Jerry, I wrote to you about 1 1/2 years ago with questions after I had gotten a colony of bees to cross over from an oak tree at an investment property I had purchased in St. Pete. The bees were queenless for quite awhile, but finally, I was able to find one and she did nicely, until the hive almost succumbed to SHB. I was able to save the hive and they were able to make a comeback. In the spring things were going well until the queen died for no apparent reason. I had to requeen twice before things really took off. I actually got my first crop of honey this fall and was it great! It was a very popular Christmas present.

Now for the questions. I am moving to Weaverville, NC, near Asheville in about two weeks. Since we are having such a warm winter, would it be too much of a shock to move the bees since night temperatures have been cool in NC? I can wait and fly down later and drive back up with the bees because I have to come back and move about 200 plants after I have a greenhouse built at the new property. But, I am concerned if it remains this warm here, that my hive may begin spring buildup there and swarm before I can get down. What do you think, move now or later?

The hive consists of two deep hive bodies and a smaller honey super. I am handicapped and it would be much easier if I could split the hive in two to make it easier to lift and transport. The drive takes two days. I could then recombine it once I'm at my new home. Is this ok or will it cause major problems? The hive or hives, if I split it, will both have screened bottom boards. Some local beekeepers told me to push newspapers in the entrance and cover the hives in landscaping cloth so the bees can't escape during the trip. Is this the best way to move them? Also, I was going to put them top of my minivan. I could try to get them in the back of the moving truck, but if they escaped somehow, that would really cause problems. I know the easiest solution would be to sell or give the hive to someone here and start over this spring in NC. But, I'd hate to do this after what we have gone through together! Again, thanks for your help and all the information that you provide in the “Classroom”.

Tom, well you have come this far with your adventure, why not go a little farther. The first thing you need to do is call the NC State Apiarist, Mr. Don Hopkins, and find out what you need to do inspection-wise to legally bring bees into NC. Ask him if your Florida Registration and inspection will suffice until he can get out and register you in NC. I would take some wood lathe and use it to join the hive bodies to the bottom boards. Breaking the colony in two for handling will be fine. Nail the top on and use window screen folded into a V and forced into the entrance to keep them ventilated and secure. The wind chill factor on top of the old Mini Van would be pretty cold. The back of a cold moving truck sounds good if it would cool off fairly quickly as you go North. If it will be a warm trip all the way, then the open-air minivan top would work. Cross your fingers. I’ve read it on the moving trucks—“An Adventure in Moving”. Enjoy and be careful.

Hi Jerry, my town is holding a public hearing in February on my application to keep two honey bee hives in my yard (residential property, 12,000 square feet). I currently keep three hives on a residential property one mile from my yard (different zoning). I live in Bethlehem, Albany County, New York (the city and county of Albany permit residential beekeeping). In November, I presented my application to the town planning board. I gave a 20-minute presentation and then answered questions from board members for over an hour. There is considerable education to do on this topic. While the board agreed that my application and presentation were exemplary, they opted to hold a public hearing before making a decision.

At the planning board hearing, it became clear that there were two pieces of information that would be important to the debate that I did not have. I have not been able to find the information and wonder if you would know the answers or could point me to someone who would: 1) What proportion of honey bees leave the hive each day to forage? The planning board members had visions of 60,000 bees swarming out of the hive each day and they saw disaster in the air. 2) What is the “background” population of honey bees, other bees, wasps, hornets (i.e., flying stinging insects) per acre or square mile (in Upstate New York). I would like to be able to say that adding two hives to my yard would not significantly increase the population of honey bees or stinging insects in our community. I've already pointed out that my bees a mile away are foraging in my (and my neighbor’s) yard if there is any forage to be had. As background, there are already hobby beekeepers and bee hives in my community (at least two dozen hives within a mile or two of my yard), but the town changed the rules in 2005, prohibiting beekeeping on residential properties, while grandfathering in all the existing hives. Thanks for any help you can provide.

Ursula, first check with the Illinois State Beekeepers Association as they and a local group just went through something similar in the suburbs of Chicago. Then, go to our web site, www.doacs.state.fl.us/pi/plantingsp/apiary/apiary.html, and go down to featured links where we have a model beekeeping ordinance to review. I’ve also attached the Best Management Practices, which we are using in Florida to give city officials some confidence that beekeepers/queen breeders are being prudent and responsible with concerns about AHB all over the state. These are some of the things we are doing. Also, lawyer and author, Sylvia Ezenwa, is covering this subject in a series of articles now running in this magazine. Please be sure to read them. The first one appeared in the March ABJ.

Only about one-third of the colony actually leaves as foragers. And, they can forage over a 2-2.5 mile radius of the colony, so they are very dispersed. There are many other insects in this environment as well, as you note. How many other “bees”, wasps, hornets, yellow jackets, bumble bees, solitary bees and who knows what else would be there is just a guess. Contact the Entomology Department at Cornell and ask them the same question. They can be an expert witness for you.


	The Classroom (cont.) by Jerry Hayes Please send your questions to Jerry Hayes, 17505 NW Hwy 335, Williston, FL 32696 Email: gwhayes54@yahoo.com

		Q Transient Bees Jerry, I wrote to you about 1 1/2 years ago with questions after I had gotten a colony of bees to cross over from an oak tree at an investment property I had purchased in St. Pete. The bees were queenless for quite awhile, but finally, I was able to find one and she did nicely, until the hive almost succumbed to SHB. I was able to save the hive and they were able to make a comeback. In the spring things were going well until the queen died for no apparent reason. I had to requeen twice before things really took off. I actually got my first crop of honey this fall and was it great! It was a very popular Christmas present. Now for the questions. I am moving to Weaverville, NC, near Asheville in about two weeks. Since we are having such a warm winter, would it be too much of a shock to move the bees since night temperatures have been cool in NC? I can wait and fly down later and drive back up with the bees because I have to come back and move about 200 plants after I have a greenhouse built at the new property. But, I am concerned if it remains this warm here, that my hive may begin spring buildup there and swarm before I can get down. What do you think, move now or later? The hive consists of two deep hive bodies and a smaller honey super. I am handicapped and it would be much easier if I could split the hive in two to make it easier to lift and transport. The drive takes two days. I could then recombine it once I'm at my new home. Is this ok or will it cause major problems? The hive or hives, if I split it, will both have screened bottom boards. Some local beekeepers told me to push newspapers in the entrance and cover the hives in landscaping cloth so the bees can't escape during the trip. Is this the best way to move them? Also, I was going to put them top of my minivan. I could try to get them in the back of the moving truck, but if they escaped somehow, that would really cause problems. I know the easiest solution would be to sell or give the hive to someone here and start over this spring in NC. But, I'd hate to do this after what we have gone through together! Again, thanks for your help and all the information that you provide in the “Classroom”. Tom Petersen A Tom, well you have come this far with your adventure, why not go a little farther. The first thing you need to do is call the NC State Apiarist, Mr. Don Hopkins, and find out what you need to do inspection-wise to legally bring bees into NC. Ask him if your Florida Registration and inspection will suffice until he can get out and register you in NC. I would take some wood lathe and use it to join the hive bodies to the bottom boards. Breaking the colony in two for handling will be fine. Nail the top on and use window screen folded into a V and forced into the entrance to keep them ventilated and secure. The wind chill factor on top of the old Mini Van would be pretty cold. The back of a cold moving truck sounds good if it would cool off fairly quickly as you go North. If it will be a warm trip all the way, then the open-air minivan top would work. Cross your fingers. I’ve read it on the moving trucks—“An Adventure in Moving”. Enjoy and be careful. Q Red Tape And Lots Of It! Hi Jerry, my town is holding a public hearing in February on my application to keep two honey bee hives in my yard (residential property, 12,000 square feet). I currently keep three hives on a residential property one mile from my yard (different zoning). I live in Bethlehem, Albany County, New York (the city and county of Albany permit residential beekeeping). In November, I presented my application to the town planning board. I gave a 20-minute presentation and then answered questions from board members for over an hour. There is considerable education to do on this topic. While the board agreed that my application and presentation were exemplary, they opted to hold a public hearing before making a decision. At the planning board hearing, it became clear that there were two pieces of information that would be important to the debate that I did not have. I have not been able to find the information and wonder if you would know the answers or could point me to someone who would: 1) What proportion of honey bees leave the hive each day to forage? The planning board members had visions of 60,000 bees swarming out of the hive each day and they saw disaster in the air. 2) What is the “background” population of honey bees, other bees, wasps, hornets (i.e., flying stinging insects) per acre or square mile (in Upstate New York). I would like to be able to say that adding two hives to my yard would not significantly increase the population of honey bees or stinging insects in our community. I've already pointed out that my bees a mile away are foraging in my (and my neighbor’s) yard if there is any forage to be had. As background, there are already hobby beekeepers and bee hives in my community (at least two dozen hives within a mile or two of my yard), but the town changed the rules in 2005, prohibiting beekeeping on residential properties, while grandfathering in all the existing hives. Thanks for any help you can provide. Ursula Bauer A Ursula, first check with the Illinois State Beekeepers Association as they and a local group just went through something similar in the suburbs of Chicago. Then, go to our web site, www.doacs.state.fl.us/pi/plantingsp/apiary/apiary.html, and go down to featured links where we have a model beekeeping ordinance to review. I’ve also attached the Best Management Practices, which we are using in Florida to give city officials some confidence that beekeepers/queen breeders are being prudent and responsible with concerns about AHB all over the state. These are some of the things we are doing. Also, lawyer and author, Sylvia Ezenwa, is covering this subject in a series of articles now running in this magazine. Please be sure to read them. The first one appeared in the March ABJ. Only about one-third of the colony actually leaves as foragers. And, they can forage over a 2-2.5 mile radius of the colony, so they are very dispersed. There are many other insects in this environment as well, as you note. How many other “bees”, wasps, hornets, yellow jackets, bumble bees, solitary bees and who knows what else would be there is just a guess. Contact the Entomology Department at Cornell and ask them the same question. They can be an expert witness for you.

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