I have been out of beekeeping for a few years and last spring purchased a two hives. This past fall both hives died out right before winter. They each had a full shallow super of honey, dead bees lined the bottom of the hive but no queen was found among the dead. The queen was laying during the early spring as there was brood a couple months after setting up the hives.
This spring I got three new packages of bees and set up the hives. I took the old brood and honey from the old hives and distributed evenly to the new hives. Put a new empty super with foundation on each hive along with the old supers with three frames of old honey from the old bees (just a little history for the past couple years)
This weekend I took a couple frames of new honey out two of the hives as the top supers were nearly full, the third hive has no new honey, the wax has not even been pulled. There are plenty of bees and they seem to be working fine, just no new honey yet. The honey I removed is exceptionally light in color, it could easily pass for sour wood honey although the are no sour wood trees in my area. The best way I could describe it would be the color of real weak ice tea. I am at a loss on what the bees have been collecting to produce just a light looking honey. I planted about a half acre in white and crimson clovers this spring just for the bees. My yard is naturally full of dutch clover ever year, but the bees are mainly ignoring all the clover for what ever they have been forging on!
I live in Piedmont N.C. near Greensboro, they are very few farms within 3 miles of where I live. I have drove around the area in the direction the bees seem to head when leaving the hive and have found nothing!
Does anyone have any idea of what the bees could be feeding on to produce this great looking and tasting honey? Both hives I have taken some honey from are the same looking honey so I feel they are both foraging at the same area.
I will post some pictures soon, I don't have a digital camera and will have to use my niece's the next time she visits me
I did an internet search of the types of plants that produce light looking honey, but could find no types of plants that grow
locally that produce such.......
Thanks!
This spring I got three new packages of bees and set up the hives. I took the old brood and honey from the old hives and distributed evenly to the new hives. Put a new empty super with foundation on each hive along with the old supers with three frames of old honey from the old bees (just a little history for the past couple years)
This weekend I took a couple frames of new honey out two of the hives as the top supers were nearly full, the third hive has no new honey, the wax has not even been pulled. There are plenty of bees and they seem to be working fine, just no new honey yet. The honey I removed is exceptionally light in color, it could easily pass for sour wood honey although the are no sour wood trees in my area. The best way I could describe it would be the color of real weak ice tea. I am at a loss on what the bees have been collecting to produce just a light looking honey. I planted about a half acre in white and crimson clovers this spring just for the bees. My yard is naturally full of dutch clover ever year, but the bees are mainly ignoring all the clover for what ever they have been forging on!
I live in Piedmont N.C. near Greensboro, they are very few farms within 3 miles of where I live. I have drove around the area in the direction the bees seem to head when leaving the hive and have found nothing!
Does anyone have any idea of what the bees could be feeding on to produce this great looking and tasting honey? Both hives I have taken some honey from are the same looking honey so I feel they are both foraging at the same area.
I will post some pictures soon, I don't have a digital camera and will have to use my niece's the next time she visits me
I did an internet search of the types of plants that produce light looking honey, but could find no types of plants that grow
locally that produce such.......
Thanks!