Beemaster's International Beekeeping Forum

BEEKEEPING LEARNING CENTER => GENERAL BEEKEEPING - MAIN POSTING FORUM. => Topic started by: 10framer on January 13, 2013, 02:16:41 pm

Title: middle georgia honey flow?
Post by: 10framer on January 13, 2013, 02:16:41 pm
since it was 80 degrees yesterday i thought i'd see if i need to feed my hives.  what i found was nectar being stored in all three hives, a good bit of brood in the two italian (one might be a little africanized) and nectar and no brood in my late fall removal hive (i think they're carniolans).  the more docile african, i mean italian, hive still has a few beetles running around in it but doesn't seem to be a problem.  pollen stores look a little light but i did see some coming in.
what is in bloom in january?  seems a little early for holly or red maple but since we didn't have a winter i guess anything could be in bloom. 
i was really surprised and now i'm more worried about early swarms.  i suspect clover is going to be in bloom by february like it was last year. 
i'm new to the area and not sure what's around me other than a bunch of cotton fields and that flow should be a long time coming.  i bought some local honey during the winter and it tasted like sumac honey so i'm assuming i can expect that, i'm sure clover will come into play and i'm guessing tulip poplar.  i haven't seen that much privet around and that kind of surprises me. 
anybody in the taylor, talbot, marion, crawford or peach county seeing this? 
feeding doesn't look like it will be an issue unless something strange happens.
Title: Re: middle georgia honey flow?
Post by: asprince on January 13, 2013, 07:29:48 pm
I am in Peach County and if you will look in fields and even the shoulder of the road, you will find stuff blooming. Wild turnips and some sort of vetch and henbit. Don't just because stuff is blooming that they don't need to be fed. Check them to be sure.


Good Luck,

Steve 
Title: Re: middle georgia honey flow?
Post by: 10framer on January 13, 2013, 09:49:34 pm
i went through all three hives and there are frames full of nectar and still a lot of capped honey from last year.  i know vetch produces a little but the two italian hives have filled some frames that were empty back in october. even the tiny colony from the late removal has a frame full of nectar and there can't be over a thousand bees in that hive (i don't know how they survived the few cold nights we had in november).  maybe they have robbed a neighboring hive out or something.
i'm about to order a dozen hive bodies and start supering with them as soon as i see crimson clover blooming.  this year is going to be all about splits. 
Title: Re: middle georgia honey flow?
Post by: AllenF on January 13, 2013, 10:14:01 pm
They are robbing honey from dead hives.  Mine are cleaning out my deadouts this weekend.
Title: Re: middle georgia honey flow?
Post by: 10framer on January 13, 2013, 11:54:15 pm
yeah, i noticed mine had been doing some house cleaning too. 
it's got to be robbing. 
the funny thing is that i had maybe 10 or 12 acres in goldenrod in september and never saw a honeybee working it til i brought these hives in at the very end of the flow.   
Title: Re: middle georgia honey flow?
Post by: RHBee on January 14, 2013, 05:49:46 am
They are robbing honey from dead hives.  Mine are cleaning out my deadouts this weekend.

Thanks,  that explains what I'm seeing. I know I'm not in GA but lots of activity in my hives. I'm just not ready for swarms. Need to complete equipment building.