I had the Apparel pdf on my phone and I sent it to Yahoo and am now forwarding it to you. I hope it comes through this time because I'm out of ways to do this with my not so stable internet connection (although it's fine according to my ISP). I checked the club hives today to see how the sugar discs were holding up. I had given them both (2) discs two weeks ago, and the green hive had 1 1/4 discs left, and the yellow hive had 1/4 of a disc left. I wasn't overly surprised by the yellow hive, but I hadn't expected the green hive to be consuming sugar yet. I had my last two discs with me and put them in the yellow hive. I had given (1) sugar disc to the (2) G apiary (Winneconne area) hives and to the (2) M apiary (Eureka area) hives on the same day so I thought I'd better check them too. All (4) of those hives were heavy with winter stores when I put the winter covers on and put in the discs, not expecting the bees to touch them until January, yet the sugar was totally gone in (2) hives, and not much was left in the other two. I was not expecting that. Bruce commented that perhaps the bees are using the sugar first and saving the honey for winter, which wouldn't be a bad thing, but I had never heard of bees going for sugar when honey was present in the hive. Could it be that the lemongrass/spearmint essential oil blend is too much for them to resist? Do they have a plan to use sugar first so when it gets really cold and they're clustered they will have honey nearby? Maybe it was colder when I put in disks in the past and they couldn't break cluster? I truly have no idea why they have gone through a 1# sugar disc in two weeks time when they have loads of honey. But I thought I'd pass this on as a Heads Up to everyone that has emergency sugar in their hives. It might not be there anymore. I just made a batch of sugar discs and added marjoram essential oil. We'll see if they're as attracted to that as the lemongrass/spearmint essential oil blend . They do like marjoram, so they might be. Not a bad scent, and it isn't as overpowering in the house as the lemongrass/spearmint was. I'll check the club hives again in 7 - 10 days and add discs as required. I expect the yellow hive to be full time feeding throughout winter, so if anyone wants to contribute some sugar cakes or discs, bring them along to the December 15 meeting. They will bee appreciated. They can't be more than 1 1/2" high though to fit under the winter cover. As a side note, I intend to buy a 2L bottle of Hive Alive during Mann Lake's Black Friday/Cyber Monday 12% off sale. One member is already "in" on the buy, but I don't know how much he wants yet. The bottle won't be opened until March so that it will take us through the spring and fall feedings, for those that are interested. I'll let you know the cost per ounce once I get the invoice and we get closer to Opening day. Good beekeeping, and may the Apparel pdf make it through this time. Gerard
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Even though it's January in November, it's not too early to start thinking about the 2019 beekeeping season. I know it's hard to know if we'll be needing bees in spring because we may have 100% survival of our colonies (and it may be 90 degrees tomorrow), but maybe you want to expand and aren't sure if splits are in the cards, and maybe you want to introduce different genetics to your apiary. The following was received from Tim Wilbanks of Heritage Honey Bees in Sullivan, and although this is not an endorsement for Heritage Honey Bees, it is information that may be of value to you. ______________________________________________________________________________ We hope you had a good bee season. The weather was definitely challenging with a cold and snowy Spring and a cool, rainy Summer and Fall. Most reports were of a below average honey crop. However, while we've had our challenges, it's nothing like what many of our producers are experiencing with the wildfires in Northern California. Please keep them in your thoughts and prayers! We are starting to take reservations and deposits for packages and nucs for Spring 2019. Pricing will not be finalized by all of our Northern California producers until mid/late January. Getting your deposits and pre-orders in early allows us to more closely match your preferences and timeframes. We strive to provide you with the best quality bees, and we give you choices to add diversity to your apiaries. We use only state-inspected apiaries that are in the business of producing queens, package bees, and nucs. Our producers include 3 in Georgia and 8 in California. We will be offering the following for Spring 2019: 5 frame nucs (Italian or Carniolan queens available mid April through May) 2lb. packages (Italian, Carniolan, or Buckfast queens) 3lb. packages (Italian, Carniolan, Buckfast, or Russian/Italian hybrid queens) Package timeframes are: early (late March-April 14th) middle (April 15th-24th) later (April 25th-May 12th) *timeframes are approximate and ultimately depend on the weather in Northern California and Georgia. Deposits are $10 per package or nuc. Please fill out and include the attached form with your deposit. Once pricing has been finalized, we will invoice you for the balance due. Mail deposits to: Heritage Honeybee, LLC PO Box 117 Sullivan, WI 53178 _______________________________________________________________________________ Tim Wilbanks is also free Beekeeping 101 classes on Dec. 4th and 5th in Sullivan: _____________________________________________________________________ Beekeeping 101: Two Day Course Tuesday, December 4th and Wednesday, December 5th 9:00 AM-4:00PM This two day class will cover all the basics of beekeeping. Topics covered:
Classes are offered free of charge. The Heritage Honeybee Bee Barn will be open from 8:30 AM – 4 PM. Register by clicking here: Beekeeping 101, December 4th and 5th, 9 AM -4 PM _________________________________________________________________ So, this is just some information from Tim that I'm passing on to all of you in case you are interested. Tim has also offered to speak at our January meeting and will talk about commercial queen production, and package and nuc production. We end up seeing the final product of a commercial beekeepers work, but most of us probably don't know how those queens and packages are produced on a grand scale. I don't. So for me, this is something to look forward to during OUR dearth period when we can't really visit our bees except to listen in on how they're doing, and slip them some sugar when they reach the top of their food stores. Also, Jack Rademacher has gathered information concerning the possibility of the ECWBA holding beekeeping classes and he will present this information at our December meeting. One item of note is that Fond du Lac has modified it's beekeeping ordinance to include "other appropriate organization or online training". That ordinance is no longer a hurdle. I hope to see some of you on Saturday at our meeting, and best wishes for a safe and productive hunt for those that are taking to the woods. Gerard BTW, it appears that Brushy Mountain Bee Farm went dark over the weekend. Totally gone. I saw something about a family emergency, and there's a clip on YouTube about it, and I hear it's all over Facebook. But no emails from them or anything posted that I can find. If you know for sure that they are no more, please let me know
I'm finally ready for winter beekeeping activities. I got a new front drive shaft on the Jeep so the 4-wheel drive is in working order to cross snow covered fields, and I just got the last of the winter covers on my hives. Each colony got a sugar disc as well, although none of the bees in the 8 home hives were at the top of the frames. (I was especially pleased to see the 2-deep hive has the upper deep still full of honey.) I chose to put the discs in now to serve as moisture absorbers which will soften them by the time the bees need them. Now all of the hives are ready with upper entrances in the winter cover, three ventilation holes per cover, and mouse guards on a few that looked like they could use one. Only the one reducer that I had mentioned awhile back has gnaw marks, but some lower entrances looked inviting. Now it's just occasional listenings to check the cluster positions in the hives, and lifting the winter cover to check on their food reserves. I've been thinking about doing an oxalic acid vapor treatment, and today is a great day for it at 45 degrees, but I'm still on the fence. The battery minder is keeping the deep cycle battery charged, but the spirit just hasn't moved me. The colonies had (3) mite treatments during the active season with the last one ending mid-October. I'm thinking the mite level is low and why subject them to another treatment? They're going to have to live with some mites regardless. And I think the majority of losses last winter were due to Nosema cerenae (a fungus that reproduces in the midgut), which I didn't treat for. I learned about it too late. According to some researchers, Nosema cerenae is in every bee colony in the world, and although not fatal at low levels, if the spores multiple to a high level it is. The disease causes the bees to eat less and to not be able to digest efficiently what they do eat. If a queen gets a high spore count she will be superseded, and I saw plenty of that this summer, with some colonies replacing the queen 3 and 4 times (although that could be due to other factors). That, among other things, affected my honey crop. If they try to supersede in winter, it's game over. Unfortunately, we no longer have Fumagilin-B to treat for Nosema. The only thing purported to treat the disease, that I'm aware of, is Hive Alive. I started using it in spring by spraying my package bees with 1:1 syrup containing Hive Alive. As I used frames from dead outs, I sprayed them heavily with the same syrup mixture before putting them in a hive. Then, in fall, all of my feedings contained it. So now I'm curious to find out what the survival rate is this winter. But Hive Alive isn't cheap. Current prices at Mann Lake are $28.95/100ml (3.38 ounces), $94.95/500ml (16 ounces), and $215.95/2L (67.62 ounces) Broken down, that's $8.56/ounce, $5.93/ounce, and $3.19/ounce, respectively. 1 ounce will treat 3 gallons of syrup at 2 teaspoons per gallon, the recommended dosage. The most bang for the buck is the 2L bottle, which will treat 202 gallons of syrup. About $1.00/treated gallon. I thought about investing in a 2L bottle, but there's a caveat. Hive Alive needs to be used within 6 months of opening the bottle, and there's a 2 year expiration on it in the unopened bottle. I know other members are also using Hive Alive and we have talked about going in together to save money. I'm mentioning this so that anyone that's interested and wants to join in the "Buyer's Club" can let it be known so we can purchase larger quantities and distribute it among ourselves. An ECWBA "Buyer's Club" might be an idea that we want to consider for buying other of our supplies as there's typically quantity discounts offered by beekeeping suppliers. I know because I have items still in boxes when I overbought to save money. It's the American way. Buy more to save more. This is an item we can discuss at our December meeting, and if we are to do something like this, we will need a coordinator. Another thing that may help our bees has to do with mushrooms. Relatively recent research is showing that certain mushrooms actually help bees fight viruses as well as Varroa. It looks like Washington State University is on the forefront of the research, and here's a couple of links to get you started on this topic: https://news.wsu.edu/2018/10/04/fungus-provides-powerful-medicine-fighting-honey-bee-viruses/ https://www.treehugger.com/sustainable-agriculture/how-mushrooms-might-save-honey-bee.html Winter is a good time to read, study, and prepare for next season. I will be resuming learning how to use a microscope this winter to identify Nosema cerenae spores. I didn't feel confident enough to do any diagnosis this summer, but I hope to be there by next summer. Some members mentioned that they'd like to do a pot luck at our December 15 meeting, and Linda DeNell (Caestecker Library Director) said that that would be fine as long as we clean up and have no alcohol brought in (Library rules). So the mead stays home. Pretty much everything else is allowed. We will need to decide at our December meeting if the ECWBA will be offering beekeeping classes. I think February is the latest we'd want to hold classes as new beekeepers would need to know what they'll be needing for equipment and bees. Maybe it could as late as March, but the sooner the better. I find that January and February are good months to assemble boxes and frames. Membership dues are payable now. It's still the very low $10.00/year and gets you a vote on ECWBA matters. Dues can be paid at a meeting or sent to Patti. Ways of sending dues to Patti are in the attached newsletter. Also attached is the current Apparel Brochure. To order, contact Laurie at [email protected] or call her at 920-948-9794. Tim Wilbanks of Heritage Honeybees will be our January speaker. Tim has offered to talk about commercial queen, nuc and package bees' production. For more on Tim and Heritage Honeybees: Heritage Honeybee Heritage Honeybeepreserving a legacy and love of beekeeping That's it for now. All of you opening day deer hunters can read Patti's Minutes to see what you missed, and hopefully you'll be able to join us at the December meeting. Bring whatever pot luck items you wish. Hopefully we still have plates, napkins, and such. Next meeting: December 15, Caestecker Library, Green Lake, 9:30 a.m.
Just letting everyone know that there’s a number of deer hunters that won’t be at the ECWBA meeting on Saturday. Opening Day, a tradition among Wisconsin deer hunters. I, however, walked out of the tamarack swamp on a drizzly, cold day for the last time years ago and will be at the meeting…..warm and dry. No rain or snow in Saturday’s forecast, yet, but 32 degrees for a high. Have a safe hunt.
One of the topics slated for discussion at the meeting was whether to offer beekeeping classes in 2019, or not. Since our committee chair will not be present this Saturday, this discussion will go on hold until our December 15 meeting. I’m not aware of any other Events on December 15 (except that it’s my birthday (gifts accepted :)), so hopefully we can take it up then. Other than that, those of us that are there will have discussions on beekeeping and any questions that are on beekeepers’ minds going into winter. I encourage everyone that uses hive products for crafts to bring what they can to show others. I will bring some of my candle making equipment, and although I won’t be melting wax in the library, I can demonstrate how it’s done. Bee candy and fondant recipes and techniques will also be appreciated as this time of the year is when we should be preparing emergency food. I made my first batch of sugar discs on Saturday and have already used several. I put winter covers on my (4) out apiary hives and put in a disk while I was at it. Those hives didn’t need it (the bees were in the bottom deeps with lots of honey above them), but I didn’t know when I’d be back, so I fed forward. (The discs also serve as moisture absorbers.) I was glad I had the discs when I put the winter covers on the club hives on Saturday. The green hive was okay but the bees in the yellow hive were up on top. Not a good sign for November, so I put (2) discs in each hive. I will be checking them regularly and really hope they make it. Nothing else I can do for now except offer them sugar. If they’re alive in February, I’ll add pollen patties. My method of making sugar discs takes about an hour to make (10) discs. Here’s how I do it: Large kettle (like 3 gallons) 10# granulated table sugar 3 cups water 10 paper plates Digital thermometer Essential oils (I use lemongrass and spearmint) Bring the 3 cups of water to a near boil over medium heat, remove it from the burner and add the 10 lbs. of granulated table sugar, and start stirring. Once the sugar is all pretty well damp, return it to the burner and stir, stir, stir. It is important to continue stirring until all of the sugar is in suspension or the sugar may burn, and that will create a chemical that’s toxic to bees. As the temperature rises you’ll see the mixture become smoother, less grainy, and then the sugar is in suspension. You can now stop stirring for short periods, but not for long. You want to keep it moving. During one of your short breaks, set out the paper plates. Start taking the temperature and keep going until the mixture reaches 250 degrees F. Remove it from the heat source and let it start to cool. After it stops bubbling you can add the essential oil(s), about 20 – 30 drops total, and stir. Be careful, it may splatter. Your house will now smell great…..and your towels will too, for days. After a few minutes of cooling the mixture will start to stiffen and now it’s time to carefully pour the mixture into the paper plates. Be careful, It’s HOT! The mixture will cool and harden into “rock candy” IF you let it reach 250F (hard ball stage). Under 250F and it will remain tacky forever (soft ball stage) (I know). They’re ready to serve after cooling, and that takes just a couple of hours. I stack them in a cardboard box with wax paper between them. They’ll keep for years if they’re kept away from moisture and high humidity. Remove from paper plates before serving. A little paper left behind won’t matter. I'll see those of you that can make Saturday’s meeting. Don’t be afraid to bring treats. Saturday November 17, Caestecker Library, Green Lake, 9:30 a.m. Gerard A nice thing about being a bee farmer is sitting next to the woodstove on a day like this and reading a bee magazine.
Yesterday was a gorgeous day, as forecast, and as Fred had posted on the blog to give everyone that was intending to do an oxalic acid vapor treatment a heads up. My deep cycle battery was fully charged, but there was still a cord of oak firewood that needed to be stacked in the barn, out of the elements. With the short term forecast for rain, cold, and snow, I chose the firewood so it wouldn't become a frozen mound of ice. I'm glad I did. It would be soaked, again, today. So now I have to wait for another opportunity to treat, or skip it all together. I'm not especially concerned because the colonies all had (3) mite treatments through the season; (2) FormicPro and (1) Apiguard, with the Apiguard treatment ending the first week in October. But I don't know if any Varroa bombs landed in any of the hives after that. An oxalic acid vapor treatment could help if they did. There's always a concern of injuring or killing a queen when treating a colony, but Randy Oliver says oxalic acid does not harm queens. Good to know, it would be sad to injure or kill a queen going into winter as there would be no chance for the colony to survive. The last time I checked for queenrightness was in September. I decided to not break any propolis seals after that so the bees would be snug this winter. I checked my hives for activity this weekend and am going into winter with 12 colonies. It would be great to see them all alive in April, but that's impractical thinking. If I come through with a 25% loss, or less, I'll be happy. While checking the hives yesterday I found one entrance reducer with fresh gnaw marks and put a mouse guard in front of it. I noticed that a couple of other reducers had larger than usual openings (made that way) and I'll be going back to put guards in front them as well. Of course there's the risk of trapping a pregnant mouse inside the hive, so I'll be waiting for a warm day with the hope that any mice will be out foraging. The only time I ever found mice in a hive was in a dead out, but I've heard that they will occupy live hives as well. My next steps will be putting on the winter covers and making sugar disks. Members use different techniques to supply the bees with emergency sugar, and our next meeting will be a good time to discuss this again. Anyone that has a recipe/technique for winter feeding, please bring what you have to share. While checking the hives I could hear that most of my colonies were in the bottom deep, where they should be at this point, but a couple were in the upper deep. I track their location in the hive throughout winter by putting my ear against the boxes to locate the buzz, and when they get near the top of the hive I add sugar disks, which is basically hard candy with essential oils added. I cool the candy in paper plates which give them a disc (short for discus) shape. There's a medium super of honey above most of the upper deeps, so they're fine for now. This is the time of year to work on crafts using hive products. It's not just honey that the bees produce. Beeswax is valuable for candles, cosmetics, soaps, wood polish, and other things. (Stradivarius used propolis in his famous varnishes, so if you're a violin maker....). Anyone that has bee-based or bee-inspired craft items that can be brought to the library to show others, it will be appreciated. The winter gets long and it's nice to have a craft to work on. I pour 100% pure beeswax candles and will bring some molds and other things along. Those that bake with honey......you know what to do. A major point of discussion at our November meeting will be whether or not to offer beginning beekeeping classes to the general public. Jack Rademacher is looking into a number of things regarding this, and the membership needs to decide if we will support this endeavor. If so, members will need to form a committee and make a plan. Beekeeping classes are often held in January and February so there's not much time to plan, prepare and advertise. Laurie has been in contact with an apitherapist and she is looking at having a presentation on apitherapy at our January meeting. This may be an Event that we want to invite other clubs to. Hopefully Laurie will have a firm commitment by the meeting date and we will proceed from there. Next meeting: November 17 at the Caestecker Library in Green Lake. 9:30 a.m. Gerard |
ECWBA NewsletterSince 2009 Archives
March 2019
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