Survive the Shift

From the magnetic diffusion before and after the pole shft, most bees will probably have trouble finding their way back to their hives. This is already becoming a problem in various areas around the world from what I understand as a bee that cannot find it's way back is soon doomed! Question is: How are you going to keep the bees inside when all hell breaks loose on the outside? Are we to plug their hive with wax for the 30-90 days we are likely to be without the sun?

Offered by Steve.

I know that bee keepers use smoke to quiet bees while gathering honey combs. What do bees do in the winter? Do they hibernate in their hives? If so, can a bee keeper induce hibernation somehow? If that were possible, then they could hibernate through the shift! I posed the question "what do bees do in the winter, Hibernate?", to my stepfather, who is a bit of a naturalist. He said when it gets cold, they go into hibernation mode, and all stay in the hive. They need lots of honey, because this is what they survive on through the winter. This is why beekeepers have to be careful how much they remove from the hive - take too much, and they starve to death.

So, I'm thinking that if a group were to try and keep bees, they would have to protect the hives during the shift, somehow make then cold so as to trick them into believing it's winter, and not touch any of the honey for many months into the "healing" period just after the pole shift so they will survive. Also, since the pole shift is to happen in mid May, the colony will be just coming out of a winters hibernation in the northern hemisphere, so should probably be kept from waking in the early spring. This protected hive set up should probably be set up no later than next spring or early summer for the best results. As far as a protective hive set up, I would think that an enclosed space in a protected outbuilding would work. Small opening to the outside for the bees, that could be covered during the pole shift. On the inside, possibly a wooden or Plexiglas box that is openable for future honey gathering, but sealable for the long hibernation.

Of course, this whole idea would only work for an established survival site pre-pole-shift. Honey should be on everyone’s list of things to stock up on!

Offered by Brent.