🐝 When bees swarm | Outdoorsy Newsletter

Mother Nature may be doing some spring backflips, but we’re still determined to make the most of it.

Welcome back to Outdoorsy, friends. Today, we’re talking about:

☁️ Your Memorial Day weekend weather outlook: Keep an extra layer and an umbrella handy.

— Paola Pérez (outdoorsy@inquirer.com)

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This is the time of year when bees are swarming about. Like us, they’re eager to explore. But this season in particular, it seems as though there are more swarms than usual around Philadelphia.

Trust me, I get it. Bees can be a buzzkill by throwing chaos into time spent outdoors. But they are also important pollinators, and it’s worth knowing why they behave the way they do.

To get to the bottom of it, environmental reporter Frank Kummer talked to the experts and learned:

🐝 Pennsylvania is in peak swarm season, while the Garden State is approaching its peak. One apiarist said they’ve experienced a higher level of early-season activity this year, but others have not.

🐝 There are 62% more beekeepers registered in Pennsylvania compared to a decade ago, meaning there may be more apiaries to maintain. It’s also possible technology could be part of the reason for a rise in reports of swarms.

🐝 If you see a swarm, email the Philadelphia Beekeepers Guild at info@phillybeekeepers.org, or report it through a form on their website.

Go inside the springtime ritual of bee swarms, and learn about beekeeping laws.

Last week, I asked you to tell me your favorite trail. Here’s what Sharon D. wrote in about the Schuylkill River Trail in Berks and Schuylkill Counties, which she said brings her lots of joy:

“I recommend three SRT trailheads out here. My local one is just outside Hamburg. It goes through the Appalachian Mountains, to the town of Port Clinton and beyond. Soon, the wild rhododendron will be in bloom on the mountainside. I also walk from the Auburn trailhead (including a nice bridge that the SRT built a few years ago). The terrain is very different from the Hamburg trail, even though it’s just a few miles away. And there is a short but lovely stretch near the Berks town of Leesport, which I loop in with connecting country roads and which features a preserved lock (reminding everyone of the vital canal system that used to run along the river).”

Thanks for sharing. The Philly region is home to many trails, and back in February, the city finally hired a full-time crew dedicated to maintaining them.

📫 Got a trail of your own to recommend, or just want to send in a story about your favorite moments in nature? Send me an email (pictures, if you have them, are welcome). You may see it featured here.

🎤 Let’s pass the mic to features reporter Mike Newall:

For weeks, Benjamin Snyder scrutinized the prized Amorphophallus titanium — a rare tropical plant better known by its macabre moniker: “corpse flower.”

Snyder, 31, Temple University Ambler Campus’ greenhouse education and research complex manager, monitored the fickle flower famous for its brief blossoms and striking stench similar to the odor of rotting human flesh, for any signs of it blooming.

By last Thursday, when the plant’s burgundy-colored frilly sheath began to separate from its towering spike, Snyder suspected he was witnessing a foul-smelling floral event. By the time he arrived at work the next morning, any doubts were erased.

“You could smell it outside the building,” he said with a smile. — Mike Newall

Go inside the greenhouse where nearly 600 visitors have crowded to see and smell the exotic plant that blooms only every few years — and for just 24 to 36 hours.

🌊 A story: 530 miles of Pennsylvania waterways now have expanded environmental protections.

🌹 An activity: Celebration of the Roses at the historic Wyck House on Saturday (pay-as-you-go).

🐢 A cute view: Snaps of an Eastern box turtle spotted in Philly.

🥃 A bug repellant: I’d try this high-proof, “low buzz” spritz.

🎵 A song: “Oh, midnight on the bay / Sure feels good to me.”

Dajé is all of us.

👋🏽 Let’s do this again next week. Until then, be safe out there!

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