> From:  Christine Gray

Robin, Can't you get you're own email address?

> In a not-hot summer bees
> get all water needed from nectar which often has less tha 50:50
> concentration of sugars and so has to have water reduced not added.  In
> autumn, nectar flow stops and bees go back to using stored honey
> - and back to collecting water.

All depending on you're location, of course.  Here, spring follows winter
rains, nectar can start in Feb (actually rain didn't stop until 4 days ago,
and 4 days of no rains was so remarkable, it was the weather lead on the
news), the main flow starts approx apr 15, most consider it done by
mid-to-late june (possibly to get their bees to the mountains by jul 1, the
latest you can get them settled in and expect a crop, but my bees, 10 miles
north, 500 ft higher and deeply wooded, tend to get a flow til mid july).
The "hot" part of summer usually starts in jun - over 90 for over 90 days
last year, a little cooler this year, but there is never a not-so-hot
summer.  But, if you keep them watered until late summer, in Sept the golden
rod and aster should start and if you have fields nearby, they are taken
care of until the rains start again (usually late nov or by dec at the
latest).

K. Oland
E.TN, US

and yes, it makes a large difference what part of TN, a 400+ mile state,
going from river delta to reasonably high mountains.

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