After a respectable amount of fretting and hand-wringing, I decided to move forward and order the Omano OM36-BL microscope that’s recommended for beekeepers by Randy Oliver. Thanks for bringing your microscopes to the meeting Monty, explaining how they work, and letting me try them out. There should be plenty of time for me to get accustomed to the Omano prior to bee season. I also found the smart phone adapter that Monty demonstrated and have it on my wish list. (The income tax refund that was heading toward my mortgage took a left turn. Again.) Pam presented a photo tour of the extraction procedure she went through at the Rushford Meadery and Winery, and graciously accepted a position as the Coordinator for extractions. Members should contact Pam when they want to use to the extractor and she will create and maintain a Google calendar for who’s scheduled to use it, when. Because clean-up is the hardest part, it was suggested that we have group extractions so there’s only one clean-up for multiple extractions. But everyone is free to make individual arrangements by contacting Pam at [email protected] and she will coordinate with Shane. Pam also developed a list of items and chemicals we need and was authorized to purchase them, up to $150.00. That sounded sufficient, and Pam is providing the caustic that is needed after every fifth cleaning (or so). It doesn’t take much caustic, and she has it on hand for her goat’s milk soap making business. Thanks for doing that Pam. While we’re on the Meadery subject it was decided to relocate the (2) hives that the ECWBA had sponsored at Ripon College when Liz Walsh was a student there, to the Meadery. The student body apparently lost interest in beekeeping after Liz moved on to Texas A&M to further her studies in entomology, and the equipment had been put into storage. Mark and Patti will retrieve the hives and get them to Pam or myself and we will site and tend them at the Meadery. Joe Walsh was authorized to purchase (1) package of bees for one of the hives, and the other will be populated with a captured swarm, should the swarm gods smile on us. Any honey harvested from the hive(s) will be labeled with an ECWBA label and offered for sale at the Meadery. Proceeds to go into the ECWBA coffer for extractor maintenance. The discussion evolved into having a Youth Mentoring program using the club hive(s) at the Meadery, and that will be further discussed at future meetings. First we have to make sure that Shane and Laurel are okay with that idea. It was decided that 501(c)3 status would not be pursued at this time, but Laurie mentioned we may want to get an EIN number. I don’t know enough of what this might do for us, and there will be further discussion at forthcoming meetings. Laurie brought a new draft apparel brochure, and a pdf will be emailed when the brochure is finalized. There’s several new items and the color list has expanded so be sure to check it out. Laurie mentioned upcoming Events and she has been in touch for Walleye Weekend and the Green Lake County Fair. Paul was asked to look into what it would cost for him to construct a new backdrop and hopefully he will have some numbers by our next meeting. March 17 is our Event featuring Damon Reabe, who will give a talk/presentation on aerial applications and how aerial applicators go about their business scientifically and conscientiously to protect honey bees (and other pollinators). We will most likely have home made refreshments, and as we get closer I will most likely send out an email with things that we need, like napkins and paper plates. Patti may have things in the Minutes that I’m forgetting now, and her Minutes will be sent when received. Hopefully I can fulfill all of the promised information in the next email. It’s almost March and that means getting ready for the 2018 season. I still have to clean the propolis off the queen excluders, I have dead-out hive bodies and frames to clean and scorch, I have new frames to assemble, I have new foundation to put into those frames, and I want to have it all ready by the end of March. The new bees will be coming around mid-April. Our surviving colonies are small now, with many bees having died over winter and dying now. You’ll see them on the snow and piling up outside of the hives as the living bees clean house on warm days. March is the killing month with colonies dying due to high Varroa Destructor levels, colonies running out of food, and small colonies freezing during a cold snap. Fred has some good advice on the blog on when and how to check hives in early spring. The queens are laying small amounts of eggs now to replace the winter bees that died. That means the nurse bees will need pollen, or some form of protein, to make royal jelly and to feed to the larvae. It won’t hurt to add a pollen patty on the top bars even if you think they have enough stored pollen. With the devastating losses this winter, any colonies that survive are great candidates for splitting after they build up in May, to increase their genetic pool. Have equipment ready (hive bodies and/or nucs and frames) to make splits. Local survivor genetics are the best for long term apiary survival. We’ll get more into these subjects as we go along but do keep checking the blog. Fred posts a lot of very good and helpful information there. Time to start planning. Gerard
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ECWBA NewsletterSince 2009 Archives
March 2019
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