n my column at the end of December Imade the silly comment that we hadnt had a prolonged period ofbitter cold yet which was good for the bees. Big mistake! MotherNature has indeed made up for her earlier kindness and put theover-wintering bees through a good test. Its now coming up to amonth where its been in the minus numbers at night more oftenthan the positive and daytime temps rarely higher than 20. Thesaving grace has been that we have had snow, lots of snow, andthat acts somewhat like an insulating blanket and protects thehives from the worst of the cold and biting wind.Right now the bees are clustered up tightly generating heat byvibrating their bodies. With some hives you can listen to themand hear the very low buzz. I prefer the nearly silent hives whohave the ability to keep going with the absolute minimum ofactivity (and hence usage of food stores). As soon as the worst ofthe really cold days has past they will increase activity andtemperatures will be built up to 98 degrees in the center of thecluster. At those temperatures they will start to rear the first broodof 2015.

Most of my hives are more than half buried in snow some aretotally buried. The heat they generate is melting a little cave inthe snow at the hive entrance and even a chimney up to the freshair. I will clear the snow from the southern face of those hives aswe approach some warmer days. Very soon we will see what the damage, if any has been. Asthe air temperature nears 40 and the sun beats down on the hivesthey will start to take quick cleansing flights. For a brief timethere can be very substantial bee activity in front of the hive.Once they have had their cleansing flights they usually start todrag out the dead bodies of their sisters who did not make itthrough the previous cold spell.

Whilst this can be a sad sight it is also a sign that this is a hivethat is doing well and so far has made it through the winter. Themore hives I see like that the better. I will need to check that each colony still has plenty of foodto get through the rest of the winter. This can be done by liftingthe back of the hive to check the weight, or where they are frozento the stand, by popping up the cover and checking to see if I cansee that the cluster is in contact with combs of sealed honey.Those that are too light or appear to have nearly used up theirfood reserves will get some extra food in the form of winterpatties which are basically soft sugar candy.

Those hives that have made it through the winter will be mybreeding stock for this year to split those hives into numeroussmall nucleus colonies which will be headed by queens whichI will raise from the very best of over wintered hives. Year 2015is going to be a very busy year for me as a beekeeper. A large partof my increased activity will be with my partnering with myfriend and mentor Harold Swan who runs RBSwan and Son BeeSupply business in Brewer, ME. This year I am handling all ofthe live bee business. In late April we will be bringing more than200 three pound packages of bees up from the south to start new

colonies in Maine. They sell out fast. There is a huge number ofnew enthusiasts starting beekeeping this year. These packages,which cost $125 each, contain a queen bee and about 12,000worker bees. It is very quick and easy to install those bees into anew beehive which is made up of a bottom board, a deep super(box) which contains ten frames and wax foundation for the beesto build their honeycombs on. This is topped with an inner coverand an outer, telescopic cover. Then the bees will just need feedingwhile they build their combs and raise lots of babies to build uptheir number. In about 40-50 days they will need their second boxof frames and foundation added. Feeding is continued till bothboxes are filled with comb. The whole set-up costs about $190.IfIf you are interested in keeping bees you should checkwww.mainebeekeepers.org for a beekeeping class near you. If youneed any further help feel free to contact me.

An Amish horse-drawn cart was hit by a pickup truckSaturday evening Feb. 28 by an 83-year-old Newburgh man whonow faces charges after he failed to stop. Robert Veinote wasdriving a 1996 GMC pickup truck northbound on Thorndike Roadat about 6 p.m when he is alleged to have struck the left side of atrailer cart being drawn with a forecart, and a team of two horses,according to Maine State Police Trooper Corey Smith. The impact appears to have thrown the two occupants from theforecart and hay trailer and knocked a horse down, Smith told thepress. Operator of the cart, 28-year-old Abner Stoll of Unity,suffered minor cuts and scrapes. Passenger, Jason Stoll, 14, also ofUnity and the horses were uninjured. The tire and rim on the cartwere damaged, as well as some of the harness equipment.V Veinote allegedly did not stop after striking the cart, but Smithsaid troopers soon located the truck, which sustained minor damage.He said he didnt know hed hit them, Smith said. He thought itwas debris in the road. Veinote was also charged with operatingwithout a license, although Smith said additional charges may beforthcoming when the investigation is completed. Witnesses indi-cated square bales dropped from the Veinote vehicle, some ofwhich were hit by passer by automobiles. The round bales on thehorse cart remained on the damaged cart.

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, aka is anexperienced Maine beekeeper known forprroducing Hampden Honey. His passionfor bees - includes pollination, teaching, salesof bees and removal of feral hives.

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Anew report,

is abiennial case study ofvarious investments bythe Maine Associationof Nonprofits (MANP)noting that scallop fish-ing has be-

comeabignew

partof

Maineseconomic lifeblood,helping to maintain athriving, ecologicallysustainable economy.Praising

anon-profit headed byRobin Alden and basedhere; the report statesthat last years winterscallop landings wereworth more than $5million to the state, upfrom a low of $200,000in 2004. Alden notedthe collaborative ap-proach scallop manage-ment has taken, hasresulted in a manage-ment style that im-proved the science, setnew rules and has maderesponsible adaptationstied to local resourceconditions and nowyields a much betteroutcome with all par-ties contributing to anevolving process ofcommunity-scale fish-ery. The ResourceCenter works with fish-ermen, regulators andthe scientific communi-ty to revive Mainesocean fishery.

In a related develop-ment, the Taunton BayOyster Company has alease of 28 acres spreadover four sites and aLimited Purpose Aqua-culture License to culti-vate and overwinteroysters in tray racks,cages and soft bags.

AgricultureDana Morse

ExtensionAssociate

Maine SeaGrant College

Programand UMaineCooperativeExtension

193 ClarksCove

DarlingMarine Ctr.Walpole, ME

04573

207.563.8186Fax

207. 563.3119

Water FarmCordination

Editor:

Globe Printing Co.Office & Fax 794-2973

L I N C O L N

12 S P R I N G ISSUE Mainely Agriculture || Equi Ag & Livestock || Aqua Agriculture 2015

All went underreview with DMRMarch 11 and werea part of work ses-sions at the 40 an-nual FishermansForum in Rock-port, the weekendof March 7, 8.

th

Pick up, Amish cart collide in Unity

www.mainebeekeepers.orgwww.treeline.bizwww.themainelandstore.comwww.seagrant.umaine.eduwww.umext.maine.edu