PORTLAND (AP) — This summer’s honey harvest could end up being one of the worst in Maine memory, but beekeepers are hoping for a better fall.

Tony Jadczak, the state apiarist and bee inspector, blames the weather. He said two weeks of heavy rain in July kept bees dormant in the hives. That was followed by two weeks of unusually hot weather that kept flowers closed to conserve water.

He told The Portland Press Herald (http://bit.ly/14Gnpq4 ) the season to date is shaping up to be one of the 10 worst in recorded Maine history.

The weather so far in August has been cooperating, which he hopes will make for a better fall.

Maine bees produced 91 million pounds of honey worth $70 million in 2012.

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