{"id":2793,"date":"2026-06-22T15:39:46","date_gmt":"2026-06-22T15:39:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=2793"},"modified":"2026-06-22T15:39:46","modified_gmt":"2026-06-22T15:39:46","slug":"north-bay-beekeepers-battle-climate-swings-to-continue-legacy-of-honeymaking","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=2793","title":{"rendered":"North Bay beekeepers battle climate swings to continue legacy of honeymaking"},"content":{"rendered":"

The year did not start out well for the bees at Petaluma\u2019s Honeybutter Farm. According to farm coordinator Paulina Binsfeld, the roller coaster of weather since the start of the year took its toll on the farm\u2019s colonies, which had just arrived in February as the owners launched a new line of honey.<\/p>

Read more Marine layer will keep Bay Area heat-up to a minimum<\/a><\/p>\n

In late May, Binsfeld said her team discovered they had lost two of six hives. The weather, swinging from too warm early in the spring to April and May\u2019s cool showers, was hard on the bees and some began to die, she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey seemed to be doing really well in the beginning, and then in the extreme changes in weather and later rains, we definitely see them suffering,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s been a little while since we\u2019ve harvested.\u201d<\/p>\n

Beekeeping in California has been challenging for many years, but growing environmental stressors and costs are a challenge for small beekeepers hoping to make honey and pollinate crops across Northern California.<\/p>\n

The extreme swings in temperature and moisture are just one of many factors driving bee colony deaths.\u00a0Binsfeld pointed to parasitic Varroa mites as one of the growing threats to honeybees across the country.<\/p>\n

The mites, which burrow into adult bee populations or infect their larvae with viruses that leave them deformed and flightless, have had a major impact on the already struggling honeybee industry, according to Alan Morrell, owner of Beehaven in Santa Rosa.<\/p>\n

Morrell said his property enjoyed an early bloom during the March warm weather, providing his bees with plenty of flowers to pollinate.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve caught some swarms. They seem to be doing OK,\u201d he said. \u201cBut the mites are breeding, too.\u201d He described how mites can get into a hive by laying eggs and, during metamorphosis periods, can take over an entire hive.<\/p>

\n<\/div>\n

\u201cWhen they get to a sufficient number, you have colony collapse,\u201d Morrell said. \u201cToo many bees get a virus and are born without wings or crumpled. They\u2019re in all of the hives.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n

The mites can cause great financial loss, Morrell said. They\u2019re also notoriously difficult to manage with chemicals, as beekeepers have to avoid contaminating honey with large doses of chemicals.<\/p>\n

Honeybutter Farm has been treating its hives for mites. Although they aren\u2019t the \u201cleading problem\u201d for bees on the farm, climate swings have impacted their ability to survive and fight diseases, Binsfeld said.<\/p>\n

The issue is just one of many environmental changes Morrell said have contributed to declines in the honeybee population for years.<\/p>

\n<\/div>\n

What\u2019s happening to small California beekeepers?<\/h4>\n

The mites plaguing most hives have been widespread around since the 2000s but began to have devastating effects in recent years, according to commercial beekeepers. Climate change has impacted honeybees as well. Colonies are threatened by extreme heat, pesticides, habitat loss and a lack of food and nutrition, and the U.S. has recorded growing hive deaths in recent years. About 1.6 million colonies were lost between June 2024 and March 2025, as commercial producers reported losing an average of 62% of their colonies.<\/p>\n

Last year California lawmakers approved a bill that would have directed the Department of Food and Agriculture to establish a health program for managed honeybees and provide grants for research. But Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoed the bipartisan legislation on the grounds that it amounted to an unfunded mandate.<\/p>\n

\u201cI appreciate the author\u2019s interest in protecting our honeybee population, but this bill would create an unfunded grant program and, therefore, should be considered as part of the annual budget process,\u201d Newsom wrote in rejecting the bill in October.<\/p>\n

The business of managing honeybees has long been essential for pollinating many of the state\u2019s most lucrative crops, particularly almond orchards. California almonds are a multibillion-dollar industry and the state\u2019s beekeepers in 2024 produced \u2014 10% of the country\u2019s supply \u2014 valued at $32.8 million.<\/p>\n

  • \n
    \"Don<\/figure>\n
    Don Merrill, owner of No Bull Beekeeping, performs a hive inspection at Beffa Springs Ranch in Petaluma on Tuesday, June 16, 2026. (Christopher Chung\/The Press Democrat)\n<\/div><\/div><\/li>
  • \n
    \"Don<\/figure>\n
    Don Merrill, owner of No Bull Beekeeping, inspects a hive at Beffa Springs Ranch in Petaluma on Tuesday, June 16, 2026. (Christopher Chung\/The Press Democrat)\n<\/div><\/div><\/li>
  • \n
    \"Don<\/figure>\n
    Don Merrill, owner of No Bull Beekeeping, puts on his beekeeping gear before inspecting a hive at Beffa Springs Ranch in Petaluma on Tuesday, June 16, 2026. (Christopher Chung\/The Press Democrat)\n<\/div><\/div><\/li><\/div><\/div><\/ul>