buzzwords FROM THE BOARD September 2016 From the Board

Transcription

1 buzzwords September 2016 Barnstable County Beekeepers Association FROM THE BOARD From the Board Happy National Honey Month! There are a couple ways to celebrate this month. Our regular September meeting will be at the Beekeepers Ball, at the Cultural Center of Cape Cod in South Yarmouth on September 17, from 5:30 to 9:30 pm. There will be music, art, dance, flowers, food and drink, educational exhibits, raffles, a demonstration hive, and lots more. The event will be fun for people of all ages, and all are welcome. Feel free to invite family, friends, neighbors, and co-workers, and share the information on your social media outlets as well. Tickets available on our website, or by clicking this link and are very reasonable, $15/adult and $5/children. Additionally, if you want to celebrate honeybees and give back to your community in a sweet way, our association is partnering with Cape Cod Cooperative Extension by engaging in a honey drive for the Falmouth Food Pantry (aka Service Center ) and honey cooking demonstration. This food pantry serves our military and Upper Cape families. Please contact Kim Concra or myself for more information or to donate a pound or two of honey. Thank you very much. Don t hate on me for mentioning it but winter is coming. The Farmers Almanac says it will be a doozy. If you haven t already, start preparing your hives for a successful overwinter. Mouse guards are a must on your entrances! Feeding is a must, especially with our massive drought. Ask your fellow beekeepers what they do to successfully overwinter, read an article or three online, and get on it! Having honeybees is like having any other farm animal, they need care, attention, and maintenance. You wouldn t forget to feed your dog, cat, or chickens-don t put off feeding your bees, checking for mites, and such-like. See you at the Bee Ball! Kalliope Egloff

2 SEPTEMBER MEETING The September meeting will be in the form of the 1st Annual Beekeepers Ball on Saturday, September 17 th at the Cultural Center of Cape Cod. We hope that every member of the BCBA will sign up for this inaugural event. The event was created with you in mind, and we re hoping that the membership will support the event with the same level of enthusiasm they showed when it was proposed. If you have not done so, please click the image below to be taken to the registration site. So far, the outer Cape is very poorly represented. BBall Committee 5 Volunteers Needed If you are interested in volunteering for the Bee Ball, Kalliope at honeypothives@gmail.com and let her know before 9/9/16. The shift is from 5pm to 9:30 and you get a free ticket to the ball. Kalliope Egloff

3 The Continuing Beekeeping Adventures of Paul n Patty (part 6) They got the call at about 7:00 Thursday night. Eileen reported that the weather had been good in Georgia and that the bees would be on time. Paul n Patty were to go to the pick up place Saturday morning at 10:00, with their bee suits, gloves, and hive tools. They would be getting their new family. If they were interested, Eileen would be demonstrating how to introduce a new package of bees into a hive. They would be shown step by step just how to handle the queen, and other tricks that might be helpful. In anticipation, Paul reread the binder they got with the bee school, and reviewed his notes. Patty uncorked a bottle of wine and together they talked about bees. The entire class of Newbees was present. The array of protective clothing was interesting, ranging from what appeared to be able to stop a bullet, to the more conventional, to one bearded young man who was all smiles and dressed in a tee shirt, shorts pants, and sandals. When asked by Paul if he thought he was dressed appropriately, the man responded, Oh, I guess. I was just driving down the road and saw all of you gathered here, dressed like you are, and was curious what was going on. Are you beekeepers? Paul just rolled his eyes and turned to watch the lesson. Eileen spoke of how the bees had been gathered at a large apiary in Georgia, poured by weight in to screened boxes, combined with a queen, some sugar syrup for food, and shipped to a large distribution point. It was here that volunteers from the various clubs in the area, and some individual beekeepers pick up the bees. The volunteers from our club, said Eileen, who drove to the distribution point at the other end of the state and picked up the bees that were to be handed out today are here today. They are over there leaning against those trucks. If you get a chance, you might want to thank them. The bleary-eyed one with the torn jeans and cup of coffee is a former president of the bee club, Irasmus Bedragan. To his right is a member of the club s board of directors, Adam Baum. The tall guy with his back to us is a local doctor, Lance Boyles. The last two, the young ladies, were Newbees just last year. Their names are Terri Bull and the club s librarian, Paige Turner. These folks drove all night to get you the freshest bees possible. So, I think Thanks are in order. The applause wasn t deafening, but heart-felt. Both Terri and Paige were blushing because of the attention. The group divided up into three groups. Each group was to be shown how to put the contents of the package into a hive. As before, Patty strongly suggested that the two of them attend different demonstrations, so as to better learn as many techniques as possible. Patty stayed with Eileen, and Paul wandered over to the location tended by Irasmus. When everyone was comfortably suited up, Eileen began. She held up the box, which contained the bees, and showed it to everyone. We have here about three pounds of bees. They were possibly shaken from many different hives, but because of the sense of disorientation, they get along. Notice how they are all hanging and clinging together. What you can t see, because of

4 the number of bees, is a can of sugar syrup, which has been their food supply since they were packaged up, and a queen cage. Several queen cages were passed around during one of the cases you attended, but you ll get to see and handle one today. And it will contain a queen and several workers, her attendants. Eileen removed the outer and inner covers from the single hive body in from of them and said, After I ve removed half of the frames from the hive-body, and set them safely of to the side, I m ready to begin the process of installing the bees. At which point she, with unfeminine force, slammed the package on the ground. Hands shot up to shocked mouths, several gasps were heard, and a couple of people took a step backward. Not to worry, said Eileen, calmly. No bees were injured. The reason I did that was to keep most of the bees in the package while I remove the can of syrup and the queen cage. She proceeded to take out her hive tool and began prying off a rectangular piece of plywood from the top of the package. Now visible was the end of a can and an aluminum strip. Eileen pulled on the aluminum strip and in so doing lifted out the queen cage. She then slipped the curved end of her hive tool down into the package and lifted out the tin can. Quickly, she replaced the plywood cover. As was hinted to in one of your classes, there are many ways to proceed from this point. And the other two demonstrations are probably doing something different, but still a variation of what we are doing. Some people install the queen cage now by putting her between two frames. I install the queen later, but I use an additional piece of equipment called a shim. If I were doing this by myself, I would have the queen nearby, someplace in the shade, and safe so I won t step on her. by Andy Morris THE DOMINO EFFECT If you are having trouble in this humidity with your powdered sugar getting clumpy, here is a neat way to make it light and fluffy and ready to give you an accurate varroa count. Thanks to John Portnoy for this suggestion. He tells us to spread it on a tray and put it in your toaster oven at 200 degrees for 10 minutes. I sifted mine first and then "baked" or dried it. Afterwards dump it into a tight plastic container till needed. Another September sugar shake should give you a better idea of your varroa counts before cold weather arrives. by Claire Desilets HAPPY NEW YEAR!! Huh? Well, according to Larry Connor in the August 16 issue of Bee Culture, August is the beginning of a new year for our bees. Think of it. Summer is over, the major nectar flows have nearly dried up but the queen cannot head for vacation. She needs to lay and lay and lay some more for her winter family. Upon inspection, brood patterns must be full, frames of pollen need to be seen and solid frames of nectar/honey in the top deep should be evident. The new

5 workers hatching will be your winter cluster so they must be well fed at the larval stage, just floating in royal jelly and bee food. (Hint: feed pollen substitute). According to Jennifer Berry in the September 2016 issue of Bee Culture, these winter bees are physiologically different from summer bees due to an increase in their ability to accumulate vitellogenin (a protein), using it as a food storage reservoir in their bodies. Thus, we need fat bees, and bees that will help feed the first generation of workers next spring. Yes, you can rearrange your frames so much of the winter honey is positioned in the top deep, empty frames moved below for the queen to continue to lay. And you can feed either 2:1 sugar syrup if there are no concerns of robbing or by adding sugar on a paper plate. What is working well for me at this time is to find a piece of hardware cloth (1/2 +/-) maybe 10 or 12 square and use that as a plate. Add the piece of newspaper on the wire, mist with water and pour on the sugar misting again. Surround the mountain of sugar with a 2 shim. This way you can continue to inspect your frames by simply lifting off the wire and replacing when finished. Paper plates get chewed and propalized and make it difficult to inspect. But they do work great when feeding after November. Please remember that honey shallows must be removed when feeding. So we are now one month into the New Year. Do you know where your bees are at? Knowing everyone is tired of hearing about varroa and counts and treating, but an important factor come this New Year, the following recently received is a nice summary. Hello Claire, I thought you might appreciate this "old" beekeeper's recent awakening. I have never introduced any chemicals into my hives until now after I read the very informative "Tools for Varroa Management" published by the Honey Bee Health Coalition. I sobered up when I turned to the opening page (P.4) and read : " Doing nothing about Varroa mites is not a practical option." That statement plus the fact that I lost my most productive hive last October to the mites, changed my attitude. Either you fight the mites or you are out of the beekeeping business. I have not been able to attend any of the BCBA meetings when Varroa issues were discussed, so I had to learn to face up to the mite problem on my own. I am writing you just in case there are others who find themselves in denial or are seeking guidance. 1. I read the "Tools for Varroa Management" which is very informative and instructional. 2. I read p. 25 of the 2016 Betterbee catalogue, which offers a sugar roll kit for $18 and a concise summary guide of how to test. 3. I found 2 mites, so did not treat. 4. I intend to repeat testing in a month just to make sure my sampling was accurate.

6 5. I purchased a package of MAQS as I felt it was the most effective and least toxic to the girls. Claire Claire Desilets NUCS DOUBLED Both Cape Bee and a few members are trying a different configuration of our nucleus colonies this fall/winter. Instead of moving a 5 frame nucleus colony into a single 10 frame hive, we have kept our summer nucs in the original nuc box but have added a second 5 frame box on top. The top box, come next month should be filled and packed with honey/nectar/sugar syrup stored for the winter. Our attempt is to assimilate a swarm in a tree. Once cold weather sets in, they will be cuddled together and wrapped with a single sheet of tar paper to gain mutual warmth. It is our hope that they can retain more heat in the cluster and have access to the winter stores as they move up and not have to move outwards. It is fun when you have extra equipment to try different approaches to over wintering. With plenty of stores and locally raised queens, we are so hoping for a positive outcome. Claire Desilets How Bees Can Take The Sting Out Of Pesticides &tse_id=inf_23247c406ed211e6b5ca3d23039d2f83 Kate Ryan by way of Leslie Lichtenstein Lip Balm Ingredients -1 tablespoon grated beeswax or beeswax pastilles -1 tablespoon virgin coconut oil -A dash of organic raw honey -2 vitamin e capsules -several drops of essential oil (optional)

7 Directions In a double boiler, melt down the beeswax, adding in the coconut oil and honey when about half of the beeswax is no longer solid. After it s all melted and blended together, stir in the contents of 2 vitamin E capsules. Pour into container or a tube and let cool. Apply as neededbut not in excess. Resist! There can always be too much of a good thing. Check out our club s Facebook page DID YOU KNOW? To reinforce their hives, bees use a resin from poplar and evergreen trees called propolis. It s basically beehive glue. Although bees use it as caulk, humans use it to fight off bacteria, viruses, and fungi. Research shows that propolis taken from a beehive may relieve cold sores, canker sores, herpes, sore throat, cavities, and even eczema. CONSIDER JOINING THE MASSACHUSETTS BEEKEEPING ASSOCIATION For more information on the event and other state-wide happenings, you can download the Massachusetts Beekeepers Association newsletter here. A small overview follows in the next page.

8 RESOURCES (accurate as of 6/16) The following officers and directors are a great resource to answer questions and requests for assistance. Officers President Kalliope Egloff kalliopeegloff@yahoo.com Vice President Michael D. Smith michaeldgetsmail@gmail.com Secretary Claire Desilets beekeepr@gmail.com Treasurer Lynn Heslinga ynneheslinga@gmail.com Directors Marthe Ayers mfoura32@aol.com Rebecca Matarazzi rebecca.matarazzi@gmail.com John Beach john.a.beach@comcast.net Joe McClure joegetsmail@gmail.com Maria Cashdollar winter64@aol.com Andy Morris andymorris02553@gmail.com Melissa Caughey pcmc2000@msn.com Brian O Donnell bjmdod98@aol.com Peter Cooper brpbc1@gmail.com Melissa Sanderson melissa@capecodfishermen.org Kimberly Concra klconcra@msn.com Lisa Sheehy lisasheehy@msn.com Paul Lefebvre lefbvr@gmail.com Mark Simonitsch fishweirs@capecod.net Julie Lipkin julie.lipkin45@gmail.com Miguel Zamora zamorasmiguel@gmail.com