At this time of year, when we used to keep our bees in PA all year, they'd be scrounging for food, shutting down their gathering and beginning to eat their food stores a.k.a. all the honey they made throughout the summer. In some locations, they now even turn to the sweet-tasting excrement of the Spotted Lanternfly which is a less-than-ideal food source and will not become honey. In order for us to collect the honey they stored all summer, we would have to feed them sugar syrup to keep them alive. This is not a fair trade for the bees, so we began to find them new sources for foraging nearby.
In the fall we move our hives to parts of southern New York state, where there is a very rich nectar flow of clover, goldenrod and Japanese knotweed. Before we can move the bees, we spend time preparing the area so we can get to the bees to keep checking on them throughout the season. There's mowing and weed eating and plenty of fence securing because, let's face it.....bears really do love honey!
Once the location is prepared, we start transporting the bees up north. Beekeeping is not glamorous.... It is a lot of work but necessary to keep our honey bees healthy. And here at Honey in the Hollow...we're all about the bees!