Absolutely some of God's finest work!

http://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/xHkq1edcbk4?rel=0
The hummingbird doing rolls chasing a bug is neat!!! Unreal. archs!


This is beautiful.......be sure and watch closely (around 2 min 40 sec) and check out the baby bat under its mama.

Meet our newest client and soon to be a Happy Hive Expert!

Introducing - New Leasing Options

              Leasing a Honey Bee Hive-Description of Options

May Farms, LLC

LEASING:

·         Involves a site visit to select the site for the hive and complete set up of the hive.

·         A three (3) pound package of bees is installed with a mated queen.

o    It is highly recommended to lease a minimum of two (2) hives to aid in hive manipulation, should it be necessary.

o    The lease is for 8 months (March-October), however, the bees remain in the apiary for the duration of the year.

o    Maintenance is the responsibility of the beekeeper but the customer may assist to the level he or she desires, under the supervision of the beekeeper.

o    It is not likely a surplus of honey will be harvested the first year, however all honey is harvested by the beekeeper and shared equally with the customer.

·         There is a onetime charge of $50 for each hive set up, plus a $35 per month charge for hive maintenance.

o    The charge is reduced to $25 per hive, per month for leasing more than one hive.

CONSULTATION:

·         Many times an individual may wish for a second opinion or wish to be instructed in a particular hive manipulation.

o    The beekeeper will visit customer’s apiary and perform the desired activity while instructing the customer in the process.

o    The charge for this service is $50 per hour while in the apiary, plus a $25 per hour charge for traveling to and from the customer’s site.

OWNERSHIP:

·         Becoming an owner of a bee hive(s) for your apiary is a rewarding adventure.

o    A site visit is made to the customer, a hive(s) location is selected, and hive maintenance begins.

o    The customer becomes the owner of the supplies which includes the bee hive (bottom board, deep, shallow super, inner cover, and telescoping cover) with a 3 pound package of bees and a mated queen, one honey super, hat & veil, smoker, gloves, and a hive tool.

o    The customer can elect to participate in the hive maintenance to the level desired. Instruction in hive maintenance is offered during visitations.

·         The cost of the ownership program is that of the Leasing program, plus a $450 for the hive and supplies.

o    The contract is for 8 months, per year, however the hive remains on site.

SPONSOR:

·         The Sponsor Program addresses the importance of our honey bee – a vitally important pollinator and provider of many hive by-products, to include honey, pollen, propolis, and wax

o    We continue to perform research for improvements in our apiaries. By donating $150 we are able to further this study.

o    In addition to receiving quarterly bee keeping information, the sponsor will receive two (2) quarts of local honey and two (2) 12 inch bees wax candles.

                                  FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

         CONTACT:    Cell: 864-430-0318  or  Email: buddy_may@bellsouth.net

May Farms, LLC

  PRESENTS

*RESTORE NATURE IN YOUR OWN BACKYARD WITH POLLINATORS*

By

*LEASING A HONEY BEE HIVE*

·       LEASE ONE OR MORE BEE HIVES TO POLLINATE YOUR GARDENS THUS IMPROVING YOUR FLOWERS AND VEGETABLES. BE AS ACTIVE WITH THE MANAGEMENT OF THE BEE HIVES AS YOU DESIRE, AND OBTAIN FIRST HAND TUTORING.

·       CONSULT WITH AN EXPERIENCED BEEKEEPER WHEN SITUATIONS REQUIRE MORE EXPERIENCE IN HIVE MANAGEMENT. LET A JOURNEYMAN BEEKEEPER GUIDE YOU IN PROVEN OPTIONS.

·       BECOME AN OWNER AND EXPERIENCE THE THRILL OF BECOMING EDUCATED IN BEEKEEPING AND REAP THE BENEFITS OF HONEY FROM YOUR OWN YARD - YOU CAN’T GET ANY MORE LOCAL THAN THAT.

·       SPONSOR HONEY BEE RESEARCH WITH A DONATION TO PROVIDE THE MEANS OF CONTINUED STUDY TO PROTECT THIS BENEFICIAL CREATURE.

                                   FOR DETAILS CONTACT

Cell: 864-430-0318 or Email: buddy_may@bellsouth.net

Just a little background information:

R.C. "Buddy" May Jr.

Born in Rock Hill SC; Attended Clemson University, BS Industrial Management; Management positions with Riegel Textile, Owens Corning Fiberglass, Lowenstein & Sons, Vice Pres of Greenville Machinery Corp; Owner of Mandtex Inc, Textile Machinery Corp. for 20 years before retiring in 2001.

After retirement, Buddy began his Apiarist activity on May Farms, LLC which is located on 65 acres in Greenville County. Beekeeping activities include the management of 40 hives, maintaining blue berry orchards, and a large vegetable garden, along with managing wildlife preserve & water fowl areas.

Buddy is a Journeyman beekeeper and member of the Piedmont Beekeepers Association; member of the Eastern Apicultural Society; teacher and lecturer at Furman University Learning for You, and OLLI Programs; Instructs students on Queen Rearing; Splitting hives; Transferring packaged bees to hives; and many other Hive Management processes in his bee yard. Buddy has a Hive Leasing Program for individuals interested in having bee hives and receiving instructions on management, prior to assuming ownership. He also offers workshops that offer hands-on experience in the bee yard (watch for up-coming workshop schedules).  Another service offered is pollination of blue berries, apple trees, and vegetable plants.

Be sure if you haven't already to check out our Facebook page: May Farms, LLC

For more information do not hesitate to contact us.

Queen Cells- Swarm and Supersedure

Welcome to our new Question and Answer posts.  Please feel free to post questions and comments below.

Here is the question and statement of the Beekeeper:

“You’re going to get tired of hearing from me! I’ve got a problem and need some help. I went to take off and clean the feeders as you recommended. I thought I’d do my first hive check as well. It’s been two weeks now since I put them in.

Hive #1 is doing great. Four frames of capped brood and other frames being drawn out.

Hive # 2, not so good. There is no sign of the queen. No capped brood, no eggs or larvae that I can see. However, there are several swarm cells present. I see no evidence of workers laying. The frames are drawn out some, but nothing like the first hive.

So the question is, “what to do”? Would they attempt to build a queen cell with a worker’s egg? I know it would  be unfertile and thus a drone. Anyway, should I destroy the cells? Place a frame with eggs from the first hive into the second? Or just order another queen? If I can get one that’ll save me some time waiting for them to make one. Your suggestions?

There are two (2) points of consideration here.

FIRST : This is a classic example of “Supersedure cells” and not “Swarm Cells”. This can be confusing to many, so I wanted to take the opportunity to relay this information to you for y our consideration. Please notice the location of the cells, very important: they are in the middle of the frame! Swarm cells are found on the bottom of the frame.

The hive is experiencing the failure of their queen, so they are replacing her. DO NOT, UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES, INTERFERE WITH THIS PROCESS. The queens will emerge and the strongest will survive. That is what Mother Nature has intended. The hive wants to be certain to have a queen, so they have prepared for more than one to emerge. When returning to the hive in 10 days -  determine hive status at that time.

SECOND: The statement, “Would they attempt to build a queen cell with a worker’s egg? I know it would be unfertile and thus a drone”.

Correction: Worker eggs are diploid and fertile, drone cells are haploid and not fertile.  Any worker bee larvae, one day old (remember the egg is an egg for three days), that means the egg is four days old, can be fed royal jelly for 8 days, and a queen will be produced. All eggs, drone and worker are fed royal jelly for the first three days. There are diploid drones, but the bees destroy these by eating them in the larvae stage. These drones are also known as biparetal males which develop from fertilized eggs which are homozygous at sex locust. This is a subject for another day.

Enjoy and thank you for visiting May Farms LLC Blog.

Email Correction - A Little Bee told Me.....

A honey deprived Miss Bee made a slip up in the contact information.

To Contact Us Please Use:
buddynmissbee@gmail.com

Give us a Buzz..............

May Farms, LLC is dedicated to the enhancement and promotion of knowledge of the Apis Mellifera - the Honey Bee.   Located on 65 acres of land in Greenville County, we manage approximately 40 colonies of bees, with a major emphasis placed on educating the general public about this vital pollinator. Continuing education classes are presented at Furman OLLI and Furman Learning For You Programs. May Farms, LLC is a mentor for many in the art and science of managing honey bees. In addition, there are on-site apiary classes on many beekeeping activities, including Hive Management and Queen Bee Breeding.  Our newest addition is a Hive Leasing and Consultation Program – for more information please contact us at the email address below.

Additionally, May Farms, LLC manages several blueberry orchards and offers their delicious fruit to the public at the TD Saturday Market, sponsored by the City of Greenville, SC. Honey, pollen, bees wax candles, hive wooden ware, and many specialty vegetables, such as garlic are featured. Educating our young people is a focus at the Greenville Saturday Market with a honey bee Observation Hive.

**Private presentations can also be scheduled for local school groups and other youth organizations.

Contact us at buddynmissbee@google.com