David (And Allen Dick in his reply),
    Thanks for your informative E-Mail.  i live in central South
Carolina and was in my hives Saturday.  Although I had lots of
bees (2 deeps crammed full in each hive) I have very very little
honey stores.  one hive had a frame of capped honey, the other
had just open cells.  I have been feeding since the first of Feb,
trying to build up for spring, and was maintaining stores pretty
well, until we were hit with 3 cold snaps in 2 weeks.  I could
tell the hive was getting lighter each time I lifted it.
Needless to say, the hives have syrup on them now.
 
  Also, I have had Jasmine blooming for the last week or so all
around the house, so I will keep some sort of 'feed' on the hive
until the bloom tapers off.
 
thanks again
Rod Billett
New Hobbiest w/ 2 Hives.
Lexington, SC