I am pretty sure Sun thru Tuesday will be great days for swarm calls! Get your stuff ready to go. Its already been a busy Season. Just a quick reminder from UDAF and myself as the county Bee Inspector. If you are collecting swarms and Feral Colonies in Southern Utah please DO NOT add to the problem of Africanized Genetics in managed colonies. It is recommended that any swarms or colonies collected be considered Africanized. It is suggested that the bees should be shook through a queen excluder when hived. Separate the drones and especially the queen. Destroy these drones and and queens, thus ending the chances cultivating africanized genetics. This colony can then be united on and existing colony or you can place a queen with known genetics. Please do not allow the queens to lay and the drones to continue to fly and breed. The last thing anyone wants is a managed colony of Africanized Bees in the Back yard. I get several dozen calls every year related to managed colonies that have become very aggressive and dangerous. The last thing a bee keeper needs is to have a stinging incident and get someone hurt over Free Bees If you have questions about swarms, feral colonies or issues with aggressive bees, feel free to contact me. Thanks
Posted on: Sat, 26 Apr 2014 21:59:09 +0000