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Subject: Orange County, NC Beekeepers

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  • From: Lewis Cauble <lewis AT hivebody.com>
  • To: ocba AT lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: Re: [ocba] Re; honey vs syrup
  • Date: Thu, 23 Feb 2012 15:32:15 -0500 (EST)

I was really fishing for ideas on how to get the maximum amount of honey
> for myself, while not deviating too much from the bees' natural diet.

 

For me this is the essence of the craft...Finding the balance.  In the spring, I'm walking the tightrope.  In order to get maximum production, I'm shooting for a hive that's just right.  Too few bees = no honey.  Too many bees = swarm = no honey.  I have to try to hit that balance just right.  Am I any good at it?  Not really, but I'm always learning.  It's dissappointing when I miss the balance but it's a rush when I do hit it.

 

The balance comes in to play through all of the seasons.  Through the summer dearth you have to decide if they need feeding or not.  Not only that, but how much.  Feed too little and the queen shuts down leaving you without a work force for the fall flow.  Feeding too much leaves you with a jumbo hive of hungry mouths to feed through the winter.  It's all about the balance.

 

It also comes in to play with the mites.  I don't know of anyone who is eager to use miticides.  They can be expensive and as Cedric pointed out there are risks involved.  Dealing with the mites is certainly a balancing act.  Too many mites will certainly take a toll on the hive.   

 

All of this is confounded by the variability of the bees.  Some hives are more productive, some carry more brood through the winter, some build up slow, some bust out early.  It makes for a wild ride.

 

My goal is too not feed or feed as little as possible.  This does mean that I will lose a few hives that could have been saved with a bit of emergency feed.  That's the downside.  The upside is that the hives that do make it through the winter are usually a pretty good bunch.  If they were not thrifty or productive, they would be dead.  These are the ones I like to hang on to.  I've seen both cases in the yards during the late winter inspections.  Some that I thought would still be kicking are dead.  There are others that I left for dead in the late fall but are thriving now.  These are the bees that I will be grafting from.  I want more like these!

 

At any rate, I would surely never feed any of that nasty junk that Randall was referring to, whatever it was!




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