The Arrival of the Bees!
After the warm 80 degree days of mid March, an emergency call was made to bring the bees up from their Florida winter residence early. They arrived at 7:30PM on March 28th, a cold 33 degree evening. John and the crew unloaded the bees without one sting! Very happy about that, however it has taken nearly a week for them to make any kind of movement due to the cold weather that followed their arrival. I guess we can’t blame them though… anyone would experience some shock after leaving warm Florida to cold Michigan. Hoping for the warmer days to continue and the bee movement to increase!
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Why do you have to move the bees to and from Michigan?
Therese,
Our beekeeper, DeKorne Apiaries, is a local family apiary. However, in the 1990s 2 types of mites emerged that attack European Honeybees and the beekeepers could not even keep 50% of their hives alive through the winter. In order to stay in the bee business the DeKornes packed up the kids and bought a small farm in Florida so that the bees are not dormant during the winter months. They did not end the mortality due to mites but they keep the brood hatching new bees so the hives don’t die out. They pollenate citrus and vegetables in Florida and then they come North for fruit trees. Then they get put out in the meadowland/forest for the summer months. John