I was abruptly, but nicely reminded that you cannot get out of an inspection even if you have a certificate stating that the bees have already been inspected. I received that same certificate in the mail from the Florida State Dept of Plant Industry, Apiary Inspection. I called the local bee inspector to inform him that we could skip this year. His reply was that the certificate was issued as a receipt for my money, contingent on the physical inspection which I had not scheduled and was swiftly approaching a month past due. If I did not get an inspection from him, the state would revoke the piece of paper and I could get a slap on the wrist.

Needless to say I quickly made an appointment and we headed to the apiaries. The inspection reveled that I have Small Hive Beetles (SHB) but no mites that we could discern. No American Foul Brood nor any of the other viruses. Discussion was made as to the best way to get the SHB back down to a tolerable threshold.

I had already lost one colony to the SHB and the inspector really didn’t want me breeding more beetles to take over my other colonies.

Samples of bees were taken from each apiary to send to apiary headquarters lab to confirm that I have no Africanized Honey Bees (AHB). I feel that I do not, but I went to the Yucatan peninsula in Mexico and those bees were not aggressive either. However, even the AHBs have their calm days too.

I am now awaiting the paperwork to show I do not have AHB and that will open fields for possibly more apiaries. I do not need any more places at this time, but you always keep a lookout for a good spot in case you might need it.

That’s all for now, but remember, now is the time to get your equipment cleaned, replace broken frames, and replace old comb with new foundation. Think of the pros and cons for wax coated plastic foundation and even plastic frame inserts. More about different foundations later.