Keith Malone wrote:

> I am wondering, do you breed your own stock or do you buy in new queens to
> re-queen?

Grew my own. The problem is not in the bee but in the
particulates/solids in the honey. When ya gotta go ya gotta go.

You might not see a problem. Most in my area harvest their honey once in
the year, in September. So they compare themselves with others in the
area, as I did. Their hives will have a large concentration of goldenrod
and aster.

Every scientific article I have read has sugar and hcfs as the best
overwintering feed for the north since both are very low in solids. Plus
they do not crystallize at the drop of a hat. There is also lots of info
on granulated honey and its effect on an overwintered colony. Granulated
honey does not liquefy instantly, but gradually and can ferment during
the transition, another no-no for the bees well being.

You can overwinter bees on goldenrod and aster. Just not well.

As I said, when I stopped it my bees did much better. I would lose
several colonies over winter but after I shifted, lost none for several
winters, even with tracheal around. That was when others around me were
losing 50-80% of their colonies. They were expert beekeepers and I just
a novice.

I listened to George Imire and Tony Jadczak and they were right. (Plus,
read a lot of science that confirmed their advice.)

Bill Truesdell
Bath, Maine

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