Nansemond Beekeepers Association. Suffolk, Virginia

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Nansemond Buzzline Volume 1 Issue 7 Nansemond Beekeepers Association Suffolk, Virginia Meetings are held the 2nd Tuesday of each month, from 6:30 PM to 9 PM, in the Fellowship Hall of Oakland

From the President ED SCHWEIGER June 2014 May and the first part of June has been a busy time with the spring nectar flow finishing up and the honey harvest to be done.

A quick pass over the frames with a shop vac. Hose attached to the blow connection, removes the remaining bees from the frames before putting the supers into the honey house.

The first pass of the capping knife cutting the caps from the sealed comb release the sweet smell of the spring honey into the room.

1 Nansemond Buzzline Volume 1 Issue 7 Nansemond Beekeepers Association Suffolk, Virginia Meetings are held the 2nd Tuesday of each month, from 6:30 PM to 9 PM, in the Fellowship Hall of Oakland Christian Church, 5641 Godwin Blvd, Suffolk, VA From the President ED SCHWEIGER June 2014 May and the first part of June has been a busy time with the spring nectar flow finishing up and the honey harvest to be done. It all started with pulling the honey supers and separating the bees from the frames of honey. The weather was warm enough to allow the fume pads to do their thing to drive most of the bees out. A quick pass over the frames with a shop vac. Hose attached to the blow connection, removes the remaining bees from the frames before putting the supers into the honey house. There s nothing worse that coming across a worker bee while cutting the caps from the comb and agitating her. In the honey house is where the fun begins and you realize the fruits of your labors. The first pass of the capping knife cutting the caps from the sealed comb release the sweet smell of the spring honey into the room. Then as process progresses and the extractor fills up with frames of honey, it is time to start the extractor and spin out the honey from the comb, which flows out of the extractor into the waiting buckets. After about a half a dozen supers the fun starts to fade, but the site of the buckets filling up with honey encourages you to carry on to the end and get every last drop of that golden liquid out of the heavy frames of honey. With the last frame of honey extracted the work is only half done. Then comes the cleaning of all the tools used to extract the honey; the capping knives, and tank, the extractor, strainers and other miscellaneous scrappers and things we use to make sure no honey goes to waste. That last thing to do is to return the supers with sticky empty frames of comb back to the hives for the bees to clean up and repair to get ready for the summer nectar flow. After all of the honey is extracted, then you have to worry about what to do with all of that honey. Oh to have that problem. The possibilities are endless. From personnel use, to gifting to friends and family, marketing it and of course there s mead. This seems to be a much better year than last, with reports of over three times last year s harvest. In spite of the crazy weather we had in January and February the spring has settled down to bring us a good crop of honey, from the producing hives. Once the honey is all extracted and the supers are back on the hives we can slow down for a moment to catch our breaths, before getting back at it. There s still time to make some more splits to increase your hive numbers. They ll need to be fed some, but by the time that the summer nectar flow starts, there should be a single body deep full of bees ready for supers. For those members that are going to use their break time to attend the spring VSBA meeting, I ask that you take good notes so that you can tell us at the next membership meeting about all that was discussed. UPCOMING NBA MEETING JUNE 10TH VSBA SPRING CONFERENCE JUNE 13&14 LYNCHBURG NBA PICNIC JULY 12TH

I DON'T LIKE TO HEAR CUT AND DRIED SERMONS. NO WHEN I HEAR A MAN PREACH, I LIKE TO SEE HIM ACT AS IF HE WERE FIGHTING BEES. ABRAHAM LINCOLN Nansemond Buzzline Your Hives at this time June The Bees.

2 I DON'T LIKE TO HEAR CUT AND DRIED SERMONS. NO WHEN I HEAR A MAN PREACH, I LIKE TO SEE HIM ACT AS IF HE WERE FIGHTING BEES. ABRAHAM LINCOLN Nansemond Buzzline Your Hives at this time June The Bees. Unswarmed colonies will be boiling with bees. The queen's rate of egg laying may drop a bit this month. The honey flow might still be happening this month. Harvest honey crop Replace wet supers on hives for the bees to clean up place one empty super body (with no frames) between wet supers and hive. The Beekeeper. Inspect the hive weekly to make certain the hive is healthy and the queen is present. Add honey supers as needed. Keep up swarm What s what in the Hive. Worker Bee All worker bees are female, but they are not able to reproduce. Worker bees live for 4-9 months during the winter season, but only 6 weeks during the busy summer months (they literally work themselves to death). Nearly all of the bees in a hive are worker Fun Bee Facts inspections. Attend bee club meetings and workshops. July The Bees. If the weather is good, the nectar flow may continue this month. On hot and humid nights, you may see a huge curtain of bees cooling themselves on the exterior of the hive. The Beekeeper. Continue inspections to assure the health of your colony. bees. A hive consists of 20,000-30,000 bees in the winter, and over 60,000-80,000 bees in the summer. The worker bees sequentially take on a series of specific chores during their lifetime: housekeeper; nursemaid; construction worker; grocer; undertaker; guard; and finally, after 21 Add more honey supers if needed. Keep your fingers crossed in anticipation of a great honey harvest. days they become a forager collecting pollen and nectar. For worker bees, it takes 21 days from egg to emergence. The worker bee has a barbed stinger that results in her death following stinging, therefore, she can only sting once. Page 2 A single bee colony can produce more than 100 pounds of extra honey and this is what is harvested by the beekeeper It takes one colony of honey bees (around 30,000 bees) to pollinate an acre of fruit trees. Pollination success increases if there are more honey bees present at the time of peak flowering. A colony of honey bees in summer has 50-60,000 bees. A colony of honey bees in early spring has 10,000-15,000 bees. A honey bee flies up to 15 mph and its wings beat 200 times per second or 12,000 beats / minute. It requires worker bees to gather a pound of honey

Volume 1 Issue 7 Upcoming Details June 10th Monthly Meeting Andy Westrich on Honey Production July 12th NBA Picnic at Rose and Curtis Nichols House 1PM till

the movement of honey bees into the state, the sale of bees, queens, used bee equipment; and provides a means for dispatching bee disease reservoirs.

3 Volume 1 Issue 7 Upcoming Details June 10th Monthly Meeting Andy Westrich on Honey Production July 12th NBA Picnic at Rose and Curtis Nichols House 1PM till whenever VIRGINIA BEE LAWS: From the Virginia State For information and to read the current Bee Laws of Virginia please refer to The Virginia Bee Law regulates the movement of honey bees into the state, the sale of bees, queens, used bee equipment; and provides a means for dispatching bee disease reservoirs cod+TOC Bee Laws have everything you need to know about the rules and regulations about honeybees. Page 3

4 Nansemond Buzzline Swarms Victor Thornton and David Mitchell are NBA s Swarm Coordinators. The Swarm list is into effect. Club Members have signed up on the list and a lottery was held as to the order of the swarm calls. You can put your name on the list by contacting Victor Thornton. Victor Thornton said he can be reached at the following phone numbers or Keep in mind swarms do not hang around all day. By the time the Coordinator gets the call about a swarm no one knows how long it has been there. Beekeepers need to respond in a timely manner. Have your equipment ready to go get a swarm. I like pulling on a baggy bee suit, forgetting myself and getting as close to the bees' lives as they will let me, remembering in the process that there is more to life than the merely human. Sue Hubbell NBA NUC List/ AND NUC Makers At the Club Meeting John Brown announced that we are in need of some NUC makers to help fill the Clubs orders for NUCs. If you are considering making Nucs to help the club members, please let John Brown know. Also Mr Brown had available a sketch on how to turn a sheet of plywood into 3 By Laws Committee Each Member will receive in the proposed new ByLaws, those that do not have will receive a paper copy at the June meeting. The new proposed By Laws will be voted on at the August meeting. NUC boxes. Hopefully in the future he will do more on this. Signups were taken for those wishing to be on the NUC list to get a NUC this year. A list was also made of those making NUCs so he would know who to contact. If you missed the meeting you can still sign up to receive a NUC or sign up that you intend on making NUCs to sell. Please contact John Brown at brownjr43343@charter.net or Remember that when you receive a call that your NUC is ready you need to work out to go get your NUC in a timely manner. Have your equipment ready NOW so you will be ready. Page 4

Volume 1 Issue 7 Isle of Wight and Surry County Farm Days On May 7th, in Windsor the isle of Wight and Surry County Schools had Farm Days for 2nd

Rose and Curtis Nichols, and John Brown stepped up to the plate for the club and made this event happen.

The picnic will start at 1pm and each family is asked to bring a side dish or dessert. We will have hamburgers and hot dogs.

5 Volume 1 Issue 7 Isle of Wight and Surry County Farm Days On May 7th, in Windsor the isle of Wight and Surry County Schools had Farm Days for 2nd graders. There were about 350 students and about 100 adults at this event. Rose and Curtis Nichols, and John Brown stepped up to the plate for the club and made this event happen. NBA PICNIC JULY 12 NBA will be holding it s annual picnic on July 12th at the home of Rose and Curtis Nichols. The picnic will start at 1pm and each family is asked to bring a side dish or dessert. We will have hamburgers and hot dogs. The Nichols address is 1080 Old Somerton Rd Suffolk VA Bring your lawn chairs and come and have a good time of fellowship with fellow beekeepers. ANGER AGITATES WHILE WHISTLING MELTS A BEE'S TEMPER. ACT LIKE YOU KNOW WHAT YOU'RE DOING, EVEN IF YOU DON'T. ABOVE ALL, SEND THE BEES LOVE SUE MONK KIDD Page 5

John Mitchell ran a brain game of what we want in our Bee Hive equipment

Merideth talked about Top Bar hives, Jena Brown talked about Nuc Boxes.

Good Job NBA Officers for putting on an exciting meeting.

6 Nansemond Buzzline Fun Meeting for May! May was not a traditional meeting for NBA. It was more hands on. John Mitchell ran a brain game of what we want in our Bee Hive equipment and about Langstroth Hives, Bob Schwartz talked about Queen Castles, Ruth Merideth talked about Top Bar hives, Jena Brown talked about Nuc Boxes. This was a very fun meeting. Good Job NBA Officers for putting on an exciting meeting. PERFECT HEXAGONAL TUBES IN A PACKED ARRAY. BEES ARE HARD- WIRED TO LAY THEM DOWN, BUT HOW DOES AN INSECT KNOW ENOUGH GEOMETRY TO LAY DOWN A PRECISE HEXAGON? PETER WATTS Page 6

Volume 1 Issue 7 Presentation at Lone Star Lodge for Cub Scouts On May 17th the Nansemond Beekeeper Association made presentations to about 100 Scouts at Lone Star Lakes Lodge.

John Brown, Lavonne Roberts, Rose and Curtis Nichols were there to tell all about the honey bees and what the Scouts can do to help the bee population. Thank you, for making the clubs presentation.

NBA Membership is $10 a year and Virginia State Membership is $10 a year. If you belong to another club and have paid your State dues all that is required is your Annual $10 Dues for NBA.

PETER WATTS Looking Ahead Take a look at some of the events upcoming for the club. Consider volunteering to help.

7 Volume 1 Issue 7 Presentation at Lone Star Lodge for Cub Scouts On May 17th the Nansemond Beekeeper Association made presentations to about 100 Scouts at Lone Star Lakes Lodge. Cub Scouts from Suffolk, Isle of Wight, and Southampton County were present. John Brown, Lavonne Roberts, Rose and Curtis Nichols were there to tell all about the honey bees and what the Scouts can do to help the bee population. Thank you, for making the clubs presentation. Club Membership Renewal It is starting to be that time of year again. The annual Club Membership dues! Each year in June the Club has it s Membership Renewal. NBA Membership is $10 a year and Virginia State Membership is $10 a year. If you belong to another club and have paid your State dues all that is required is your Annual $10 Dues for NBA. These dues are 1 per family, not individually. IT'S PROGRAMMED TO CHEW UP WAX AND SPIT IT OUT WHILE TURNING ON ITS AXIS, AND THAT GENERATES A CIRCLE. PETER WATTS Looking Ahead Take a look at some of the events upcoming for the club. Consider volunteering to help. Aug13-16 Franklin Southampton Fair (Educational in the 4-H area) Aug 30th=Nansemond POW WOW (Educational and able to sell) Sept11-14 Isle of Wight Fair (Educational in the 4-H tent) Sept 20= Suffolk Farmers Market (Educational and able to sell) Oct 4= Suffolk Farmers Market (Educational and able to sell) Oct 9-12 = Peanut Fest (Educational in the Gardeners Tent) Nov 1= Oakland Church Bazaar (Able to sell) Nov 4-6? Farm Days (Educational for Elementary Students) Most of these are educa- tional. If we are able to sell any products at certain places then we will limit the number of sellers to ensure it is fair. If you know of any events that the club can be at please let Jena Brown know. Or if you are able to help at some of the listed events let Jena Brown know. brownjr43343@charter.net or Page 7

8 Protect, Preserve and Educate Visitors welcome - 6:30 PM on 2 nd Tuesday of each month. Oakland Christian Church 5641 Godwin Blvd., Suffolk, VA nansemondbeepresident@gmail.com NEEDED INGREDIENTS:

Nansemond Beekeepers Association. Suffolk, Virginia

Nansemond Buzzline Volume 1 Issue 5 Nansemond Beekeepers Association Suffolk, Virginia Meetings are held the 2nd Tuesday of each month, from 6:30 PM to 9 PM, in the Fellowship Hall of Oakland Christian