BOMMER'S BEES: Beekeepers should be on the lookout for signs of spring

A spring meeting held jointly with North Carolina will be held March 6-8. This year’s meeting will be hosted in Monroe, North Carolina. I would expect 600-700 hundred participants. In the past, there has been a large number of local vendors so one can examine their offerings. There will be lectures on the latest research in the bee world to bring us up to date as possible. Members and non-members are invited and can register online at scstatebeekeepers.com.

The first sign of spring will be appearing within the next few weeks. This will be the arrival of the red maple. This bloom indicates spring is on the way. It is the first nectar flow for the queen to start laying and be ready for the honey flow and the swarm. I always recommend that new beekeepers select one of these branches and check it every other day at least to be able to see the progression of the bloom and the seed. This assures you that spring is definitely is on the way.

For the new beekeeper, this is the time to order your first bees; the earliest you would receive them would be in middle March. Equipment should already be ordered as shortly the new catalogs will arrive with increased prices. When new equipment arrives and when assembling you should use a high-quality waterproof glue. One coat of primer and two coats of finished paint except black or dark brown due to the heat in South Carolina. Then you are on your way to a place to install your bees.

One of the important topics that will be discussed at the spring meeting will be the yellow-legged hornet. They are sometimes called the butcher hornet. They cannibalize hives of honey bees and they have been located on the Georgia coast and some coastal areas of South Carolina. Their spread would be devasting to our honey bee population. This could affect our melon population including watermelons and cantaloupes. Their nests in the advanced stages is larger than a 100-quart cooler so Clemson University has people assigned to be abreast of this situation. The University of Georgia has hired people to search for these hornets and destroy. Beekeepers are alway are always on the leaning edge of evasive species like this.

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