Quote:

They apparently swarm when they outgrow their hive and make a new queen to start a new colony. You have to check that they have room to expand within the frames and keep an eye out for a new developing queen. Learned that from the excellent "Victorian Farm" TV series.

Bought JC honey from Madame Claude Wine last winter and it was excellent. Someone must be raising some bees...

My dad kept a number of bee hives in suburban NJ. Hilarity ensued whenever the bees swarmed, often ending up in a tree in a neighbor's yard in a giant crawling ball.

Dad wasn't too popular with the neighbors... he didn't care for them much either.

Jersey City waterfront hotel adds two bee hives so chef will have fresh, local honey for recipes

May 03, 2012, 11:56 AM
By Celeste Little/The Jersey Journal

Some 36,000 new guests checked into the Jersey City Hyatt Regency Hotel this week, but they won?t be taking up much room.

The two hives of honey bees, brought in from Hilltop Honey in North Caldwell to produce honey for dishes on the Hyatt?s menu, will be staying on the roof.

?Welcome to another Jersey City first,? said Mayor Jerramiah Healy, kicking off Jersey City Green Week. ?This fits in with sustainability and a smaller environmental footprint.?

Hyatt executive chef Cathy Kearny thought of bringing the bees to town when she was trying to find ways to use more local food in her menu.

Kearny has already created several honey-infused dishes, including salmon ceviche with creamed honey, Japanese bamboo honey figs, and honey horchata.

Joe Lelinho, the beekeeper at Hilltop Honey, said that honey bees shouldn?t be confused other flying insects, such as wasps or hornets, that attack.

?Bees don?t just sting. The honey bee is a good worker and a servant to mankind,? said Lelinho.

The bees will pollinate a 2-mile radius of the Hyatt and when they do, they will increase the yield and quality of local crops such as cranberries, apples, blueberries, cucumbers, squash and pumpkins, the experts said.

Consuming honey produced by local bees can also help allergy sufferers cope with their bothersome seasonal colds, they added.

Kearny was completely at home with the newbies.

?My brothers used to play ?throw the apple in the tree? and that ended in a trip to the hospital,? said Kearny. ?You could kick these bees and they won?t bother you.?
http://www.nj.com/jjournal-weeklies/i ... y_waterfront_hotel_a.html

I've never gotten JC honey, but there's a fair amount of N Jersey honey to be had. We usually get it at the Pequest Hatchery Open House & Festival out in Hackettstown. A great free family event. http://www.nj.gov/dep/fgw/peqoh.htm

Good news. I get short-lived but intense allergies this time of year, which I have pseudo self-diagnosed as being caused by tree pollen - probably sycamore or maple. I already liked Made with Love anyway.

There is a local JC honey maker, Liberty City Honey. You can buy their amazing honey at Made With Love - but hurry, supplies are limited.
I've been getting it for years. It does wonders for people with allergies. Liberty City Honey

Just thought this was pretty cool. I wonder if anyone out there is raising bees at home.

http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2012 ... pitality_jersey_city.html