Manage Honey Bees Now to Prepare for Next Year’s Nectar Flow

Over everything the beekeeper does hangs the honey producer’s main objective: maximizing bee populations in time for major nectar flows. The next major nectar flows in north Florida will be spring; but beekeepers need to start working now in order to be ready for them...
Bee Colony Collapse Disorder Update

Bee Colony Collapse Disorder Update

The Bee Informed Partnership, in collaboration with the Apiary Inspectors of America (AIA) and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), conducted their eighth annual national survey of honey bee colony losses.  Their preliminary summary report from the...
Managing Hive Robbing Behavior in Bees

Managing Hive Robbing Behavior in Bees

Honey bees laboriously gather their food (nectar and pollen) from flowers in bloom and store it in the hive for use when needed.  When nectar sources are scarce or unavailable locally, bees are attracted by the honey stored in neighboring hives.  Bees from strong...
New Fact Sheets available on EDIS

New Fact Sheets available on EDIS

The University of Florida database of fact sheets called EDIS (Electronic Data Information Source) has many publications of interest to farmers and ranchers in Northwest Florida.  http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu  Each fact sheet has a PDF or printer friendly link in the top...

Preventing Honey Bee Swarms in Managed Beehives

Honey bee swarms are a normal sign of healthy honey bee colonies.  Two types of reproduction occur with honey bees.  First, there is individual (biological) reproduction from eggs laid by the queen.  Second, there is colony level reproduction, or swarming.  When a...