This will sound crazy...

[Apis629]

I PUT A SUPER ON TODAY!  That brings me to three mediums above a deep brood chamber.  I'm not sure but October is usually a litle late to be putting honey supers on, right?  Anyways, there is a HUGE palmetto flow going on here and, in the past two weeks, my bees have drawn from foundation and capped an entire medium super with honey.  Is anyone else having any flows 'cause this is more of a flood than a flow!

[Michael Bush]

As long as there's a flow there's nothing wrong with adding supers.

[Apis629]

I just thought it would seem odd to be adding supers this late into the fall.

[newbee101]

It may be late where I am in CT, but Florida should (could) still have a flow.

[Apis629]

Well, my perception of odd is based on all the beekeeping "how-to" books I've read.  They're all geared toward temperate and semi temperate climates. ...Someone should write a book on beekeeping in the south!

[Anonymous]

Talked to a gentleman on the phone from Florida today.  Retired commercial beekeeper I'm buying an extractor from.  He said that the orange honey flow is just about to begin.

Guess it's non-stop in your state.  I just put on mouse guards and got ready for winter in mine!   :roll:

[bassman1977]

Guess it's non-stop in your state.

Those Keepers in the south have it good as far as bees are concerned.  That would be awesome to have 9 or more months in the Bee season.  Texas sounds awesome for beekeeping.

[manowar422]

My bees are very active right now, the numbers of foragers
coming and going have not slowed down at all.

I've seen bees all over this plant (pictured below).

Can anyone positively identify this tree/bush for me?

It is growing just outside the door to the office/warehouse
where I work, but it's not part of the original landscape.

It has been blooming here in Dallas for about 3 weeks
now, and has thousands of tiny flowers that smell very sweet.

It has a dark woody stem/trunk, any ideas?

[Apis629]

That would be awesome to have 9 or more months in the Bee season

It sure is, and actually, the active honeyflows, small and major with only a week or two between them, last for about 10 and sometimes even 11 months out of the year.  I've heard of colonies getting through the winter and having a good buildup in the spring on only 20 pounds of honey.  I myself am using about 60 pounds to get them through winter, just incase the flows are weaker than usuall.

Texas sounds awesome for beekeeping.

Too much africanization there.  
_____________________________________

Just to further describe how good beekeeping is here in Florida, I'm in an area that still doesn't have varroa mites.

[bassman1977]

Too much africanization there

I guess that can be a draw back.  But from what I have been reading, they aren't completely unmanagable correct?  Just extreamly difficult.

[Apis629]

They are about as easy to manage as an elephant in musk.  :lol:   They swarm repeatedly, redily abscond, and will follow people who disturbed them for over a mile and just make beekeeping unpleasent.  Actually, today I had to work an Africanized colony.  Fortunettly, there was a flow but, I couldn't wait to get out of that apiary.   By the time I was done I had about 20 stings in my glove despite heavy smoking.  They were VERY unpleasent.  On the positive side, however, the queen has been killed and a new one is being introduced.  Hopefully, it will curb their temper.

[Jerrymac]

I have been called out to and removed seven or eight colonies. If they are africanized they sure don't act the way they have been talked about. The meanest ones were one that was trying to swarm when I was tearing it out of a wall, and the very meanest one was one some one had been bothering on a regular bases and trying to kill it out with wasp spray. I left that one alone.

I haven't been covered by attacking bees. Nor have they chased me a mile and a half.

As I understand it, after the first sting you have been marked with attack pheromone and the bees will keep coming for you, no matter what kind they are.