Guilfordbeekeepers.org

I did hive inspections today (12/17/24). This time of year, I know we are not "supposed" to....but it was warm and I wanted to see what they were up to. In one colony, I thought the capped honey had a bluish/purple tint to it. Out of curiosity I tasted it and it was amazing! I even called my wife to walk down and check it out. I have heard of the mysterious purple honey, and I am wondering if it is possible here in the Piedmont. I am on the Guilford County/Forsyth County line. Anything I read about the purple honey tends to point to the Sandhill area of NC. I wish I had spent more time checking it out, but I wanted to put them back together and move on. I cannot say that this was the magical mysterious purple honey. However, there is no doubt that I could see a bluish-purple tint on the cappings. I also know that it was a very unique, light, and fruity taste. Out of the six colonies I looked at, only this one was that way. I thought that was interesting. At the end of the day, I'm wishing there was an easy way to simply extract two or three frames. Of course, I also don't want to steal from the bees this time of year. Would be glad to trade them for sugar syrup, but I am finding that the colder nights are slowing down their feeding of syrup.

Has anybody else in the Guilford County area experienced this?