Beemaster's International Beekeeping Forum

BEEKEEPING LEARNING CENTER => GENERAL BEEKEEPING - MAIN POSTING FORUM. => Topic started by: FRAMEshift on February 02, 2011, 01:44:09 pm

Title: If it's honey that matters: North vs South
Post by: FRAMEshift on February 02, 2011, 01:44:09 pm
I've been listening to the Louisiana contingent (with some echoes from Florida) bragging about how warm it is where they are.  Actually, it's 67 in Raleigh right now and 34 in New Orleans, but perhaps I have timed my post for maximum effect?  :-D

But if it's honey that matters, who really comes out ahead?  The South starts first but we have long dearths in late summer.   I keep hearing about Minnesota clover yields and Finski gets 400 lbs per hive.  So where do beeks really get the best results?
Title: Re: If it's honey that matters: North vs South
Post by: greenbtree on February 02, 2011, 02:12:27 pm
D--n Frameshift!  That's a good question!

JC
Title: Re: If it's honey that matters: North vs South
Post by: AllenF on February 02, 2011, 02:27:55 pm
Look at northern bees, they are in the cluster for 6 or 8 months, eating next to nothing.  Then the flow is on until they go into cluster again.    Most of that honey gets to be bottled.   Here in the south, there ain't no honey after July 4 until a couple of weeks before frost when goldenrod blooms.   Gotta feed 60,000 bees something all summer long.  Look at the forest here with no undergrowth.   Look at the open plains or forest with wildflower undergrowth up there.   Maybe something to look at?
Title: Re: If it's honey that matters: North vs South
Post by: iddee on February 02, 2011, 03:06:59 pm
Too lazy to research, but I think one of the Dakotas holds the title of most yield per hive.
Title: Re: If it's honey that matters: North vs South
Post by: BjornBee on February 02, 2011, 03:29:36 pm
If your just looking at production amounts from each state...

California, North Dakota, South Dakota, Florida.

If your looking at yield per hive.....

Louisiana, North Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin

Every year the states flip one spot up or down. But these have been in the top for years.

And NOBODY averages 400 pounds per hive.  :roll:
Title: Re: If it's honey that matters: North vs South
Post by: Finski on February 02, 2011, 03:37:29 pm
,
Have you areas where you get honey dew from tree leaves?

It is stuff which rains onto cars when they are under trees.

(http://www.richsoil.com/antsandaphids/ants_aphids_sugar.jpg)
Title: Re: If it's honey that matters: North vs South
Post by: Cascadebee on February 02, 2011, 03:45:01 pm
Aphids and their waste product honeydew are ubiquitous.  We generally consider honeydew honey to be dew-dew.   :-D
Title: Re: If it's honey that matters: North vs South
Post by: Finski on February 02, 2011, 03:54:07 pm
.

And NOBODY averages 400 pounds per hive.  :roll:

Me either. Best hives do but not on average, but that is seldom.

My best  average is 260 pounds. My neigboug's average record is  340 pounds one year when we got a huge amount honey dew.
Title: Re: If it's honey that matters: North vs South
Post by: FRAMEshift on February 02, 2011, 04:45:49 pm
Here in the south, there ain't no honey after July 4 until a couple of weeks before frost when goldenrod blooms.   Gotta feed 60,000 bees something all summer long.  

Our dearth is from July 15 until September 1,  roughly speaking.  And the Fall flow is not reliable.   That's why we've been doing walk-away splits in late June, so that the brood production will stop during the dearth.  

Do any southern beeks actively remove bees from the hive to cut down on hungry mouths in the summer? If they are eating more than they are bringing in, that would seem logical.
Title: Re: If it's honey that matters: North vs South
Post by: AllenF on February 02, 2011, 06:36:51 pm
I think that would help some,  if with splits or with requeening, with a stop in the brood for a bit.  And they do eat more than what is coming in in August here.
Title: Re: If it's honey that matters: North vs South
Post by: FRAMEshift on February 02, 2011, 06:43:19 pm
I think that would help some,  if with splits or with requeening, with a stop in the brood for a bit.  And they do eat more than what is coming in in August here.

Allen, I was asking if anyone removes adult bees to cut down on consumption in the summer.  Do you get out the bee vac and suck down 10 or 20K bees that are eating more than they are collecting?  
Title: Re: If it's honey that matters: North vs South
Post by: Bee Happy on February 02, 2011, 07:09:00 pm
Aphid poo on a biscuit - yum yum!
we had a fair first harvest last spring, and orange blossom, tupelo, and cotton have all been discussed as some awesome honey; but for volume I'm betting on up north as a rule of thumb without checking the data. - Because of double deeps for population and my hunch that even the plants are programmed to offer a maximized reward for pollination because the seed producing season is fairly short and definite. (the plants have to compete for pollinators).
Title: Re: If it's honey that matters: North vs South
Post by: WPG on February 02, 2011, 07:13:06 pm
If the Russians could handle the heat they would be perfect for your dearth period because they stop laying brood on their own.

Here I think they will be just what I'm looking for.

Eat your hive(heart) out people.
I have the best of all worlds.
Lots of trees.
Lots of wildflowers.
Some clover, alfalfa, lots soybeans.
Not too hot in summer.
Not too cold in winter.  Although this 14" of snow was a bit much.
Africanized bees don't survive.
No bears.
No hive beetles.
Few heavy regulations or restrictions.


But I haven't been able to match my dad's average of 230 lbs surplus with his 6 hives one year.

Maybe when Bayer goes broke.
Title: Re: If it's honey that matters: North vs South
Post by: greenbtree on February 02, 2011, 08:12:31 pm
Hey, WPG - I live by Stone City, Iowa.  I am hoping for some good potential here.  This is my first year.  My place is bordered on two sides by one of the state's natural resource areas with lots of prairie.  I am trying to reestablish prairie on my 30 acres.  I've been to DesMoines twice - the landscape there looks awesome for bees - rivers, lots of bottom land.

JC
Title: Re: If it's honey that matters: North vs South
Post by: AllenF on February 02, 2011, 10:06:59 pm
FRAMEshift.  I don't know anyone does that, unless they are pulling bees to make splits or sending packages north, but by mid July I think it would be too late in the season to ship packages. 
Title: Re: If it's honey that matters: North vs South
Post by: Countryboy on February 03, 2011, 12:02:06 am
I was asking if anyone removes adult bees to cut down on consumption in the summer.  Do you get out the bee vac and suck down 10 or 20K bees that are eating more than they are collecting? 

You want big populations of adult bees.  Losing adult bees would hurt your crop.  It would be similar to a hive swarming.

The bees that eat more than they produce are the brood.  If you wanted to limit consumption, you would get rid of the brood.

A 'shook swarm' accomplishes that.  Pinching your queen at the beginning of the flow and allowing the bees to raise a new queen also accomplishes this.  (No new bees are bron during the flow, and by the time a new queen is mated and laying, the flow is ending.)
Title: Re: If it's honey that matters: North vs South
Post by: AllenF on February 03, 2011, 12:07:30 am
He was asking about removing the bees after the flow.   There is no flow after mid July.  The bees are just sucking up the honey at that point.
Title: Re: If it's honey that matters: North vs South
Post by: FRAMEshift on February 03, 2011, 01:30:49 am
Right.  And I'm thinking that the foragers that are active on July 15 won't be alive by September 1 when the fall flow starts anyway.  So if you removed a large fraction of foragers on July 15 (in North Carolina) what would you lose?
Title: Re: If it's honey that matters: North vs South
Post by: Finski on February 03, 2011, 01:31:28 am
.
Our summer is very short, about 2 months to bees to get yield.

If hives do not get yeild in certain places, it is better to move another palce where they get.

I move my hives alone.  I split the big hives and put on a sedan carry

Here is the best hive splitted for moving in June

(http://bee.freesuperhost.com/yabbfiles/Attachments/Kuva_033.jpg)

Fasten the frames that they cannot move or shiver  stuff is beewax from burr

(http://bee.freesuperhost.com/yabbfiles/Attachments/Kuva_032.jpg)


Tie the boxes carefully . Look at ventilation mesh


(http://bee.freesuperhost.com/yabbfiles/Attachments/Kuva_051.jpg)
Title: Re: If it's honey that matters: North vs South
Post by: Finski on February 03, 2011, 01:36:52 am
.
At new place pile the boxes again together
(http://bee.freesuperhost.com/yabbfiles/Attachments/Kuva_036.jpg)


Do that job in the morning. It is impossible to do that in the evening or in the dark.

If bees are flying, give to them a box where they may go in the old place. Move those bees later or make a nuc from them.
Title: Re: If it's honey that matters: North vs South
Post by: T Beek on February 03, 2011, 08:09:29 am
Great pics Finski, kinda looks like Wisconsin in summer, especially with that fireweed (looks like?) on the right side.  I'm afraid It won't look like that for another three months (maybe more) around here though :'(

Based on the many years keeping track of honey production I'd go with the North generating the most honey, however, the different amounts listed in the individual States may have more to do with the number of beekeepers (or more importantly, the number of colonies) in a given State than anything else.  EXAMPLE; I beleive there are considerably more bees (colonies) kept in the Dakotas as there are in Wisconsin.

thomas
Title: Re: If it's honey that matters: North vs South
Post by: Finski on February 03, 2011, 09:13:17 am
Great pics Finski, kinda looks like Wisconsin in summer, especially with that fireweed (looks like?) on the right side.  

This is dry soil fireweed. It gives not much

(http://bee.freesuperhost.com/yabbfiles/Attachments/Kuva_047.jpg)
Title: Re: If it's honey that matters: North vs South
Post by: T Beek on February 03, 2011, 09:19:47 am
WOW!!! That could almost be my backyard Finski.  Our regional Red Pines (looks the same as in your pic background) are also known as Norways.  Sure is nice to see some green 8-)

thomas
Title: Re: If it's honey that matters: North vs South
Post by: JP on February 03, 2011, 11:02:12 am
I usually harvest three times a year but I'm not selling to stores so I don't have to keep up with any kind of demand, just certain handpicked customers. I could make much more honey than I do and I also leave more than I need to to ensure they have enough stores.

My buddy Bailey pulls much more than I do and has his wife helping him. They sell to two or three markets. I keep bees down his way too and he can pull honey from my hives any time he wants as I don't get down there as often as I would like.

This past season was good, we had adequate rain, good tallow flow and goldenrod into October. This up coming season for removals should be incredible as everything I'm looking at is really strong.


...JP
Title: Re: If it's honey that matters: North vs South
Post by: T Beek on February 03, 2011, 11:39:56 am
I'm with ya JP, I don't sell any honey anymore, we give some away, keep some for ourselves but most of what bees put up, they get to keep for themselves.  Even with some kind of "miracle flow" we don't/won't endlessly pile on supers for our benefit, but that's me and mine.

thomas