I had a short conversation on the phone with a new beekeeper. He had bought a nuc from me and was calling to ask questions about it. He also mentioned that a friend was buying a nuc from a bee supplier in Marianna, FL. My young beekeeper said that he had asked his friend to purchase one for him also. That was when we got around to discussing what to do next.

My advice was to wait til the bees got settled in then call the bee inspector to come and check both hives and get registered. “What?!! Why?”

The answer is simple. It’s the law in the state of Florida that all beekeepers must register their bees. The best reason that I can think of is, the inspectors are the best people to get answers about what you need to do to keep your bees healthy and disease free. If your bees contacted American Foul Brood, you would want to know about it. AFB is a very contagious disease that attacks the brood and can spread to your whole apiary in just a matter of days and wipe you out completely.

The inspector is not the bee police. He is there to see that your bees are healthy and if you have a problem, he will tell you how to correct it. He is a source of information about what the state is doing and the research that has been conducted. The inspector also can explain what takes place in the hive so you will be better informed.

The Florida State Bee Inspector in Northwest Florida is Doug Corbin: corbinc@doacs.state.fl.us . He also does information talks at schools, 4H group meetings, Public Awareness meetings, and goes to different Beekeeping Association meetings to answer questions and give out new information that comes down from the state.

He has given me information on books and pamphlets that I need to read to help me be a better beekeeper. He encourages all of us to try different approaches to keeping bees so we can find a program or system that is comfortable and that works for each of us.

Back to the registration. You will be given a registration number that you use to mark your hives. Sorta like branding your cattle or horses. Unfortunately, there are still some bee rustlers and honey thief’s. Not so much in densely populated areas, but most of us have our bees in the country at someone else’s farm.

I didn’t mean to make you worry, just stating facts. Relax and enjoy you bees. You probably will not have any uninvited guest of the two legged kind.

Remember, you should have extracted by now, if not, then you need to check to see if you need another super.  Adiós until next time.