Honey Bees

Right now a lot of the state is in a dearth. The bees will be lethargic since there isn't much for them to do. The queen will also reduce the amount of eggs she lays due to lack of food. Were there any eggs? If you have eggs then you have had a queen in the colony in the last 4 days. Putting feed on the colony will help and cause the queen to start laying. Watch for pollen coming in during the morning hours. Feed/syrup and pollen usually means queen is making babies.
 
There was no uncapped brood, no eggs and no honey. After putting the syrup on them yesterday they have perked up a lot, they sucked down a quart in less than 12 hours. I picked up a new queen this morning and when I was putting her in, I found the old queen. I put the old queen in a cage and will pull a couple of frames from my strong hive and put them in a nuc with her to see if she is still laying, giving her another chance.

I tried to get the frames this morning, but my smoker stopped smoking and the bees were not happy about it and popped me a couple of times. So I'll try again this evening.
 
Out of my 2 hives that I got this spring, one appears to be going strong and the other is on well-fare. They boy that I got them from said that sweet potatoes make good honey, I hope so, there's a couple of hundred acres right up the road from me.
 
Sweet potatoes typically do not bloom, so I'm not sure how they make good honey, unless he is letting the bees feed on the potatoes.

If one hive is struggling, start feeding them instead of letting them starve to death. I had a package that was very weak and started giving them syrup. I can give them 4 gallons in a hive top feeder and in less than 24 hrs, they will have it sucked dry.
 
I finally got into one of the bee yards today to cut the grass. Too tall for the mower so weed eat was the only option. My back hates me right now.
 
Sweet potatoes typically do not bloom, so I'm not sure how they make good honey, unless he is letting the bees feed on the potatoes.

If one hive is struggling, start feeding them instead of letting them starve to death. I had a package that was very weak and started giving them syrup. I can give them 4 gallons in a hive top feeder and in less than 24 hrs, they will have it sucked dry.

the sweet potatoes around the house have a purple flower on them now. We'll see.

For some reason our bees don't seem to go to the sugar water.
 
At this moment right now, I'm not sure I care if those little angry bastards live. I pulled a stupid last night and ended up in the ER to get the EPI Shot. Gonna re-think this honey adventure.
 
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At this moment right now, I'm not sure I care if those little angry bastards live. I pulled a stupid last night and ended up in the ER to get the EPI Shot. Gonna re-think this honey adventure.
Hope everything is ok from the mishap. Do you mind elaborating on what happened. We’re thinking about trying beekeeping in a year or two and trying to learn all the do’s and don’ts.
 
Hope everything is ok from the mishap. Do you mind elaborating on what happened. We’re thinking about trying beekeeping in a year or two and trying to learn all the do’s and don’ts.
I didn't do any of the normal precautions and just walked up and pulled the top off of them. Got hit 6 or 7 times.
 
We are currently rebuilding one of our bee yards following the hurricane/flood. Wind wasn't the problem the flood a week later was. We lost 7 colonies so far and are unsure of a few more. The water got up to the bottom of the second brood chamber on 52 colonies. We never had water that high and couldn't get to the hives until the water went down. I am at the halfway point of back filling the bee yard. I am raising the ground level 2 feet. This should eliminate any future issues with flooding.
 
Hives are pretty light from lack of stores. Put out some sugar syrup and they didn't touch it. They are brining in nectar and pollen so something somewhere didn't get destroyed in the storm and is blooming.
 
We are currently rebuilding one of our bee yards following the hurricane/flood. Wind wasn't the problem the flood a week later was. We lost 7 colonies so far and are unsure of a few more. The water got up to the bottom of the second brood chamber on 52 colonies. We never had water that high and couldn't get to the hives until the water went down. I am at the halfway point of back filling the bee yard. I am raising the ground level 2 feet. This should eliminate any future issues with flooding.
52 colonies....thats some serious beekeeping there! Im sorry for your loss but it looks like you have a plan for the future.

Rooster
 
We lost 3 more colonies this past week. That brings our total losses to 25 colonies. We are down to 75 colonies now. Not sure what happened to the colonies. No brood, no pollen, no honey, no live or dead bees. The little bit of research I've been able to do has suggested that bees sometimes abscond after a major event.
 
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I did a quick check on 6 hives Monday. 5 of them looked strong and plenty of stores for winter. 1 was a late split I made. They were real strong, but they never did
fill up the frames. I put on a feeder and will try to get them to store all they can.
 
@beamernc ,and other beeks around this area, The spring NCSBA meeting and conference is being held in Monroe this year. This is the first local one held to us in several
years.
When is the meeting?

I put sugar and pollen patties on all 3 of mine this past Sunday evening. So far they are all looking good.
 
We have 75 strong colonies right now. I've fed over 800lbs of sugar syrup and the colonies are getting some weight to them. They have been bringing in three different colors of pollen. Greenish/gray (maple) dull orange(dandelion) and bright orange(camilia). The lack of stores caused by the storm has finally been fixed.
When temps get high enough to start opening boxes the girls will get their first mite treatment of the year. We will check for drone brood at that time. If we have lots of drone brood that will indicate queen rearing and swarm season is getting close.
 
I also got all the boxes, tops, and bottom boards cleaned up, sanded, repaired, and re painted. Will be cleaning and building frames this weekend.
 
The other weekend when it was nearly 70, I checked on my hives and had lost 2 of my 3. They were fine less than a month ago. The bees were all dead in the bottom with plenty of honey. I have one brood box with about 50+ lbs of honey and another with about 30 lbs in the freezer right now.
 
Is any body here going to sale packages?

I have to buy a few this year and I would rather spend the money with my fellow gun lovers locally.
 
I
Would the bee show/meet in Monroe be a good one to go to for a newbee?[/QUOTE I think it would be if you are close to it. I haven't checked the workshop or class schedule to see what is listed. If you are a new beek or thinking about becoming one I recommend you get with a local bee club to help you into the hobby
 
Is any body here going to sale packages?

I have to buy a few this year and I would rather spend the money with my fellow gun lovers locally.
There is a list of certified sellers on the nc dept of ag web site. I would recommend getting bees from someone listed there. Their apiary has been inspected by the state. I would recommend a nuc instead of packages, but it depends on your objective. I'm listed on that site but I'm not trying to sell anything on the forum or violate any rules. I haven't read them in quite some time. A pm might be ok, I'm sure the mods will decide one way or the other.
 
Almost forgot that the Brunswick county bee club is giving a bee keeping class starting February 7th. There are quite a few counties giving bee classes in the next few months. It a good way to get started and meet some people that can help.
 
I don't know where all that stuff I typed went. I would recommend going to the state conference if it's close to you. I haven't checked the classes or outline so I don't know what is being offered. I recommend you get with a local bee club help get started if you are a new beek. Bee source is a good web site to get info as well.
 
Would the bee show/meet in Monroe be a good one to go to for a newbee?
You can go to the NCSBA website and see the schedule of speakers and other events. There are usually several of the larger vendors that bring lots of woodware
to the show, things that are hard to ship. The class format looks to be different this year, as they normally have several classes presented at the same time,but in different rooms.
You may have to be a State member to go, I'm not sure.
 
You can go and hit the vendor area, but to attend any of the classes you would have to become a member $15 and pay the registration for the conference. The price is less if you preregister. You can sometimes get better prices at the conference if paying cash, I always ask. Some do some don't. The answer is always no until you ask, right?
 
Beech mtn went out of business as well. Our bee school starts Saturday. I hope we have a good turn out like your club.
 
Duplin County Bee Keepers has their school starting this Saturday also, (Feb 2nd).

I just started last year, so far I've enjoyed it. I built my own boxes last year, but I'm not sure if I'm going to build any more.
 
Duplin County Bee Keepers has their school starting this Saturday also, (Feb 2nd).

I just started last year, so far I've enjoyed it. I built my own boxes last year, but I'm not sure if I'm going to build any more.

How are your bees doing? I went to our local bee school two years ago but was too scared of winter loss to buy any
 
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