Just got back from a short vacation, drove along the coast of florida just to see the sights and the big cities, St Aug, WPB, Miami, Key Largo. It was really neat. Didn't spend hardly any money, just sightseeing and bumming on the beach.
Anyway on the way back, took Tamiani Trail throught the Everglades. Thought about Alligator Alley but then realized it was a toll road and a 4 lane interstate, ew, not very scenic. Tamiani trl. was beautiful, muggy, buggy, and very colorful - just like home. A couple Miccosukee indian reservations, miles and miles of flat grass as far as the eye can see. And then WHAP - right in the middle of the 'glades were 10-12 beehives. I thought, 'who on earth would keep bees in this soggy oven? If my bees aren't exactly 'flourishing' in Central FL, imagine how these bees feel!'
Anyone ever kept bees in a very tropical climate - or at least in a excruciatingly humid one? I suppose there was enough nectar - orchids, cattails, mangroves, pollen from plants, etc. But still, bees don't ordinarily do much in Florida compared to their Northern cousins do they?
And who is going to work those hives with 100% humidity and a heat index of 102 F? Wonder what the honey is like?
QuoteWonder what the honey is like?
thin?
Quote'who on earth would keep bees in this soggy oven?
probably the same people who go out and wrestle alligators and catch snakes...........
what's life without a little challenge? :D
The only honey in Florida that is "thin" would be the cabbage palm honey flow...going on now. The stuff isn't even really honey. The bees cap it off at about 21% moisture. Most of the big commercial guys complain that it ferments and, some of them have even witnessed the caps blown off drums. Probably the only way, I can think of, in that the heat is a detriment to beekeeping is that, with a suit and veil, after about an hour I'm ready to have a heat stroke and usually have moderate heat exaustion.
I just returned to sunny Western Washington (79 degrees) from Eastern Washington (101 degrees) and was very happy to be back. I saw a lot of bee yards along the Columbia River from Apple country to Hay contry. Brought back a nanny goat, a Golden Wyondot Rooster and a trio of Black Bearded D'Anvers. My daughter bought a pound of wildflower honey from the Okanagon hills to compare with ours. Mostly a mixture of clover, Alfalfa, and fireweed.
Quote from: SummerbeeJust got back from a short vacation, drove along the coast of florida just to see the sights and the big cities, St Aug, WPB, Miami, Key Largo. It was really neat. Didn't spend hardly any money, just sightseeing and bumming on the beach.
Anyway on the way back, took Tamiani Trail throught the Everglades. Thought about Alligator Alley but then realized it was a toll road and a 4 lane interstate, ew, not very scenic. Tamiani trl. was beautiful, muggy, buggy, and very colorful - just like home. A couple Miccosukee indian reservations, miles and miles of flat grass as far as the eye can see. And then WHAP - right in the middle of the 'glades were 10-12 beehives. I thought, 'who on earth would keep bees in this soggy oven? If my bees aren't exactly 'flourishing' in Central FL, imagine how these bees feel!'
Anyone ever kept bees in a very tropical climate - or at least in a excruciatingly humid one? I suppose there was enough nectar - orchids, cattails, mangroves, pollen from plants, etc. But still, bees don't ordinarily do much in Florida compared to their Northern cousins do they?
And who is going to work those hives with 100% humidity and a heat index of 102 F? Wonder what the honey is like?
Well I kinda like it here and so do my bees. I also like the heat and the humidity. I don't like the cold. The bees collect what is known as wildflower honey. In some cases it can be very dark. If you are just looking to raise bees next to fields of flowers, you may be disappointed unless you live in Belle Glades or South Bay area.
My bees are doing quite well in this heat. I need to extract from one of my hives again. I am thankful though that I run top entrances and screened bottom boards. I think my bees would be medium rare if I didn't.
I have no problem working with them in this heat. There are plenty of water sources around. My bees also are pretty tolerant of me. Unless I drop them.
My wife planted a couple of Sunflowers in the yard. The bees seem to like them a lot. I may plant a few more.
A couple of nice things about living down here with bees is:
No wintering your bees.
Year round extractions.
Sincerely,
Brendhan
Interesting... didn't mean to sound like I was razzing deep south bees. Just thought it was a unique environment to keep them in and wondered how well they adapted. I guess if you can keep them in Alaska you can keep them anywhere!
QuoteWell I kinda like it here and so do my bees. I also like the heat and the humidity. I don't like the cold. The bees collect what is known as wildflower honey. In some cases it can be very dark. If you are just looking to raise bees next to fields of flowers, you may be disappointed unless you live in Belle Glades or South Bay area.
how would a person work bees in swampy areas? is there enough out there for them to make honey? is there some crop that the bees would be pollinating? i have tried to pay attention the last couple of years to where and why people keep bees. last time i was in the deep south was last year after katrina/rita. have to admit, i didn't have bees on my mind and any that had been there, were probably washed or blown away.
I know that for most of undevevloped Florida there is alot of brazilian pepper (very reliable fall flow) and, in wet cosal areas, Black Mangrove. Red mangrove also yeilds nectar but no where near as much. Also, pallmetto and cabbage plams yeild but, cabbage palm honey is almost undesirable.
Quote from: kathypQuoteWell I kinda like it here and so do my bees. I also like the heat and the humidity. I don't like the cold. The bees collect what is known as wildflower honey. In some cases it can be very dark. If you are just looking to raise bees next to fields of flowers, you may be disappointed unless you live in Belle Glades or South Bay area.
how would a person work bees in swampy areas? is there enough out there for them to make honey? is there some crop that the bees would be pollinating? i have tried to pay attention the last couple of years to where and why people keep bees. last time i was in the deep south was last year after katrina/rita. have to admit, i didn't have bees on my mind and any that had been there, were probably washed or blown away.
Well don't live in the middle of the swamp for starters:)
There are plenty of plants for the bees to gather from. I am going to do my third extraction if I can stop working weekends . That will be 54 lbs of honey from thaqt hive over 8 weeks.
It is amazing the number of naturally flowerly plants that we have here. Hurricanes don't tend to make for beautiful landscapes. The Miccasukkee tribe which is probably the heart of the area south of Lake Okeechobee has bees but it doesn't mean they are wearing hip waders to get to them.
The swamp has some very nice stretches of land, there just happens to be a lot of bogs and water around them. Those swamps and bogs however do hold plenty of flowering plant life. It is gorgeous when the blooms start going in late spring early summer.
Sincerely,
Brendhan
Not as deep south as Florida but just as warm here in Alabama.Only difference is our bees tend to shut down from November- Janurary.We do get a little cooler in the winter though.
I'd take a bee yard in florida swamps over one in Alaska.. :D