On Fri, 11 Aug 2006 17:09:59 -0400, Bill Truesdell <bhfarms@SUSCOM-
MAINE.NET> wrote:

>But I will post those flowers with no trespassing
>signs to keep my bees away so they do not contaminate my honey.

Perhaps I should have said adulterate or dilute.  Bottom line: I and most 
everyone else value honey much more highly than syrup.  I want my honey to 
be honey, not syrup, not 10% syrup, not 2% syrup.  The idea that we can 
adulterate honey with syrup because it has a similar chemical analysis 
seems pretty weak.

>Glad to know that many beekeepers keep supers on all the time, so will
>do so this winter. Might get some surplus honey.

First of all, I'm not talking about winter in Maine, because I assume the 
bees aren't flying, which means you wouldn't be able to open feed either, 
right?  In fact, I assume 90%+ of open feeding takes place at times (like 
in the fall) when the bees are still foraging and collecting some nectar.

But the idea of having harvestable honey on the hive in winter isn't so far 
out there either, and that's my point: I don't think our assumptions about 
how bees are managed should dictate to our neighbors how and when they can 
produce pure honey from their own hives.  Checkerboarding, for instance, is 
an idea that's had a lot of publicity, and it involves spreading 
overwintered frames throughout the honey supers, if I understand the idea 
correctly.  I don't do that, but I'd like to be free to do so with my own 
bees if I chose.  As another example, I've seen some research (I believe 
from Harbo?) recently about optimal bee per liter numbers which might 
suggest putting supers on hives at times when a surplus might not be 
expected.  On a simpler level, I know beekeepers that keep hives in places 
where they don't get to very often, and they sometimes harvest their honey 
really late.  Or perhaps more significant, beekeepers that don't use 
pesticides might want to produce a fall crop.

Eric

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