Some like to add herbs such as dried lavender, mint, or hops for a pleasant-smelling smoke,

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or to add green grass at top to slow smoke release

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from

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a

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hot

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smoker.

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I know of a couple that use plant material, including marijuana.

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You might see suggestions that so and

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so added to the fuel calms bees.

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Noth—

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nothing

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actually

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does

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calm bees.

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But smoke can mask chemicals, such as the alarm odor released when a bee stings,

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and the sting remains embedded in your skin or fabrics of your bee

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outfit.

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Whatever you smoke with, be sure to get a fire going in the cylinder before starting with your

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smoke source—

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the stuff—

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and then stuffing enough to accommodate your objective.

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You want a smoker to stay lit the entire time you are doing your colony

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inspection.

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Following opening

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and

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removal of one or two frames, it's always good to check your smoker and push that fuel down.

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Sometimes that fire will burn out below the fuel

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and then the smoker will not, uh—

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the smoker

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fuel itself on top

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will go out and not provide that smoke that you need.

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There are a bunch of good videos on smoker

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fuel.

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Kamon

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Reynolds, a prolific YouTuber from Tennessee, likes pine straw, and he illustrates how easy it is to start and how he manages the fuel.

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The reference I have is supplied in the end notes.

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While inspecting, we recommend you smoke bees

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at any entrances before removing the top covers.

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Try to remove covers without scraping them and free the propolis seal and then lift the inner cover slowly, applying smoke at the oval hole opening, if you use an inner cover

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And

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then

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your inner cover has that central opening

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and ahead of your

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removing that inner cover from the top brood box or if you're going into a super, place

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covers away from your feet.

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After a quick

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determination of how strong the colony

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appears, smoke where you're going to place your fingers

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to lift that first frame.

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You might disperse the bees from the top bars, not as punishment, but as an advisory to the bees that you are entering

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their domain.

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The first frame comes out slowly to avoid crushing or rolling bees, possibly injuring the queen, and then that first removed frame, if it is without brood, should stay out to permit easy removal of additional frames.

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If there's any danger of robbing, as now we are here at the end of the season, uh

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the main robbing season, put the frame into another empty box

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which you should cover.

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An empty nuc

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box works as a temporary depository for that first frame.

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If it has brood, you might lean it against the hive to take out another frame

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towards the edge of the box,

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one that doesn't have brood.

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It's not a good idea to leave brood, especially frames with open brood outside for any time period.

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Smoke subsequent frames where your fingers are going.

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No need to smoke the entire colony

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or the entrance

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over and over and over.

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If colonies are big, or they are

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in a drought or snappy for any reason, cover the open box with a damp cloth, such as a towel or dishcloth.

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There's a manipulating cloth

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you can purchase that has a metal oval that fits over a single frame

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covering the open box on either side.

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You do

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position that over the frame you want to remove.

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This works better to avoid stings than continually smoking across

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those frames across

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that open box that you have.

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Once you finish your colony exam—

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examination, a very

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helpful smoker

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use is to move the bees off the tops of frames and the edges of the box

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so you reduce chances of crushing bees

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as you reassemble your hive to close it.

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If in the spring you are clamshelling and looking for queen cells, you might also want to apply smoke to the bottom bars

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as you peer in uh on

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and

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underneath the top one.

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That will help move the bees away

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and you might more easily be able to see

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are—

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is—

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are the bees preparing to swarm?

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Are they

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developing queen

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cells?

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Just a little smoke works a whole lot better than a lot of smoke.

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So

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why do we smoke

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bees?

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The common language we hear is that smoke calms bees.

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Bees are calm generally, so why do we need to calm them?

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Well, of course, we are a potential predator invading their home.

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But a better explanation for why we smoke is that smoke changes bee behavior, and it moves them, so we avoid accidental stings, for example, to our fingers as we lift a frame.

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They tend to go away from the smoke.

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When we initially smoke the entrance, you will notice that there are fewer bees at the entrance after we smoke it.

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These bees aren't those likely to sting.

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The soldier bees—

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Those bees inside the hive that are not doing anything at the time you open your colony, those are the ones likely to respond to your hive invasion.

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Smoke changes behavior of these soldier bees.

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The smoke causes more individual bees to retreat and to seek liquid honey to fill their honey stomachs.

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That is an aid for you to see brood cells.

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The majority of the normal mantle of workers covering the brood to keep it warm

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seek open honey cells to fill their honey stomachs when they are

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smelling the smoke.

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It distracts the bees.

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It changes their behavior.

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If in fact you notice most of the bees filling their stomachs, it suggests you might be smoking too heavily.

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Why this change in bee behavior?

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We speculate that through centuries of wildfires in the forest

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or

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green grasslands where they live, the smoke releases a fleeing response.

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The first manifestation of this is to fill up honey stomachs.

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Other forest animals flee smoke, some shepherding youngsters to flee with them, but only honey

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bees seem to initially delay by taking on food.

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Something we also see is bees, for example, prepare to leave a hive in their swarming behavior.

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No direct evidence, but that is why smoke works.

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A good theory, at least.

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If you do not like to use a smoker, either for the bees or because the smoke might bother you, smelling up your clothes, causing breathing issues, are there alternatives?

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Yes, of course.

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You might purchase liquid smoke from a bee supply dealer.

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You spray it into the colony.

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Or another alternative is to spray sugar water

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or regular, just plain water, as fine droplets onto the bees.

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Bees that get hit with a droplet of water or sugar water

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or this smoky, uh, mixture, uh,

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that you can purchase

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change their behavior.

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They self-groom or solicit a worker to groom.

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Adding a scent to the sugar water helps distinguish the hive and might speed up the grooming process.

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Most beekeepers believe liquid

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smoke

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or spraying tiny droplets of water onto bees doesn't work as well

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to move bees

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and then that effect wears off more quickly.

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They are less likely to move the mantle of bees over that are over the brood.

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Potential downside of the smoke odor, that is that liquid smoke, is that when sprayed into the hive, the odor may continue to persist

00:12:48.820 --> 00:12:51.060
after you've closed the colony.

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Sugar water or scented sugar water may

00:12:53.860 --> 00:12:58.340
induce robbing this time of year, for example, if there is a nectar dearth

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or poor foraging conditions exist.

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Not using any tool, except the hive tool to free

00:13:04.699 --> 00:13:08.220
propolis when you open the colony is another option.

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You must move slowly when opening,

00:13:10.940 --> 00:13:21.420
being sure not to jar or create any high vibrations, and then nudging bees away from where your fingers are going to go as you grasp the frames.

00:13:21.740 --> 00:13:22.060
And

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listening to the bees.

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Are they continuing a normal hum

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versus

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an angrier

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buzzing sound?

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That

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uh

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use of—

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non—

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non-

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use

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of a

00:13:34.540 --> 00:13:35.740
smoker or

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uh

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water droplets

00:13:37.820 --> 00:13:40.060
is okay for smaller colonies such as nucs

00:13:40.220 --> 00:13:40.779
or starter

00:13:40.940 --> 00:13:41.660
colonies.

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But this can lead to a rapid defensive response in larger, more populous colonies, especially if you drop a frame or bump the colony, or

00:13:51.740 --> 00:13:56.460
this time of year, when colonies are large and there's little for the workers to do.

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Going with this tool, that is the smoker, makes individual frame inspections

00:14:02.400 --> 00:14:03.680
uh easier.

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Going without, it is a riskier practice.

00:14:07.540 --> 00:14:10.420
We should always practice smoker safety.

00:14:10.420 --> 00:14:13.620
Smokers get hot on the bottom and sides of that

00:14:13.940 --> 00:14:15.220
metal cylinder.

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Purchase a smoker that has a wire cage around it.

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It may save a nasty burn.

00:14:20.640 --> 00:14:24.960
Do not set the smoker down on any surface that might start a fire.

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Smokers often have a hanger, and you can hang it off the hive body

00:14:29.600 --> 00:14:31.840
where it will be close by.

00:14:32.020 --> 00:14:36.100
Special preparations are needed during the dry season.

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Be extra cautious

00:14:37.620 --> 00:14:38.900
lighting the smoker.

00:14:38.900 --> 00:14:46.660
We recommend placing the smoker in a metal pail as you move from colony to colony, not on the ground.

00:14:45.880 --> 00:14:46.040
uh

00:14:46.200 --> 00:14:47.480
and as you close the colony,

00:14:47.720 --> 00:14:51.320
of course you're no longer going to be able to hang that smoker.

00:14:51.320 --> 00:14:53.320
When emptying your smoker of fuel

00:14:53.480 --> 00:15:00.760
at the end of inspection, be sure the fuel is fully extinguished before leaving the apiary.

00:14:59.959 --> 00:15:05.080
It's a good idea to place your smoker in a closable airtight metal container.

00:15:05.080 --> 00:15:08.360
Many individuals look for those surplus empty uh

00:15:08.600 --> 00:15:11.880
munitions boxes from, uh, Army surplus stores.

00:15:12.220 --> 00:15:13.340
Carry a fire

00:15:13.900 --> 00:15:19.020
extinguisher and keep it handy, especially now during the dry season.

00:15:19.020 --> 00:15:25.260
Other suggestions include to not use a smoker to inspect colonies on windy days during the dry season.

00:15:25.320 --> 00:15:26.600
Practice short

00:15:26.840 --> 00:15:29.320
open hive inspection periods.

00:15:29.320 --> 00:15:31.800
Clear all flammable vegetation at

00:15:32.200 --> 00:15:35.160
least 30 feet from around the hives.

00:15:36.160 --> 00:15:36.480
In

00:15:36.720 --> 00:15:42.080
2020, Oregon faced the worst series of fires in the state's history.

00:15:42.080 --> 00:15:44.000
This year seems to even be

00:15:44.320 --> 00:15:44.640
more

00:15:44.880 --> 00:15:46.800
damage to our forest.

00:15:46.740 --> 00:15:46.820
It

00:15:46.980 --> 00:15:48.340
seemed to come out of nowhere.

00:15:48.340 --> 00:15:51.540
It was nice on Labor Day, and then the smoke appeared.

00:15:51.540 --> 00:15:53.060
The skies turned the most

00:15:53.780 --> 00:15:55.780
foreboding shade of red.

00:15:55.780 --> 00:15:59.140
Thousands of people were evacuated from their homes.

00:15:59.420 --> 00:16:03.660
A number of apiaries were at risk of being consumed by the advancing flames.

00:16:03.660 --> 00:16:06.060
Some were lost, just as happened in

00:16:06.220 --> 00:16:09.100
earlier fires in California and Australia.

00:16:09.240 --> 00:16:10.680
In the notes, I have a

00:16:11.080 --> 00:16:17.560
publication from Kathy Garvey of UC Davis, who summarized some of those earlier losses.

00:16:17.520 --> 00:16:23.200
In the heavy smoke events, it was noticeable that the bees suddenly stopped flying.

00:16:23.200 --> 00:16:24.240
People wondered

00:16:24.480 --> 00:16:28.400
whether honey bee colonies were being choked by the smoke.

00:16:28.680 --> 00:16:34.840
Fires move quickly, and an apiary can turn into a pile of ash, unfortunately, in a matter of minutes.

00:16:34.840 --> 00:16:39.640
Seeking to move colonies can put owners at risk of being caught in the fire zone.

00:16:39.540 --> 00:16:42.180
Colonies that may not burn can be singed.

00:16:42.180 --> 00:16:43.779
Just the heat alone can lead to colony

00:16:44.019 --> 00:16:44.740
death.

00:16:44.740 --> 00:16:47.779
But even among surviving colonies, post-fire

00:16:47.940 --> 00:16:48.339
event,

00:16:48.920 --> 00:16:54.440
beekeepers often struggle to get their hives then ready for winter.

00:16:54.440 --> 00:17:01.720
Following a fire, conditions can be unsafe for beekeepers to work and properly manage their colonies.

00:17:01.720 --> 00:17:02.120
These

00:17:02.440 --> 00:17:06.760
preparations are particularly important since they are often the managements

00:17:07.000 --> 00:17:08.760
needed to help ensure

00:17:09.000 --> 00:17:09.640
better

00:17:09.880 --> 00:17:13.640
colony survival following that fire event.

00:17:13.620 --> 00:17:15.140
OSU's Andony

00:17:15.460 --> 00:17:18.820
Melathopoulos has developed an extension leaflet

00:17:18.980 --> 00:17:24.980
that is probably the best and most complete information available on how wildfires affect—

00:17:25.140 --> 00:17:28.260
how the smoke from wildfires affects bees.

00:17:28.220 --> 00:17:31.020
I have this in the end notes with some others.

00:17:31.020 --> 00:17:33.420
Few native bees nest in, uh,

00:17:34.460 --> 00:17:35.900
in forest areas.

00:17:35.900 --> 00:17:36.060
More

00:17:36.220 --> 00:17:38.540
grasslands, there are a lot more bees

00:17:38.640 --> 00:17:41.120
in and deserts uh rather than humid

00:17:41.440 --> 00:17:44.800
what humid areas actually have higher bee numbers.

00:17:44.800 --> 00:17:47.440
Since most ground nesting bees

00:17:47.820 --> 00:17:48.940
construct their offspring

00:17:49.100 --> 00:17:50.460
chamber down uh

00:17:50.620 --> 00:17:55.660
four inches or more deep into the soil, they survive okay.

00:17:55.740 --> 00:17:57.260
But above ground, twig

00:17:57.500 --> 00:18:00.060
and cavity nesting bees, bees

00:18:00.220 --> 00:18:02.460
such as in bee trees or beekeeper

00:18:02.620 --> 00:18:03.500
colonies—

00:18:03.440 --> 00:18:04.559
Those populations

00:18:05.200 --> 00:18:05.519
are

00:18:05.840 --> 00:18:11.120
usually greatly reduced following the immediate season after a fire event.

00:18:11.340 --> 00:18:16.620
Small carpenter bee populations were reduced up to five years following this event

00:18:17.179 --> 00:18:17.340
that

00:18:17.660 --> 00:18:18.860
we described.

00:18:18.860 --> 00:18:22.460
For one bright spot, native bee diversity and abundance uh

00:18:22.620 --> 00:18:26.059
typically increases in the years following a fire,

00:18:26.019 --> 00:18:26.340
as

00:18:26.659 --> 00:18:27.220
flowering

00:18:27.460 --> 00:18:30.419
plants predominate in a burn scar.

00:18:30.419 --> 00:18:31.220
Honey bees

00:18:31.460 --> 00:18:33.620
can benefit from this abundance if

00:18:34.179 --> 00:18:35.779
moved to burn sites

00:18:36.019 --> 00:18:36.980
as well.

00:18:37.120 --> 00:18:44.720
It has been postulated that fire likely played a major role in the landscape for our native bee fauna.

00:18:44.720 --> 00:18:49.120
Our knowledge of what effects the smoke has on honey bees is limited.

00:18:49.040 --> 00:18:54.320
Many people observed something was wrong with the bees when the smoke rolls in.

00:18:54.320 --> 00:18:59.200
They certainly weren't visiting flowers like they were when it was clear.

00:18:59.419 --> 00:19:04.620
One reason for reduced flight is that smoke lowers the ambient temperature.

00:19:04.620 --> 00:19:08.220
Bees just aren't as active when it's cooler.

00:19:08.220 --> 00:19:09.500
More critical,

00:19:09.840 --> 00:19:15.200
since bees use polarized light in the sky as their orientation compass

00:19:15.360 --> 00:19:18.559
to know where they're going, their guidepost to navigate from

00:19:18.720 --> 00:19:20.480
nest to flowers and back.

00:19:20.820 --> 00:19:23.700
The problem with smoke is the patterns that are—

00:19:23.860 --> 00:19:24.420
that are—

00:19:24.660 --> 00:19:24.980
that

00:19:25.220 --> 00:19:30.180
occur are not maintained when we get that heavy smoke cover.

00:19:30.120 --> 00:19:34.200
The pattern gets obscured, even distorted, once that heavy smoke

00:19:34.360 --> 00:19:35.560
haze sets in.

00:19:35.560 --> 00:19:40.760
The amount of polarized light in the sky can fall to levels below what a bee can discern.

00:19:41.060 --> 00:19:48.180
But apparently this pattern gets obscured, even distorted, once that heavy smoke haze sets in.

00:19:48.180 --> 00:19:52.740
The amount of polarized light in the sky can fall to levels below

00:19:52.960 --> 00:19:53.680
what a bee

00:19:53.840 --> 00:19:56.080
can actually determine, discern.

00:19:56.080 --> 00:19:57.600
And apparently, even

00:19:57.920 --> 00:19:58.240
point

00:19:58.480 --> 00:19:59.040
bees

00:19:59.200 --> 00:20:01.760
in a different direction than normal.

00:20:01.760 --> 00:20:04.560
It's modifying that polarized pattern.

00:20:04.820 --> 00:20:09.700
Getting to a flower gets to be a very hard task in smoke.

00:20:10.180 --> 00:20:14.100
Heavier the smoke, the more limited it's going to be.

00:20:14.360 --> 00:20:22.040
It's been speculated that the ash itself may interfere with the ability of bees to breathe, smell, taste,

00:20:22.340 --> 00:20:23.220
as well as

00:20:23.539 --> 00:20:30.419
having other possible effects on their perception of their environment and their internal physiology.

00:20:30.519 --> 00:20:36.760
We do not find ash within honey bee trachea collected from that 2020 fire zone.

00:20:37.080 --> 00:20:37.639
Tan

00:20:37.799 --> 00:20:42.519
and co-workers exposed butterflies to simulated smoke conditions.

00:20:42.340 --> 00:20:46.660
They too found no ash in the butterfly respiratory system.

00:20:46.660 --> 00:20:52.580
However, when examined in caterpillars, they found reduced survival and growth rate.

00:20:52.720 --> 00:20:56.080
They interpreted the results to mean that the ash isn't

00:20:56.720 --> 00:20:56.880
inter—

00:20:57.280 --> 00:20:59.360
interfering with breathing

00:20:59.600 --> 00:21:07.200
as much as it's likely poisoning the larvae as they consume the toxic material contained in the ash

00:21:07.220 --> 00:21:08.340
coating leaves

00:21:08.500 --> 00:21:08.660
um

00:21:08.820 --> 00:21:09.220
and the—

00:21:09.380 --> 00:21:10.580
and the branches

00:21:10.740 --> 00:21:12.740
that they consume.

00:21:12.740 --> 00:21:13.860
Could pollen

00:21:14.020 --> 00:21:17.460
and maybe nectar, likewise, poison flower visitors

00:21:17.700 --> 00:21:18.020
post

00:21:18.180 --> 00:21:19.140
a fire

00:21:19.460 --> 00:21:20.420
passage?

00:21:20.519 --> 00:21:20.840
We

00:21:21.080 --> 00:21:23.159
simply don't know.

00:21:23.159 --> 00:21:24.919
Let me leave you with 10

00:21:25.080 --> 00:21:25.240
do's

00:21:25.399 --> 00:21:28.039
in summarizing smoke and fire safety.

00:21:28.519 --> 00:21:32.519
One, practice smoker safety, lighting, handling

00:21:32.760 --> 00:21:36.760
lit smokers, and cleaning the spent fuel, and of course

00:21:36.919 --> 00:21:40.600
storage of the hot smokers as you leave the apiary.

00:21:40.320 --> 00:21:41.520
That is our job.

00:21:41.520 --> 00:21:41.920
That is

00:21:42.080 --> 00:21:44.400
a major fire safety.

00:21:44.400 --> 00:21:48.800
Two, minimize inspection times when smoke events occur.

00:21:48.660 --> 00:21:51.700
Keep inspections under 12 minutes to reduce colony

00:21:51.940 --> 00:21:52.580
stress.

00:21:52.580 --> 00:21:57.860
Wildfire smoke alters pheromones, passage, and behavior of flight.

00:21:57.860 --> 00:21:59.140
Be aware.

00:21:59.400 --> 00:22:00.200
3.

00:22:00.200 --> 00:22:02.600
Avoid unnecessary smoke stress.

00:22:02.600 --> 00:22:05.560
Do not open hives unless absolutely necessary

00:22:05.800 --> 00:22:11.640
during unhealthy air quality advisories, as foraging grinds to a halt.

00:22:11.820 --> 00:22:14.700
Hives already under pressure from, for example,

00:22:15.020 --> 00:22:17.180
this time of year from mites, lower

00:22:17.580 --> 00:22:19.420
food stores, etc.,

00:22:19.740 --> 00:22:23.020
are at greater risk of decline.

00:22:23.540 --> 00:22:24.900
4.

00:22:24.900 --> 00:22:27.860
Have evacuation preparedness.

00:22:27.860 --> 00:22:29.220
Establish an apiary

00:22:29.380 --> 00:22:30.660
evacuation plan.

00:22:30.940 --> 00:22:34.220
If you are near an active evacuation zone, fire

00:22:34.460 --> 00:22:41.500
zone, do not move hives unless instructed by a certified fire authority for your own safety.

00:22:41.880 --> 00:22:44.360
Number five, defensible space.

00:22:44.360 --> 00:22:45.800
Maintaining cleared, low

00:22:45.960 --> 00:22:49.000
vegetation perimeters around bee yards and outbuildings

00:22:49.240 --> 00:22:53.480
minimizes fuel loads to protect colonies from external blazes.

00:22:53.340 --> 00:22:54.140
Plant flowering

00:22:54.299 --> 00:22:58.539
species that aid bees but do not add to the fire load.

00:22:58.539 --> 00:23:03.740
Oregon State University has a listing of such fire-resistant plants.

00:23:03.620 --> 00:23:04.420
6.

00:23:04.420 --> 00:23:06.020
Supplemental feeding.

00:23:06.020 --> 00:23:06.820
Provide sugar

00:23:06.980 --> 00:23:07.780
syrup, pollen

00:23:07.940 --> 00:23:08.660
substitute

00:23:08.820 --> 00:23:08.980
if

00:23:09.220 --> 00:23:09.620
regional

00:23:10.100 --> 00:23:11.300
forage is burned

00:23:11.540 --> 00:23:15.540
or nectar intake plummets due to smoke haze.

00:23:15.600 --> 00:23:19.840
And during those periods of poor air quality.

00:23:19.840 --> 00:23:22.240
Seven, provide clean water.

00:23:22.240 --> 00:23:25.279
Set out shallow water stations with pebbles or twigs

00:23:25.440 --> 00:23:26.960
so surviving pollinators

00:23:27.240 --> 00:23:34.200
can safely drink near unburned pockets, uncontaminated with ash.

00:23:35.140 --> 00:23:42.420
Eight, as soon as feasible, document hive conditions before and after wildfire events for insurance, research, or recovery

00:23:42.740 --> 00:23:44.100
in your planning.

00:23:44.640 --> 00:23:44.960
And

00:23:45.600 --> 00:23:48.720
for our native bee fauna, nine, uh

00:23:48.960 --> 00:23:49.120
post-

00:23:49.280 --> 00:23:50.640
fire nesting.

00:23:50.640 --> 00:23:50.960
Leave

00:23:51.280 --> 00:23:51.680
standing

00:23:51.840 --> 00:23:55.120
dead trees, what we call snags, and unburned pithy

00:23:55.360 --> 00:23:56.320
stems,

00:23:56.060 --> 00:23:56.220
where

00:23:56.380 --> 00:23:57.340
cavity and wood

00:23:57.500 --> 00:24:00.380
nesting native bees can rebuild.

00:24:00.380 --> 00:24:03.340
And finally, ten, avoid immediate cleanup.

00:24:03.340 --> 00:24:07.100
Refrain from aggressive clearing of lightly scorched native flowering

00:24:07.260 --> 00:24:08.140
bushes,

00:24:08.040 --> 00:24:09.320
as local forage

00:24:09.560 --> 00:24:13.480
regrowth provides critical emergency food sources

00:24:13.640 --> 00:24:16.600
and a burn site that might quickly then rebound

00:24:17.080 --> 00:24:17.720
with more

00:24:17.960 --> 00:24:19.640
available flora for

00:24:19.880 --> 00:24:20.360
bees

00:24:20.520 --> 00:24:21.000
native

00:24:21.160 --> 00:24:22.760
and our honey bees.

00:24:23.820 --> 00:24:28.220
Hopefully, we will pass from the current wildfire smoke events.

00:24:28.220 --> 00:24:30.140
We certainly do not want

00:24:30.460 --> 00:24:33.820
to be the cause of a fire with careless smoker

00:24:34.060 --> 00:24:34.780
use.

00:24:34.820 --> 00:24:38.020
We do not want to create undue stress to our bees

00:24:38.660 --> 00:24:38.980
with

00:24:39.300 --> 00:24:40.180
inspections

00:24:40.500 --> 00:24:43.140
or excessive smoker use.

00:24:43.140 --> 00:24:44.020
Until next

00:24:44.340 --> 00:24:44.420
time—

00:24:44.060 --> 00:24:44.460
Next time

00:24:45.100 --> 00:24:45.260
be

00:24:45.580 --> 00:24:46.940
well.