All interested,

        Until we sold the farm in north-central PA a few years ago, I
kept bees and made Maple Syrup.  My bee yard was close to my sugar bush.
Even so, I rarely had bees visiting the tap holes.  I only found a few
dead in the buckets.  With today's emphasis on tubing, there is a lot
less opportunity for the bees to access the sap.   Maybe it is because
the trees are in the woods that the bees do not enter their as much as
they would if the trees were in the open.  Also, snow depth may have
been an issue.  When we tapped we typically did so in rather deep snow.
We often resorted to snowshoes.  The snow depth around the supers may
have kept the number of bees out foraging down.  It is likely that this
snow depth is not an issue in other places or even anywhere this year.
Then experiences of others may differ but this is what I've observed.  I
do agree though, the concept of Maple Honey sounds really unique and
delightful.  It will be interesting to see what others have to say about
this.

CYA!

Jeff Holbrook
Corning, NY