State And Federal Bee Officials

Practically every state has one or more bee inspectors and a few states have extension apiarists. Many state agricultural colleges teach beekeeping and almost all states have several bulletins on beekeeping.

The federal government maintains a bee laboratory near Washington, D. C., and in connection with this there are several field laboratories scattered around the United States which conduct studies of bee diseases, development of improved strains of bees, etc. They also have several low priced bulletins on beekeeping to offer. The address is:

United States Department Of Agriculture Entomology Research Service, Beekeeping Section Beltsville, Maryland

Beekeepers will probably find it most convenient to call their COUNTY AGRICULTURE AGENT for information on free or low cost bulletins on beekeeping, as well as the proper addresses of the state bee inspectors and other officials connected with beekeeping in their state.

Beginners with only one colony should contact their bee inspector as they can be most helpful and their services are free. Normally the inspector acts as an extension man and offers many helpful suggestions. Most bee inspectors, however, do not favor the sulfa treatment of foul brood, although it is a proven cure, and many insist on burning completely any colonies found infected with this disease.

Never buy any used equipment or colonies of bees unless the seller can furnish you with a State Health Certificate showing that they are free of disease. You would not think of buying a sick cow and it is just as foolish and costly to buy diseased bees.

Bees As Pollinators

Honey bees flying from blossom to blossom cross pollinate hundreds of different kinds of flowers and as a result greatly increase seed yield and the quality of seed and fruits. The main crops affected are the legumes which include the clovers and pod producing trees, fruit trees, melons, berries, cucumbers, and a host of other cultivated, as well as wild plants and trees.

In the past bumble bees and a number of other insects aided in this pollination work but in recent years the wood lots have been thinned out and cleared by low cost portable power machines. Many of the fence rows have been done away with and permanent fences have been replaced with temporary electric fences. Waste places, fence rows, road sides, etc., that formerly grew weeds and harbored insects are now cleaned with 2-4-D and by other means. Then too much red clover was formerly grown for horse feed and this was the natural home of the bumble bee but with the passing of the horse the red clover acreage has been greatly reduced and year after year the natural pollinating insects have been reduced and the honey bee has become more and more important as a pollinating insect.

The nearer bees are to an orchard or a field the better job of pollination they will do.

The nearer bees are to an orchard or a field the better job of pollination they will do.

In a large orchard or field it is best to scatter them around.

In the irrigated valleys of the West, where there are few trees, bees are about the only pollinating insect available for cross pollination and as a result beekeepers are sometimes paid as high as $9. 00 per hive for pollination service (this is where long distances and high mountain ranges must be crossed) with $3. 00 to $5. 00 being the normal charge per colony. The beekeepers move the bees in and out of orchards and fields as requested by the seed and fruit growers. East of the Mississippi River it is difficult to secure money for pollination service except on a few specialized crops, due to the presence of many wood lots in which some wild bees are still found. The presence of increased numbers of bees, however, often greatly increases the yield of seed and fruit crops and it remains for the beekeepers to do a good selling job to reap the benefits of their bees rendering service to farmers in this field.

Honey Plants And Trees

Clover is considered by a large portion of the population to be the best and main source of honey but there are other equally famed honeys which sell at an even higher price such as orange, tupelo, and sour-wood honey. Some weeds produce a premium grade of honey such as thistle, milkweed and fireweed. On the other hand some weeds such as aster, smart weed and Spanish needle produce darker and stronger flavored honey. Bitter weed produces a honey as bitter as gall in the Southern States.

It seems well to picture here and describe wild aster as it is the last source of honey in the fall in most localities and it appears to be little known except to experienced beekeepers. The leaves are very small on the most common variety and the plant goes unnoticed by most everyone until it blooms and then it is a mass of white, pink or purple blooms.

It seems well to picture here and describe wild aster as it is the last source of honey in the fall in most localities and it appears to be little known except to experienced beekeepers. The leaves are very small on the most common variety and the plant goes unnoticed by most everyone until it blooms and then it is a mass of white, pink or purple blooms.

Aster is one of the few plants that is widely scattered from Canada to the Gulf of Mexico and which produces sizable crops of honey at both extremes. It is a common weed with many daisy-like flowers that bloom late in the fall being intermixed with goldenrod and which normally continues blooming after the first light frosts. There are over 100 species of aster in the United States and the blooms vary in color from white through pink to deep purple.

Wild aster comes up in uncultivated fields in the early summer. In rich valleys some varieties may reach a height of 5 feet but some varieties are low growing and the average height is 3 feet. Crops of from 50 to 100 pounds of honey are sometimes secured from golden rod and aster and other fall flowers. Pure aster honey is white but it is usually mixed with golden rod and other fall flowers making an amber colored, strong flavored honey that should be left on the hives for wintering rather than marketed as table honey. Aster like other plants will produce more honey if it is pastured heavily or mowed off high early in the season.

Button Bush or Button Willow (Cephalanthus occidentalis) grows wild in marshy places from Maine to Florida and west to California and is an important honey plant that should not be overlooked. This is a bush that grows from 6 to 15 feet high and blooms in July and August when frequently there is no other honey flow. It produces a mild flavored, light colored honey. The bees swarm over these blooms and if you have a good size swamp near you with this bush in it it will pay you to move your bees to it.

Button Bush or Button Willow (Cephalanthus occidentalis) grows wild in marshy places from Maine to Florida and west to California and is an important honey plant that should not be overlooked. This is a bush that grows from 6 to 15 feet high and blooms in July and August when frequently there is no other honey flow. It produces a mild flavored, light colored honey. The bees swarm over these blooms and if you have a good size swamp near you with this bush in it it will pay you to move your bees to it.

Nectar secretion is not limited to plants as the berry bushes are heavy yielders of nectar and there are many trees such as sourwood, tupelo , citrus, tulip poplar, basswood, locust, mesquite and many others that are the main sources of honey in many regions. It is not always the plants and trees with the largest or most blooms that produce the most nectar so the beekeeper must be a close observer. The Chinese tallow or candle tree has a very inconspicuous bloom yet the bees swarm over these trees and a 200 pound average surplus is reported from Texas. The pepper vine which is widely scattered over the South also has an inconspicuous bloom and is likewise one of the best nectar producers.

While we are listing below some of the more common sources of nectar found in the United States it should be borne in mind that this list is incomplete even for the state of Kentucky in which the author lives and that it is necessary for the beekeeper to talk to other beekeepers and to study such special books as AMERICAN HONEY PLANTS and to study the nature of the trees, shrubs and plants found in his locality.

Nectar

Sources

Fruit trees

Maple

Persimmon

Dandelions

Legumes:

Thistle

(white, alsike,

Manzanita

sweet clovers)

Milkweed

Buckwheat

Cotton

Sunflower

Asters

Vetches

Goldenrod

Tupelo Gum

Spanish Needle

Sour Wood

Cactus

Locust

Mesquite

Catalpa

Sage

Basswood

Mango

Citrus Fruit

Palmetto

Willows

Tulip Poplar

Berries: blackberry, raspberry, gooseberry, cranberry, dewberry.