Dave Green, Eastern Pollinator Newsletter wrote:
>
> In a message dated 97-01-04 09:19:01 EST, [log in to unmask] (Donald V
> Israel) writes:
>
> <<The honey bees are bringing in nectur and pollan from somewhere. It is
> unseasonably warm for this time of year. What does this do to the biological
> clock there has been so much talk about lately?>>
>
> I've found that (in South Carolina) November and December are pretty slow
> months, and you can't stimulate the queen if you try. By early January she
> is already going, but you can't stimulate her much. By late in the month and
> into February, she'll get turned on. A natural flow (maple, canola, willow,
> etc.) will get them brooded up. I think the stimulation is caused by pollen
> as well as nectar. If the pollen is absent, they won't get stimulated much.
>
> From late January onward, we have to be cautious about management when
> there are warm spells. One thing that I've seen is bees brooded up too
> early, and a sharp temperature drop makes them contract the cluster and outer
> brood is chilled. It really sets a hive back, and can even kill them, in
> trying to deal with all the dead corpses.
>
> The other effect is increase in food consumption. Bees don't eat much
> where there is little brood, and death up to mid-January is usually not
> starvation, but other factors causing weak hives (stored poisoned pollen,
> poor queen, mites, etc.)
>
> Once they have a lot of brood they get real hungry. The maple flow here
> usually hits around the turn between Jan & Feb. Then it is quite barren
> until the end of March. If the maple flow is good, I plan on a lot more
> feeding, because the brooded-up bees will eat more. The most powerful hives
> are apt to starve in mid-March, when they outrun the meagre nectar supplies
> they can find.
>
> This is one reason I like canola, which will yield for the entire late
> winter, and freezes will not stop the flow. Most other plants will stop
> yielding if there is a freeze, at least until new buds open.
>
> << No one answered my request for info on how to round up honey bees from
> 80 feet in a pine tree.(round up as in cattle not poison them). It
> haooened to me two times last year and I lost them. >>
>
> The problem is not unsolveable, but saving high swarms is not cost
> effective. I've decided that any swarm over 8 feet is not worth chasing.
> Falling off a ladder is not my cup-of-tea. Being out of commission in the
> spring would sink my business, as I've GOT to have the bees on the crops when
> they bloom. Funerals, including my own, are still not an acceptable excuse.
>
> Last spring an employee was determined to get a swarm in a sapling, about
> 15 feet up. He's an agile, vigorous, young Mexican, and I could have stopped
> him only by threatening to fire him. So I held my breath as he climbed the
> sapling. Slowly it bowed over until the swarm was down to ground level, and
> he was back with his feet on the ground. We put a hive down and they were
> starting to run in, but he couldn't hold the tree indefinitely. When he let
> go, the tree whipped back up, the surprised bees were mostly dropped on the
> ground. After a moments thought, they took off, en masse, and went up one of
> those "80 foot" pines. So much for that.
>
> Its a good idea to hive swarms at dusk, but we can't always come back
> the necessary miles to catch one swarm, which may-or-may-not be still there.
>
> Swarm catchers can be purchased or made, using shop vacs. But it is an
> extra piece of equipment to haul around. -Not to speak of carrying the length
> of pipe needed.
>
> Bait boxes, are another solution, but it's iffy. The higher the boxes,
> the better the catch rate. You can also purchase pheromones to attract them,
> but I've not tried this.
>
> The best bet is to not let the bees swarm. Wild swarms are now quite
> rare, and if I manage my own bees as they should be, these swarms should also
> be rare.
>
> So I just wave goodbye to high swarms. It's sad. I wish I could tell
> them that they are carrying the vampires that will build up and kill them.
> Without my care, they are doomed ---Dead bees that just don't know it yet.
>
> But they ignore what I tell them. There's a sermon in there somewhere.
>
> [log in to unmask] Dave Green, PO Box 1200, Hemingway, SC
> 29554 (Dave & Jan's Pollination Service, Pot o'Gold Honey Co.)
>
> Practical Pollination Home Page Dave & Janice Green
> http://users.aol.com/pollinator/polpage1.html
>
> Jan's Sweetness and Light Varietal Honeys and Gift Sets
> http://users.aol.com/SweetnessL/sweetlit.htm
Where do I purchase pheromones, and how do I use them?
Harry Cronk
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