Allen Dick wrote: Allen Dick wrote: > Anyone know if queens being raised in California yet? I had heard they > got off to a terrible start. The el nino must of messed things up in California as far as bees go. Other beekeepers and myself have been waiting for our bees to return from the orange groves. They are usually finished with the bees by the 10th of April, we got them too early last year because of the cold spring here. This year the apple trees in my back yard are getting ready to bloom, and I found a few dandelions. I have been told that the bees won't be shipped until may 2nd. The beekeeper that I sent my bees with has been trying to get 200 packages installed in the orange groves for the past 3 weeks, but the date keeps getting pushed back. He is getting really worried about it now because he says the bees will be too jumpy to ship right after installation. I had ordered 35 queens from Glen apiaries, they will probably get here a couple days ahead of my bees. I been finding all different ways to treat bee fever in the beekeeper though, that is paint, and repair everything in sight. So much for getting an early start on some queen rearing. Maybe Andy can fill us in on California. Elroy