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Comment by Rob Shepler on January 27, 2013 at 9:09am

Diana thank you! I meant to mention Zia and forgot! A nuc is better than a package by a long shot, it comes with wax and usually brood, the bees get a great start on winter. I don't know when Ken's seminar will be but I will probably go, up to a car pool?

Comment by Diana Calkins on January 27, 2013 at 8:40am

When is the seminar with Ken Hays?  I've wanted to go to it for years!

Comment by Diana Calkins on January 27, 2013 at 8:40am

Not going to purchase bees this year.  Robert and I considered purchasing a nuc from Zia Queenbee this year.  I like that they are raised at a similar altitude as we live in and are more "local" than California or Texas.  We decided to see how our current bees do instead.  When/If they swarm, we hope to persuade them to take up residency in the box Robert is building.

Comment by Rob Shepler on January 27, 2013 at 7:42am

I got a chance to go the NMBKA annual meeting and had a great time, this club is full of great folks and good beekeepers

 

IF YOU WANT BEES, two of the folks up in the Albuquerque area are bringing in 4# packages this year. Craig Noorlander and Meg Mahoney will have packages with hygienic Italian queens, cost is around $125.00 per package. April is when they will be coming in, pick up is at Ken Hays in Bosque Farms south of Albuquerque. Roswell Seed also offers packages in the spring, Paul McCarty thinks that they are Beeweaver bees, I will call and get more details.

 

If you want bees, if you want MORE bees, it is time to gear up and get them on order. We found out last year that they are hard to come by when things start blooming.

 

Would you be interested in a refresher course? There are educators in the group that would come down for a fee. Ken Hays has a free seminar every year up in Bosque Farms that is pretty good too.

 

If there is interest in packages, perhaps we can put a carpool together and bring some down when they come in……give us your thoughts!

 

Rob

Comment by Paul McCarty on January 24, 2013 at 7:13am

Neonics are bad news. The downfall of our system is that it is incapable of planning for longer than the next election cycle and money has all the say. Neonics and no-till farming are big business.

Rob, still going to Albuquerqe?

Comment by Rob Shepler on January 24, 2013 at 6:35am

http://www.slowfood.com/international/food-for-thought/focus/162978...

 

The above link is to an article about a new study from the EU food safety authority condemning Neonic's use with foods that are pollinated by bees.

As more research comes in, neonicotinoids are starting to look like the main culprit for Colony Collapse Disorder.  As of yet the USDA nor the FDA are inclined to regulate or discontinue their use.

30% of our food supply is pollinated by bees, it looks like the EU food safety authority will ban the use of neonic’s on known plants that are pollinated by bees. Sure looks like a good idea, sure would like to see the US do the same.

I think that it makes a lot of sense to follow the GMO debate, we as beekeepers may be impacted economically. Generally I think that science is good, where we get into trouble is when big money is involved.

It sure feels like spring is here! Gonna go check my bees today.

Rob Shepler, Mayhill, NM

Comment by Paul McCarty on January 19, 2013 at 10:52am

My bees are all out and flying. So far so good.

Comment by Diana Calkins on January 19, 2013 at 10:26am

Checked the topbar hive this morning after it got up to 58 degrees.  One area had the comb being built not in line with the others and attached to the floor.  Cut it off and removed it, no honey to speak of it it as it was at the very back of the hive.  Saw honey on the main part of the comb that I cut it from.  Closed up the hive and placed the cut piece on top for the workers to clean off at their leisure.

Saw some bees feeding off the chicken's lay crumbles.  I believe that sour mash, left over from beer breweries, is used to make chicken feed, so that may explain the interest the bees have in it.

Comment by Rob Shepler on January 10, 2013 at 5:52am

Welcome to the group Eddie Kemp!

Comment by James H DAWDY on January 9, 2013 at 8:00pm

Checked my hive today, and there were a few bees taking cleaning flights, and 3-4 dead bees outside the entrance.  I had poured sugar on the inside cover in December because they were rather light going into winter, and I am hopeful they will make it to spring.

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