In south Texas there are some flowering plants nearly all year around, but between the frost killing them and being unable to go outside for so long the honeybees are desperate for food.
While honey is delicious and a perfect addition for any treat, you absolutely do not want to honey we cut out during a bee removal. Be it from a house, shed, tree, or metal equipment, nobody can be sure what that honey has been exposed to.
This past weekend on Super Bee Sunday, we got to have our first real check for our over-wintered hives. It is always a bit nerve wracking going into the new bee season because it is less of matter of “did I lose hives?” and more of “how many did I lose?” and that question is the most frightening one.