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Date: | Mon, 19 Apr 1999 11:22:00 -0500 |
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Hello All,
There was a nice article in todays' Allentown (PA) Morning Call newspaper.
It talked about the value of bees as pollinators and featured a young
beekeeper from southeastern Pennsylvania, Andrew Dubas, who is also a member
of BEE-L. The article mentions how pollination, not fertilizer, may be the
answer to failing crops. The article can bed found at:
http://www.mcall.com/html/news/regional/38068.htm
Good job Andrew and good luck with your bee business.
Another topic:
April has been cool and unsettled in eastern Pennsylvania. It has been
difficult getting days when you can open hives for a good inspection. I
have checked a number in the past few weeks. They were all building up,
including a 4 frame nuc that I wintered by itself. I came across one colony
last week that was preparing to swarm. It is a bit early for swarms around
here. The dandelion is not even blooming yet. This particular hive was
ready to go. Queens were hatching on the frame I was holding and others
were piping from their cells. I took some of the frames with queen cells
and made nucs and placed them above an established colony using a double
screen. As I said, the weather has not be good. My question is how long
can (or will) these virgin queens stay in the hive before taking a mating
flight. With the weather the way it is if they leave they may not return. I
am not sure they will find enough drones for a good mating either.
One other thing I have noticed is most hives came through winter with an
excess of honey. I have been removing frames and replacing them in order to
give the queens more room. Weather has definitely been strange the past few
years.
Ron Bogansky
Kutztown, PA USA
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