Don't have any Titi around here that I know of. But our state bee inspector told us at a meeting a few weeks ago that they are associating the titi plant with blue brood. Seems that you may loose one cycle of brood and then all is well again.

 

Yes can be a major nectar source here in the panhandle if you are near the swampy areas along the coast where it grows. There are two different types, Black and White and only one causes purple brood (the white kind) and it blooms later in the summer. Spring titi (Black) is just fine. I don't recall seeing pure titi honey from any of the local beekeepers however. I'm 30mi north of the coast and don't have any large concentrations of either to deal with.

 

So many marketing possibilities for "Titi Honey."

So few marketing possibilities for "Swamp Honey."

 

When I went to pickup my packages there was a bunch of TiTi blooming in the low areas. It's my understanding that this TiTi is a major early spring nectar source. This TiTi blooms early in the spring one of the first major flow. We don't have any of this TiTi in my area you have to go about an hour north of me before you start to see it.

Now there is another type of TiTi it blooms during the summer around the first of June. This is a minor nectar source. And it is the TiTi that is associated with the purple brood. I have tons of it around my bee yards and I have never saw purple brood. Not saying it don't happen but, I've never saw it. It blooms about the same time as the Palmetto and the bees seem to work it more than the TiTi. The purple brood may be worse during years when the Palmetto fails to bloom.

Both TiTi like the same type of area low damp spots and they both have pretty showy white flowers. So its often confused. But, the big difference is the time of year when it blooms. The spring TiTi is almost finished blooming now and the Summer TiTi won't start until June. Hope this helps.

 

I had never heard of purple brood prior to this. And have never observed it in my hives. I found this online.

The plant Cyrilla racemiflora, most often called southern leatherwood or summer titi, can cause larvae to turn purple when nectar or honey made from titi is feed to larvae. In 1932, Burnside discovered titi to be the cause of poisonings of half the bee colonies in Florida that year. He named the malady, "purple brood", because affected larvae appeared blue or purple. Burnside reported that purple brood comes on suddenly and all the colonies in the affected area develop symptoms at the same time. Purple brood has been found throughout the southeast, linked to the presence of summer titi and is still considered a serious problem periodically in Florida, Georgia, Mississippi and South Carolina. At least a few purple larvae have been observed in honey bee colonies outside of the known range of the titi plant. -John Skinner, University of Tennessee

http://www.extension.org/pages/4412...-causes-purple-brood-honey-bee-larva-that-looks-blue-or-purple-instead-of-white

 

dark honey brings lower price used for blending good for buildup produced south Georgia around raycity area sure its other places to goodluck.

 

White titi blooming now in the FL panhandle.

 

Summer titi in full bloom here. Bees are apparently working it, as most of my hives have purple brood to prove it.

 

Does it happen to all uncapped larva all ages?
Will the bees clean the cells out?

 

Good question, there is very limitied info online about this. I willcontinue to monitor the situation in my hives. So far my only observation has been bright purple drone brood between boxes. I haven't checked worker larvae and have not noticed any larvae being pulled out yet.

 

I am not sure what variety of titi I have here - Is there an easy way to tell ? What ever it is I would guess we are a week or two behind Florida' s bloom.