Chris Blanchard wrote:
 
>1.  I put feeder jars on the hives with a 1:1 sugar syrup.  How long
should I
>continue to feed them?
As long as they'll take it in.  When there's a honey flow they'll stop and
it will no longer be necessary.  Don't let them go empty.  At this stage
they'll take in quite a bit of sugar and turn it into comb.  That's good
because they'll make more honey for you.
 
>2.  How do I get rid of fire ants in my beeyard?
I use diatomaceous earth and pyrethrum with no problem.  I just stir them
into the ant mound and the ants go away.   I'm not sure that this destroys
the ants.  I think it just moves them around.  This year I'm trying the
method of putting borax in sugar water and leaving it in the bee yard in
old film canisters that I've saved over the last year.  The lids will have
small holes that admit ants but not bees.  I found that here on list.
There are several other ways to combat ants.
 
>3.  What flavor of honey (if any) does cotton produce?  Or do bees
pollinate
>cotton?
I got some cotton honey last year but because of the drought in Texas, not
much.  I understand that the bees get nectar from nectaries on the stem of
the cotton but not the flower(cotton ball).  I don't think I can give a
just opinion on flavor because I got so little.  This year should be
better.  Other beekeepers tell me that the bees will make much honey from
cotton but haven't told me much about flavor.
 
Ted Wout, 3rd year, 10 hives
Red Oak, TX