Dave Green, Eastern Pollinator Newsletter wrote:
>
> In a message dated 97-01-04 09:19:01 EST, [log in to unmask] (Donald V
> Israel) writes:
>
> <<The honey bees are  bringing in nectur and pollan from somewhere. It is
> unseasonably warm  for this time of year. What does this do to the biological
> clock there  has been so much talk about lately?>>
>
>     I've found that (in South Carolina) November and December are pretty slow
> months, and you can't stimulate the queen if you try.  By early January she
> is already going, but you can't stimulate her much. By late in the month and
> into February, she'll get turned on.  A natural flow (maple, canola, willow,
> etc.) will get them brooded up.  I think the stimulation is caused by pollen
> as well as nectar.  If the pollen is absent, they won't get stimulated much.
>
>     From late January onward, we have to be cautious about management when
> there are warm spells.  One thing that I've seen is bees brooded up too
> early, and a sharp temperature drop makes them contract the cluster and outer
> brood is chilled.  It really sets a hive back, and can even kill them, in
> trying to deal with all the dead corpses.
>
>     The other effect is increase in food consumption.  Bees don't eat much
> where there is little brood, and death up to mid-January is usually not
> starvation, but other factors causing weak hives (stored poisoned pollen,
> poor queen, mites, etc.)
>
>     Once they have a lot of brood they get real hungry.  The maple flow here
> usually hits around the turn between Jan & Feb.  Then it is quite barren
> until the end of March.  If the maple flow is good, I plan on a lot more
> feeding, because the brooded-up bees will eat more.  The most powerful hives
> are apt to starve in mid-March, when they outrun the meagre nectar supplies
> they can find.
>
>     This is one reason I like canola, which will yield for the entire late
> winter, and freezes will not stop the flow.  Most other plants will stop
> yielding if there is a freeze, at least until new buds open.
>
>  << No one answered my request for info on how to round up honey bees from
>  80 feet in a pine tree.(round up as in cattle not poison them). It
>  haooened to me two times last year and I lost them. >>
>
>     The problem is not unsolveable, but saving high swarms is not cost
> effective.  I've decided that any swarm over 8 feet is not worth chasing.
>  Falling off a ladder is not my cup-of-tea.  Being out of commission in the
> spring would sink my business, as I've GOT to have the bees on the crops when
> they bloom.  Funerals, including my own, are still not an acceptable excuse.
>
>     Last spring an employee was determined to get a swarm in a sapling, about
> 15 feet up.  He's an agile, vigorous, young Mexican, and I could have stopped
> him only by threatening to fire him.  So I held my breath as he climbed the
> sapling.  Slowly it bowed over until the swarm was down to ground level, and
> he was back with his feet on the ground.  We put a hive down and they were
> starting to run in, but he couldn't hold the tree indefinitely.  When he let
> go, the tree whipped back up, the surprised bees were mostly dropped on the
> ground.  After a moments thought, they took off, en masse, and went up one of
> those "80 foot" pines.  So much for that.
>
>      Its a good idea to hive swarms at dusk, but we can't always come back
> the necessary miles to catch one swarm, which may-or-may-not be still there.
>
>     Swarm catchers can be purchased or made, using shop vacs.  But it is an
> extra piece of equipment to haul around. -Not to speak of carrying the length
> of pipe needed.
>
>     Bait boxes, are another solution, but it's iffy.  The higher the boxes,
> the better the catch rate.  You can also purchase pheromones to attract them,
> but I've not tried this.
>
>      The best bet is to not let the bees swarm.  Wild swarms are now quite
> rare, and if I manage my own bees as they should be, these swarms should also
> be rare.
>
>      So I just wave goodbye to high swarms.  It's sad.  I wish I could tell
> them that they are carrying the vampires that will build up and kill them.
>  Without my care, they are doomed ---Dead bees that just don't know it yet.
>
>     But they ignore what I tell them.  There's a sermon in there somewhere.
>
> [log in to unmask]    Dave Green,  PO Box 1200,  Hemingway,  SC
> 29554        (Dave & Jan's Pollination Service,  Pot o'Gold Honey Co.)
>
> Practical Pollination Home Page            Dave & Janice Green
> http://users.aol.com/pollinator/polpage1.html
>
> Jan's Sweetness and Light         Varietal Honeys and Gift Sets
> http://users.aol.com/SweetnessL/sweetlit.htm
Where do I purchase pheromones, and how do I use
them?
 
Harry Cronk
[log in to unmask]