For beekeepers, managing colonies has become increasingly complex, requiring patience and sharp skills to adapt to stressors that challenge honeybees more than ever. A colony is more than a box of bees. It is a superorganism. Each member has a purpose; foragers collect nectar, nurses tend the young, and workers maintain the hive. Together they ensure survival and support much of our food supply.

Bees adapt instinctively, dividing when space is tight to balance their needs. The lessons learned from the hive apply to families and businesses too: purpose, clarity and teamwork keep us strong.

This Sept. 11 calls for a moment of quiet reflection. At the Flight 93 National Memorial near Shanksville, a ceremony honors the bravery, service and sacrifice of the passengers and crew on Flight 93, marking the 24th anniversary of the attacks on America.

For me, fall stands out as a highlight, when the landscape transforms into an amazing display of vibrant colors. Leaf season is expected to be both colorful and a little earlier than usual this year. In northern Pennsylvania, including the Poconos and Endless Mountains, peak foliage is expected from Oct. 7 to Oct. 15. Central Pennsylvania, covering areas like the Alleghenies and State College, should see its best color between Oct.14 and Oct. 21. For the southern part of the state, including York, Gettysburg and Lancaster, peak viewing is forecast from Oct. 20 to Oct. 28.

According to the Old Farmer’s Almanac, Pennsylvania is heading into fall with cooler-than-average temperatures and below-average rainfall. This combination often produces the most vivid displays of red and orange leaves. A cool and dry autumn helps trees hold onto their color longer and boosts vibrancy. Across the Northeast, the general outlook is also for a cool and dry fall, which bodes well for leaf-peeping.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has noted the possibility of a mild La Nina developing later in the season, but it is not expected to significantly affect the timing of peak foliage.

In news from our neighboring state to the west, House Bill 96 enacted new changes for Ohio beekeepers effective next year. The $5 registration fee has been eliminated. This fee was collected for each apiary registered by location when you submitted the paperwork registering your hives. Beekeepers will still be required to register their hives and apiary locations with the Ohio Department of Agriculture.

Other changes apply to queen rearing and package bee sales. Beekeepers intending to raise queens or nucs for sale must submit a certification request accompanied by a $50 annual fee, which covers all queen rearing and/or nuc production locations. Before this law, each location would have had to be registered for $5 each and inspected for a separate certificate. These changes shift the financial burden from the hobbyist to the sellers of nucs and queens. The Ohio Department of Agriculture will continue to maintain oversight of the apiary inspection program, registrations and queen certifications in collaboration with county inspectors to enforce registration requirements. The department will transition to an online licensing program with provisions for individuals lacking internet access.

The new system will identify hive locations as sensitive areas to safeguard against specific pesticide locations.

If you haven’t begun implementing your fall mite treatments, now is the time. In the next few weeks, colonies will start raising their last round of brood for winter. The bees that emerge in late September and early October will be the majority of bees that have to survive the winter.

It is vitally important that these bees are free from the viruses that the varroa mites spread, which will help the healthy colony to survive the winter. Preparations, including treating mites and additional feeding if necessary, will largely determine your colony’s survival rate. There are many fall mite treatments options to consider.

The 49th Apimondia Congress will take place in Copenhagen from Sept. 23-27, hosted by Scandinavian beekeepers. Organized by the associations of Sweden, Norway and Denmark, this event is dedicated to bees, beekeepers, scientists, the honey industry, and people worldwide who care about pollinators. At a time when the world feels divided, beekeeping unites us through a shared respect for bees and their role in our lives. Copenhagen, often ranked the world’s most livable city, offers a safe, accessible and well-organized setting for this global gathering focused on knowledge, collaboration and the future of beekeeping.

Bee Species and Pests

At the start of August, I attended the Eastern Apicultural Society conference in Cherry Hill, New Jersey. The event was well attended, with about 600 registrants. Conferences like these are valuable for connecting with fellow beekeepers and learning from experts. This year, much of the focus was on Tropilaelaps, a serious honey bee pest. The society has one of the country’s oldest and most respected master beekeeper programs. Eighteen candidates tested for certification, with five earning the prestigious title.

Pennsylvania is home to six families of bees: Andrenidae, Apidae, Colletidae, Halictidae, Megachilidae and Melittidae. Together, these families include about 437 individual species. Many of these bees look quite similar, and when one darts past at lightning speed, even an expert would struggle to identify it with certainty. By late summer and fall, some species have finished their seasonal cycle while others are peaking in numbers and activity.

A good example is the yellow jacket. In autumn, their colonies are at their largest size. As the weather cools and natural food sources decline, yellow jackets turn to other options. They often scavenge around trash cans, picnics, or fermenting fruit, becoming more noticeable and aggressive. By this time, the queen stops laying eggs, and the colony begins to decline in preparation for winter. Yellow jackets are notorious for stinging and will often chase anyone who comes too close to their nest. It is no surprise that property owners frequently call after discovering a nest in their home or yard. Often the species is misidentified, but the concern is real, and removal becomes necessary.

Clemson University’s Honeybee Protection Program is leading the fight against the yellow-legged hornet in South Carolina. By February 2025, they had located 16 nests, destroying 15 in 2024 and the last one in early 2025. Nearly 800 traps were placed across Beaufort, Jasper, Colleton, and Hampton counties, capturing more than 4,200 hornets. Crews are using creative tools like “Georgia Juice” traps made from grape juice and brown sugar, along with thermal imaging and radio tracking to locate nests.

Community involvement is critical. Beekeepers and residents filed 820 reports, though many turned out to be harmless insects such as cicada killers or paper wasps. Clemson also maintains a live GIS map to track confirmed nests and guide future outreach.

In Georgia, the spread has been more extensive. From 2023 through mid-2025, officials destroyed 58 nests, including 40 secondary nests in 2024 alone. This spring, their focus shifted to detecting small embryo nests, sometimes hidden in eaves or shrubs. By May and June 2025, 24 hornets and one primary nest were discovered, showing signs of continued dispersal. Chatham, Effingham, Bryan and Liberty counties remain the epicenter, now spanning over 350 square miles.

Georgia officials continue urging the public to report sightings promptly. It’s my hope they don’t make their way to Pennsylvania.